Robert Smythe
Will a third time be the charm for the empty lot at the corner of Bank and Florence Street? This tiny property has stood vacant for nearly 20 years. Successive proposals for mixed-use retail/residential developments have come and gone.
The zoning bylaw classifies this site as a Traditional Mainstreet zone. It permits new structures of approximately six storeys and mandates that the street frontage at sidewalk level be commercial. Parking requirements are virtually zero.
Both the City of Ottawa Official Plan and the Centretown Community Design Plan amplify this with further design guidelines dictating the building’s mass, height, finishes, materials and its compatibility with the surrounding area. Finally, the property is located in the Centretown Heritage Conservation District which carries its own strictures.
To back up 130 years or so, local hardware magnate Thomas Birkett chose this corner lot to erect his Centretown branch, with a residence for manager Wm. Rankin and family above. Rankin would eventually take over the business and move across Florence Street to build Ottawa’s largest hardware store. But that is another story!
The 408 Bank Street site then served a variety of uses, including a well-known tailor shop and, finally, as Milano’s Pizza. The building was destroyed by fire in 2005, resulting in a property that remains vacant to this day.
Interest in developing the property languished until 2006, when Galaxy Camera was seeking a new store location on Bank Street. City of Ottawa heritage staff rejected their proposal, a rather cheeky design dominated by bright orange with a bold Mondrian-ish inspired panel inserted on the Bank Street frontage.
The planners adhered to the guidelines for new development in this historic corridor which held that, “An infill should be of contemporary design, distinguishable as being of its 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.”
Liking the decidedly non-self-effacing design by late architect Gary R. Stunden, City Council overturned this recommendation and approved the Galaxy development but, ultimately, it didn’t proceed.
The owner turned to a new architect in 2012 for a reprise of the same building program: a ground floor store with five floors of very compact units above. Designer Brian Clark wrapped the project in a more conventional skin of red brick piers infilled with stucco, which was approved because “it evokes the character of Bank Street in this area.” Heritage permits were issued and then lapsed unused after two years.
Which brings us to the appearance of the 2021 project (also by Clark) currently under consideration by city planning staff. They have provided this very complicated analysis: “The ground floor facade along Bank Street is highly transparent with glazing and contains architectural details and materials carried throughout its faces and into the upper levels. The 2nd to 4th storeys contain a more simple and consistent rhythm, achieved with smaller window openings and masonry materials. The upper level provides differentiation with darker masonry. Red brick masonry is carried through these upper levels in the southeast corner, creating the illusion of a turreted design.”
On a more practical level, the building will contain 30 apartments, mostly micro-units ranging from 20 to 24 square metres. There’s no residents’ parking but one visitor’s space, which also serves as an internal loading zone, and parking for 15 bikes. A height increase from 19 to 21 metres is being sought. Since only a few of the residential units have balconies, and there’s no open yard, 181 square metres of amenity space is provided in the basement.
The micro-apartment is a type that has emerged in many American cities with an affordable housing crisis. There are few examples in Canada. It is aimed at carless, lower-income singles and students willing to live in a space this small. With on-site services, they would also be suitable for special-needs housing.
The same developer has just completed a smaller-scaled project nearby on Frank Street, another example of a type of housing that’s much needed in the Bank Street corridor regardless of any esoteric design considerations.