13. APPLICATION FOR NEW CONSTRUCTION IN THE BYWARD MARKET HERITAGE CONSERVATION DISTRICT AT 90 GEORGE/135 RIDEAU STREET - AMENDMENT TO PREVIOUS APPROVAL

DEMANDE DE CONSTRUCTION D'UNE STRUCTURE AU 90, RUE GEORGE / 135, RUE RIDEAU, DANS LE DISTRICT DE CONSERVATION DU PATRIMOINE DU MARCHÉ BY - MODIFICATION DE L'APPROBATION DONNÉE ANTÉRIEUREMENT

COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION

That Council approve the application for new construction in the By Ward Market Heritage Conservation District at 90 George/135 Rideau Street in accordance with the plans filed by DCYSM Architecture + Design received on December 29, 2004, included as Document 2. This design will amend the previous approval by Ottawa City Council of November 8, 2000.

RECOMMANDATION DU COMITÉ

Que le Conseil approuve la demande de construction d'une structure au 90, rue George / 135, rue Rideau, dans le District de conservation du patrimoine du marché By, conformément aux plans soumis par DCYSM Architecture + Design, reçus le 29 décembre 2004 et contenus au document 2. Cette conception modifiera celle approuvée par le Conseil municipal d'Ottawa le 8 novembre 2000 et illustrée au document 3.

Documentation

Deputy City Manager, Planning and Growth Management report dated 27 February 2005 (ACS2005-DEV-APR-0051).

Report to/Rapport au :

Local Architectural Conservation Advisory Committee

Comité consultatif sur la conservation de l'architecture locale

and / et

Planning and Environment Committee

Comité de l'urbanisme et de l'environnement

and Council / et au Conseil

27 January 2005 / le 27 janvier 2005

Submitted by/Soumis par : Ned Lathrop, Deputy City Manager / Directeur municipal adjoint

Planning and Growth Management / Urbanisme et Gestion de la croissance

Contact Person/Personne ressource : Grant Lindsay, Manager / Gestionnaire

Development Approval / Approbation des demandes d'aménagement

(613) 580-2424 x 13242, grant.lindsay@ottawa.ca

Rideau-Vanier (12)

Ref N°: ACS2005-DEV-APR-0051

SUBJECT:	APPLICATION FOR NEW CONSTRUCTION IN THE BYWARD MARKET HERITAGE CONSERVATION DISTRICT AT 90 GEORGE/135 RIDEAU STREET - AMENDMENT TO PREVIOUS APPROVAL

OBJET :	DEMANDE DE CONSTRUCTION D'UNE STRUCTURE AU 90, RUE GEORGE / 135, RUE RIDEAU, DANS LE DISTRICT DE CONSERVATION DU PATRIMOINE DU MARCHÉ BY - MODIFICATION DE L'APPROBATION DONNÉE ANTÉRIEUREMENT

REPORT RECOMMENDATION

That the Local Architectural Conservation Advisory Committee recommend that Planning and Environment Committee recommend that Council approve the application for new construction in the By Ward Market Heritage Conservation District at 90 George/135 Rideau Street in accordance with the plans filed by DCYSM Architecture + Design received on December 29, 2004, included as Document 2. This design will amend the previous approval by Ottawa City Council of November 8, 2000.

(Note: Approval of this application under the Ontario Heritage Act must not be construed to meet the requirements for the issuance of a building permit nor pre-existing registered legal agreements.)

RECOMMANDATION DU RAPPORT

Que le Comité consultatif sur la conservation de l'architecture locale recommande au Comité de l'urbanisme et de l'environnement de recommander au Conseil d'approuver la demande de construction d'une structure au 90, rue George / 135, rue Rideau, dans le District de conservation du patrimoine du marché By, conformément aux plans soumis par DCYSM Architecture + Design, reçus le 29 décembre 2004 et contenus au document 2. Cette conception modifiera celle approuvée par le Conseil municipal d'Ottawa le 8 novembre 2000 et illustrée au document 3.

(Nota : L'approbation de cette demande aux termes de la Loi sur le patrimoine de l'Ontario ne signifie pas qu'elle satisfait aux critères de délivrance d'un permis de construire ni aux exigences des ententes juridiques enregistrées antérieures.)

Local Architectural Conservation Advisory Committee Recommendation - 10 February 2005

LACAC supports the departmental recommendation.

BACKGROUND

This report has been prepared to allow for the construction of a new condominium apartment building on the through lot which extends from 90 George Street south to Rideau Street. The north half of the site is included within the By Ward Market Heritage Conservation District, designated under Part V of the Ontario Heritage Act (By-law 60-91). A location plan is included as Document 1. The Ontario Heritage Act requires that all new construction in a heritage conservation district be approved by City Council following consultation with the Local Architectural Conservation Advisory Committee (LACAC).

