Committee approves expanding Heritage Façade Improvement Program

The Built Heritage Committee today approved expanding the Centretown Heritage Façade Improvement Program to help more downtown property owners restore and improve historic buildings. The program contributes to the City’s downtown revitalization efforts.

The program would be expanded to include designated heritage properties throughout the downtown core, including the ByWard Market. It includes two types of funding: 

• Beautification supports improving commercial storefronts to better contribute to the area’s historic character through things like signage, lighting and accessibility improvements.
• Heritage Conservation supports restoring and conserving properties that contribute to the area’s heritage value through work on windows, doors, sign bands, structural improvements, masonry repointing and reinstatement of missing heritage attributes.

The program would fund up to 75 per cent of eligible costs, to a maximum of $75,000. Funding and staff resourcing would be considered as part of the 2027 budget process.

The program will be open to properties designated under Part IV of the Ontario Heritage Act, as well as to contributing or Grade one, two or three properties within Heritage Conservation Districts. Eligible properties would be located in the following areas:

• Bank Street between Wellington and Catherine streets
• Sparks Street
• Elgin Street between Lisgar and Argyle streets
• Within the ByWard Market Heritage Conservation District
• Rideau Street between Sussex Drive and King Edward Avenue
• Dalhousie Streets, within the Lowertown West Heritage Conservation District
• Somerset Street West between Bank and O'Connor streets

Today’s approval would also enhance the Heritage Property Grant Program by increasing matching-grant funding for small-scale heritage restoration projects. The maximum contribution would increase from $10,000 to $15,000. The evaluation process would also change, to help staff in dealing with increased volume and complexity of applications.

The Committee approved heritage designation for five properties designed by Ottawa architect, James Strutt, a prominent local architect known for his modernist designs. Strutt’s best known works include the Strutt House in Gatineau, the Westboro Beach Pavilions, the former Canadian Nurses Association headquarters at 50 The Driveway, and the former Uplands Airport terminal.

The properties to be designated include:

• 20 Qualicum Street
• 211 Cunningham Avenue
• 915 Merivale Road
• 1099 Maitland Avenue
• 3955 Old Richmond Road

These properties all have design value as rare, unique or representative examples of Modernist architecture in Ottawa. The three churches on the list (3955 Old Richmond, 915 Merivale and 1099 Maitland) represent significant Modernist approaches to religious architecture while the house at 20 Qualicum Street demonstrates a high degree of artistic merit. It is designed around a mature maple tree and has a distinctive, C‑shaped form organized around an internal courtyard.

The house at 211 Cunningham, like that on Qualicum Street, demonstrates exceptional geometric experimentation and integration with the site, departing from conventional Modernist residential forms. It is known as Gibson house and was named after James Gibson – a prominent Canadian academic and public servant. Gibson served as founding president of Brock University, and as a professor and first Dean of Arts and Science at Carleton University. He was also a senior staff member to Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King during the Second World War.

The Committee approved adopting a new Heritage Conservation District (HCD) Plan for the Bank Street HCD. An updated statement of heritage character reflects the evolution of the area since its original designation in 2000. Staff reviewed all buildings in the district to determine which have since been altered, restored or removed. Properties were then reviewed and classified for their contributions to the district’s cultural heritage value.

The classification for the following three properties was changed from contributing to non-contributing:

• 215 Slater Street: The building that existed at the time of the survey has been demolished, and the site re-developed.
• 140 Bank Street (Snider Plaza): The buildings that existed at the time of the survey were demolished and the site is now vacant.
• 208 Slater Street: Alterations to the building have substantially diminished its culture heritage value. 

The district still includes 16 contributing properties, along with five non-contributing properties.

City Council will consider the recommendations from today’s meeting on Wednesday, June 24

• Agenda