Council approves application to alter former St. Brigid’s Church

Council today approved an application to alter the former St. Brigid’s Church at 310 St. Patrick Street, reflecting the building’s evolution as an event space. The owners have applied to remove the pews from the nave of the church, and to replace them with hardwood flooring. Originally, the church served as the parish for the Irish Catholic working class of Lowertown. When the building was first designated in 1981, the adaptive re-use of the building had been limited by the specific language used for the interior designation, which restricts the space to being used as a place of worship. The interior was added to the designation to recognize and protect its vaulted ceilings, polychromed walls, carved woodwork, pews, organ, altar and stained-glass windows. Council approved designating 8 Robert Kemp Street under Part IV of the Ontario Heritage Act. The property meets six of nine criteria for designation. The house, on a corner lot in the Kempark subdivision, was originally built in 1958 for the Central Canada Exhibition (CCE) home lottery at Lansdowne Park. It was the grand prize at the 1958 fair and was built for display before being moved to its permanent location. Kempark boasts five other CCE lottery homes that were built at Lansdowne Park and then relocated. Council approved designating the building at 66 Queen Street under Part IV of the Ontario Heritage Act. The property meets five of nine criteria for designation and is a rare remaining example of an early 20th century commercial building in Centretown. The building is associated with James W. Woods and the Woods Manufacturing Company, one of Canada’s best-known outdoor outfitters. It showcases the work of James Mather who was one of Ottawa’s most prominent late 19th and early 20th century architects. While many of Mather’s buildings have been demolished, this is a relatively unaltered example of his early 20th century work. Constructed in 1903 as a warehouse and factory, the building has since been used as office, residential and commercial space. Council approved reimposing city-wide development charges to recover growth-related capital costs of development-related studies, including background studies. The Province removed the City’s ability to impose development charges for such studies in November 2022, and reversed that decision earlier this year, in June, under Bill 185.  For more information on City programs and services, visit ottawa.ca, call 3-1-1 (TTY: 613-580-2401) or 613-580-2400 to contact the City using Canada Video Relay Service. You can also connect with us through Facebook, X (Twitter) and Instagram. Related topics

• Agenda