An earlier design for this site was submitted by Canril Corporation for a new Alliance Atlantis Cinema complex for approval under the Ontario Heritage Act and was approved by the former City of Ottawa City Council on November 8, 2000. A building permit application was never submitted and the project did not proceed. This heritage application is an amendment to the November 2000 approval and deals only with the designated part of the lot facing George Street.

The former Caplan's Department Store was demolished in November 2003 pursuant to a Fire Marshall's Order which deemed the existing vacant building susceptible to fire after one or more had been set in it. City Council approved the demolition of the building on the condition that a replica of the Rideau Street elevation be reconstructed as part of any future development on the site. This agreement was entered into by Canril Corporation and the City and a letter of credit filed to ensure compliance. A streetscape of the proposed Rideau Street elevation is included as Document 4.

A Site Plan Control application has been submitted and is being processed by way of Delegation of Authority. A minor variance to approve a side yard requirement and increased FSI on the Rideau Street portion was approved by the Committee of Adjustment.

DISCUSSION

The new building will be 19-storeys in height with three storeys of underground parking. There will be three floors of retail/commercial space with 16 floors of residential condominiums above. The residential tower will be set back approximately 14 feet on the Rideau Street and 100 feet on the George Street side as illustrated in Document 5. The north half of the project facing George Street, which is subject of this heritage application, is three storeys in height and features a roof-top garden. It conforms to the permitted height under the heritage overlay provision of the Zoning By-law. The George Street elevation will be clad in buff-coloured cultured (artificial) stone with evenly spaced rectangular windows arranged around a large round-arched window. An entrance canopy and window highlights will be grey metal. There will be commercial space fronting George Street which will include a restaurant and spa. The garage door will be recessed approximately ten feet from the face of the building, behind an archway. A perspective drawing is enclosed as Document 2 and an elevation included as part of Document 3.

Appendix B, "Building Improvement and Design Guidelines" of the By Ward Market Heritage Conservation District study addresses the character of the neighbourhood and new construction in the District in Section 2, "General Principles." These principles stress that (1) "The evolution, diversity and layering that characterize the landscape are also the most important qualities of the building stock." and (6) "New work in an area like this must respect the existing scale, material, and forms of the district. However, it should be of its own time, designed in a contemporary vernacular consistent with the traditions of the area."

Section 3.4, "Infill: Commercial and Mixed Use" specifically addresses the construction of new construction on vacant lots. Recommendation 1 states that "Infill in commercial areas must respect the scale and character of existing heritage properties and streetscapes." Further Guidelines stress the importance of maintaining the traditional pattern of retail at grade, with residential or commercial above separated by a cornice or signage, storefronts approximately nine metres (30 feet) wide, and setbacks and heights that respect neighbouring properties.

The proposed design as it relates to the George Street elevation respects many aspects of these guidelines. The streetscape, included as Document 3, illustrates a four bay articulation which is further divided into a group of three defined by two pilasters and one bay to the west. The three bay portion reflects the pattern of the three adjacent buildings to the east. The semi-circular arch of the entry reflects the entrance to the Giant Tiger store at the east end of the block and ties the George Street elevation to the Rideau Street elevation.

An additional cultural heritage impact statement by the applicant on the project's relationship to the By Ward Market Heritage Conservation District is included as Document 6 in conformance with Section 4.6.1.2 of the City of Ottawa Official Plan as amended.

The Department supports the amendment to the design of the north half of the 90 George/135 Rideau Street project approved by City Council on November 8, 2000 because it complies, in large part, with the " Guidelines" in the By Ward Market Heritage Conservation District Study.

CONSULTATION

Adjacent property owners and residential tenants were notified by letter of the date of the Local Architectural Conservation Advisory Committee (LACAC) and Planning and Environment Committee meetings and were provided with comment sheets to be returned to LACAC.

Georges Bédard, the Ward Councillor is aware of this project.

The By Ward Market BIA is aware of this project.

Heritage Ottawa has been informed of this project.

Public notification was carried out as part of a Site Plan Control application as well as an application for variances to the Committee of Adjustment.

Information and drawings describing the project are available at www.90george.com

FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS

N/A

SUPPORTING DOCUMENTATION

Document 1 Location Plan

Document 2 Perspective view of 90 George

Document 3 George Street Streetscape

Document 4 Rideau Street Streetscape

Document 5 Plan at Fourth Floor

Document 6 Cultural Heritage Impact Statement

DISPOSITION

Corporate Services Department, Council and Committee Services Branch, to notify the applicant/ agent (DCYSM Architecture + Design, Ste. 600, 2000 Avenue McGill College, Montreal, QC H3A 3H4) and the Ontario Heritage Foundation (10 Adelaide Street, 3rd Floor, Toronto, Ontario, M5C 1J3) of City Council’s consent for new construction in the ByWard Market Heritage Conservation District at 90 George/135 Rideau Street.