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3. APPLICATION FOR NEW
CONSTRUCTION IN THE CENTRETOWN HERITAGE CONSERVATION DISTRICT AT 152-170
ARGYLE AVENUE/424 METCALFE STREET DEMANDE
DE NOUVELLE CONSTRUCTION DANS LE DISTRICT DE CONSERVATION DU PATRIMOINE DU
CENTRE-VILLE AU 152-170, AVENUE ARGYLE/424, RUE METCALFE |
Committee recommendations
That Council:
1. Approve the
construction of a new building at 152-170 Argyle Avenue/424 Metcalfe Street in
the Centretown Heritage Conservation District in accordance with the plans
submitted by Barry J. Hobin & Associates Architects Incorporated, as
received on June 13, 2008 and included as Documents 2 to 5; and
2. Delegate
approval of any subsequent design changes of a minor nature to the Director of
the Planning Branch.
RecommandationS du Comité
Que le
Conseil :
1.
approuve l’aménagement d’un nouvel
édifice situé au 152-170, avenue Argyle/424, rue Metcalfe, dans le District de
conservation du patrimoine du centre-ville, conformément aux plans soumis par
Barry J. Hobin & Associates Architects Incorporated, reçus tels quels le
13 juin 2008 et présentés ci-joints sous les documents 2 à 5; et
2. délégue le pouvoir d’approuver toute
autre modification de conception de nature mineure au directeur de la Direction
de l’urbanisme.
Documentation
1. Deputy City Manager, Planning, Transit and the Environment report dated 3 July 2008
(ACS2008-PTE-PLA-0147).
2. LACAC Extract of Draft Minutes of 17
July 2008.
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
3 July 2008 / le 3 juillet 2008
Submitted by/Soumis par : Nancy Schepers, Deputy City Manager
Directrice municipale adjointe,
Planning, Transit and the Environment/
Urbanisme, Transport en commun et Environnement
Contact
Person/Personne Ressource : Grant Lindsay, Manager/Gestionnaire,
Development Approvals/Approbation des demandes d'aménagement, Planning
Branch/
Direction de
l’urbanisme
(613)
580-2424, 13242 Grant.Lindsay@ottawa.ca
REPORT RECOMMENDATION
That the Local Architectural Conservation Advisory Committee recommend
that Planning and Environment Committee recommend that Council:
1.
Approve the
construction of a new building at 152-170 Argyle Avenue/424 Metcalfe Street in
the Centretown Heritage Conservation District in accordance with the plans
submitted by Barry J. Hobin & Associates Architects Incorporated, as
received on June 13, 2008 and included as Documents 2 to 5; and
2.
Delegate approval
of any subsequent design changes of a minor nature to the Director of the
Planning Branch.
(Note : The 90-day period to consider this application under the Ontario Heritage Act will expire on
September 15, 2008)
(Note: Approval to Alter this property under the Ontario Heritage Act must not be interpreted as meeting the requirements
for the issuance of a building permit.)
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 à son tour au Conseil :
1. d’approuver
l’aménagement d’un nouvel édifice situé au 152-170, avenue Argyle/424, rue
Metcalfe, dans le District de conservation du patrimoine du centre-ville,
conformément aux plans soumis par Barry J. Hobin & Associates Architects
Incorporated, reçus tels quels le 13 juin 2008 et présentés ci-joints
sous les documents 2 à 5; et
2.
de déléguer le pouvoir d’approuver
toute autre modification de conception de nature mineure au directeur de la
Direction de l’urbanisme.
(Nota : La
période de 90 jours allouée à l’examen de la présente demande en vertu de
la Loi sur le patrimoine de l’Ontario se termine le
15 septembre 2008.)
(Nota :
L’approbation de la demande de modification aux termes de la Loi sur le patrimoine de l’Ontario ne
signifie pas pour autant qu’elle satisfait aux conditions de délivrance d’un
permis de construire.)
BACKGROUND
The property at 152-170
Argyle/424 Metcalfe Street is located at the south end of the Centretown
Heritage Conservation District which is designated under Part V of the Ontario Heritage Act (see Document 1).
This report has been prepared because the consent of City Council is required
following the review of the Local Architectural Conservation Advisory Committee
(LACAC) before the construction of a new building within a heritage conservation
district can proceed.
The proposal is the result of a
Request for Proposals (RFP) issued by the City of Ottawa Housing Branch with
the intent of providing affordable dwelling units as well as meeting other
objectives. The RFP included reference to the guidelines of the Centretown
Heritage Conservation District Study and the need for any proposal to be
approved under the Ontario Heritage Act as it might relate to the north part of
the site. The Centretown Citizens Ottawa Corporation was the successful
proponent.
On May 8, 2008, the applicant met
with the Local Architectural Conservation Advisory Committee (LACAC) on an
informal basis and LACAC supported the project.
