By Allen Brown
The City of Ottawa’s Built Heritage Committee (BHC) recommended demolition of three heritage buildings on St. Patrick Street at their meeting on September 10, 2024. It was a sad and frustrating decision for community advocates. Curiously, on the advice of city legal counsel, a week earlier city council waived the demolition permit fees to avoid litigation by the owner, Brian Dagenais. Councillor Ariel Troster worried that “waiving the demolition fees . . . allows bad actors to allow their properties to decay, and then be financially rewarded for doing so.” What’s more, the demolition permit was not accompanied by any proposal to rebuild.
A Lowertown Community Association (LCA) proposal to require the owner to replicate the façade of the existing buildings in any new construction was considered by the BHC. In a positive first step, an amendment proposed by Rideau-Vanier Ward Councillor, Stephanie Plante, and approved by the BHC would: “Direct staff to consider the historic architectural expression of the existing buildings and the contribution they make to the streetscape in the evaluation of any future application for new construction…”
Representing the LCA Heritage Committee, Josiah Frith noted that the LCA had been watching with concern the deterioration of these properties. Constructed between 1851 and 1878, they are among the oldest in the district with compelling histories. Their demolition by neglect is a huge loss for Ottawa.
In 1990, they were in “excellent” condition, yet roughly thirty years later, an engineering firm hired by the city concluded that their condition warrants demolition. In their report, the firm described a process of cumulative neglect citing a, “‘Do Nothing’ approach to maintenance, upkeep, occupancy and use [that] has been adopted continually for an extended period of time.” It advised that, “Such structures require the early and aggressive intervention of owners and Authorities having jurisdiction so as to prevent their loss.”
The demolition of three significant buildings demonstrates that interventions by owners and the City of Ottawa (including By-Law enforcement) have been woefully inadequate and raises questions about the long-term viability of Lowertown’s heritage conservation district. The LCA asked that the city make it clear that there would be consequences for demolition by neglect, as well as more effective measures to encourage owners to address ongoing neglect, essentially calling for the BHC to consider better carrots and better sticks.
One way would be for the BHC to consider establishing stringent requirements for new buildings that would replace those demolished by neglect, for example establishing a requirement to reconstruct replicas of (or incorporate existing) façades within any new redevelopment. This would at least send a message to owners that negligence doesn’t pay and would help prevent the inexorable and permanent disappearance of this vital historic district over the next few decades.
The LCA and Heritage Ottawa therefore requested Council to take such action with regard to the St. Patrick Street properties. Unfortunately, we were unsuccessful, perhaps because Council feared that such action would delay demolition and risk an appeal by the owner to the Ontario Land Tribunal.
A recording of the BHC meeting is available on YouTube. The St. Patrick development conversation begins 34 minutes into the video.