HERITAGE OTTAWA

City Council has approved the creation of the  have been researching the history and development of the Carlington North Veterans’ Housing neighbourhood as a "Heritage Character Area".

City staff researched the history and development of the area before making the recommendation, which was supported by the Built Heritage Sub-Committee and Planning Committee in April. The study area, bounded by Carling Avenue to the north, Fisher Avenue to the east, General and Marshall Avenue to the south and Merivale Road to the west, is a relatively intact example of the subdivisions created during the mid-to-late 1940s by Wartime Housing Limited, a federal Crown corporation that built and managed housing for returning veterans during the nation-wide housing shortage following the Second World War.

Lands comprising the proposed Heritage Character Area were once the home of J. R. Booth’s Nepean lumber yard (also known as the City View yards). After wartime demand for lumber eliminated its supply, the Crown acquired the land for Wartime Housing Limited. 

Subdivisions on the land, built from 1945 to 1947, and are the only known Wartime Housing Limited subdivisions located within the amalgamated city of Ottawa.

The economical and efficient patterns of roadways, cul-de-sacs, curved streets, median islands and parklands complement the buildings, while characterizing and contributing to a distinct sense of place that reflects the history of veterans housing in both Ottawa and Canada.

City heritage staff consulted with area residents and stakeholders throughout key phases of the study. 

Although this recognition includes recommended guidelines for the future development in the neighbourhood, it must be stated that proposed changes to a Heritage Character Area do not require the approval of Council, unlike a designated Heritage Conservation District which is protected by the Ontario Heritage Act.

City Council also approved the recommendation of designations under Part IV of the Ontario Heritage Act for Harrold Place Park, and for the former St. Peter's Anglican Church on Merivale Road (now St. Teklehaimanot's Church), designed in the late 1950s by modernist architect James Strutt.

For more information on the Carlington Veterans' Housing neighbourhood, visit the City of Ottawa website or view the city staff's Guidelines and Historic Context document.