DISCUSSION
This proposal is for new construction in the Centretown Heritage Conservation District at 152‑170 Argyle/424 Metcalfe Street on the former site of the Beaver Barracks, temporary military facilities erected during the Second World War that remained until 1993. The north half of the project is within the heritage conservation district and includes a four-storey apartment building facing Argyle Avenue and two groups of three-storey stacked townhouses extending south on either side of a community garden. The apartment building on Argyle Avenue is clad primarily in a textured brick to complement the brick of the Windsor Arms to the east. The base of the building is clad in sand-blasted Renaissance stone and the fourth storey uses corrugated metal siding in addition to brick. The building façade is articulated with setbacks and projecting balconies. The project as seen from two views along Argyle Avenue is illustrated in Document 2. A site plan is included as Document 3.
Section 4.6.1.1 and 2 of the Official Plan requires the preparation of a Cultural Heritage Impact Statement. The full text is included as Document 6 and an extract is included below:
“ The proposed development picks up on the massing and detail strategy of the Windsor Arms as well as its street setbacks without mimicking its architectural style. The low rise apartments and stacked townhouses are articulated both vertically and horizontally to break up the building’s mass into house sized blocks. A ground related base is defined by projecting entry canopies and horizontal transitions in colour. Stoops to individual townhouse unit entries provide further keys to human scale. These, coupled with intense landscaping visually reduce the building mass and encourage pedestrian traffic. Above, changes in masonry and the step back of the building face add modulation to these house bays. These shifts in plane material and colour coupled with projecting roof overhangs provide the building with a distinctive top much as the detailing of the Windsor Arms achieves, while matching its scale.”
Views of the stacked townhouse will be blocked by the existing YM-YWCA building to the west and the Windsor Arms Apartments to the east. A view of the easterly block of townhouses as seen from the Windsor Arms is included as Document 5. Two mixed use, mid-rise buildings located at the south end of the site facing Catherine Street and Metcalfe Street are outside of the Centretown Heritage Conservation District.
The design of proposed infill project is contemporary and this is in keeping with the guidelines of the Centretown Heritage Conservation District Study which state as follows:
"VII.5.5 Commercial and Mixed Use Infill
Appropriate infill design is critical to the long-term success of the heritage commercial corridors within the District. This infill must respect the existing heritage character by providing sympathetic contemporary design.
There has been a continuous process of construction, alteration, demolition and infill over the years. However, the dominant character of the area was set at the turn of the century, and the surviving buildings from this period still establish the best point of reference for the design of infill projects.
Recommendation: All infill should be of contemporary design, distinguishable as being of its own time. However, it must be sympathetic to the heritage character of the area, and designed to enhance these existing properties rather than calling attention to itself."
Conclusion
Recommendation 1:
The Planning, Transit and the Environment Department supports the proposed development because it respects the historic scale and form of the Argyle streetscape and specifically the Windsor Arms Apartments.
Recommendation 2 :
Recommendation 2 allows for delegation of approval of unanticipated future minor design changes.
CONSULTATION
Adjacent property owners as well
as area community associations 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. This is in
accordance with the municipal public participation policy regarding heritage
alterations, demolitions and infill in a heritage district.
LACAC reviewed the project on an
informal basis at its meeting of May 8, 2008 and supported the project as well
as the application to the Committee of Adjustment for relief from the heritage
overlay provisions of the Zoning By-law relating to the north half of the site.
The Ward Councillor, Diane Holmes, is
aware of this project and supports the application for new construction in the
Centretown Heritage Conservation District.
Heritage Ottawa is aware of and supports this application.
The National Capital Commission Advisory Committee on Planning Design and Realty endorsed the project as it relates to the area being considered as part of this heritage application.
The Downtown Ottawa Urban Design Review Committee felt that the images of the project along Argyle Avenue (included here as Document 2) were … “demonstrative of a good public space.”
The Centretown Citizens Community Association is aware of this application.
FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS
N/A
APPLICATION PROCESS TIMELINE STATUS
This application was completed
within the 90-day time period prescribed by the Ontario Heritage Act. The 90 day period to consider this
application under the Ontario Heritage
Act will expire on September 15, 2008
SUPPORTING DOCUMENTATION
Document 1 Location
Map
Document 2 Perspective
Views Looking West and East on Argyle
Document 3 Site
Plan
Document 4 North
Elevation of Argyle Apartments
Document 5 East Elevation of Stacked Townhouses - Building B
Document 6 Cultural Heritage Impact Statement
DISPOSITION
City Clerk’s Branch, to notify the applicant, (Barry J. Hobin & Associates Architects Incorporated, 63 Pamilla Street, Ottawa, Ontario K1S 3K7), the property owner (Centretown Citizens Ottawa Corporation, P.O. Box 2787 Station D, Ottawa, Ont. K1P 5W8) and the Ontario Heritage Trust (10 Adelaide Street, 3rd Floor, Toronto, Ontario, M5C 1J3) of Council’s decision.
PERSPECTIVE VIEWS LOOKING WEST AND EAST ON
ARGYLE DOCUMENT 2
