Committee approves heritage reconstruction build in Ottawa’s Centretown

OTTAWA — Ottawa’s Planning and Housing Committee has approved a proposal to dismantle and reconstruct a five-storey heritage building in the city’s Centretown district as part of a plan to erect a 27-storey residential building.

The committee approved Official Plan and zoning amendments for the project earlier this month. The proposal will be going to the city’s Built Heritage Committee in January and to council on Jan. 24.

The project proponent is listed as 359 Kent Street Ltd. and the architect is Hobin Architecture.

The Centretown site is currently occupied by a five-storey office building — the Legion building — and surface parking at 359 Kent St. and two two-and-a-half storey former residential buildings, currently being used for offices.

The new tower is proposed to be primarily residential with 289 dwelling units and will consist of a four- and five-storey podium with a tower oriented to the southwest corner of the site at Kent Street and Gilmour Street. The podium will include the reconstruction of the Legion building at the southwest corner of the site with transition to a new four-storey red-brick podium to the east of the site fronting on Gilmour Street.

The application was submitted under the Landmark Buildings policies in the Centretown Secondary Plan, which can permit additional height for buildings that are deemed to make “significant and exceptional contributions to the public realm and the overall identity of Centretown,” stated a release.

The reconstructed building would be integrated with the new building, and the ground floor of Legion House would have an institutional or community use. Landscaped privately owned public space is proposed to the north, where the two retained MacLaren Street heritage buildings would be integrated with the overall landscaping and site design.

The applicant will still need to submit a site plan application to ensure they deliver the public space, use sustainable building methods, have the design reviewed by a special review panel and retain the heritage resources, in line with Landmark Buildings policies, stated the release.