HERITAGE OTTAWA

The City of Ottawa has received a Site Plan Application for Phases 3 and 4 of the Ottawa Hospital Master Plan consisting of a Central Utility Plant, the main Hospital building as well as important landscape changes to accommodate access to the hospital, and completion of the construction of pathways through the site. 

The Site Plan for Phases 3 and 4 and related documents are posted on the City’s website HERE. 

The public is invited to attend a VIRTUAL INFORMATION SESSION via Zoom on February 9, 2023 at 6:30 pm, where the applicant will present their plans and answer questions. Register HERE to participate.

Heritage Ottawa Responds

Heritage Ottawa was invited to provide input on impacts of the Plan to the Central Experimental Farm’s important heritage attributes. Comments were submitted to the City, Parks Canada, the NCC, and the applicant in January that focused on landscaping, Maple and Birch Drives, Buffers, the Dominion Observatory Complex, and Prince of Wales Drive. 

Here is a summary. (To read Heritage Ottawa’s submission in full, CLICK HERE.)

Landscaping

• The line of trees planned to act as a buffer on the northwest, west, and southwest edges is too thin to be effective, and should be widened.

Maple and Birch Drives

• These roads were never intended for the frequent trips and types of heavy vehicles that would be using these laneways during construction, and afterwards once the hospital is operational.
• Impacts to Buildings 59, 60, and the Saunders Building have not been adequately examined, given the heavy traffic envisaged. The Dominion Observatory Complex isn’t the only heritage resource under threat.
• Dust, vibration and noise will travel beyond the 60-meter impact area assessed. The fairly fragile heritage features such as the Greenhouse complex, the Arboretum, and the Ornamental Gardens should be similarly considered.

Dominion Observatory Complex

• The Cultural Heritage Impact Statement for the New Campus Development for the Ottawa Hospital (CHIS) states that there are "no known plans to replace the telescope at this time." It is our understanding that the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada, Ottawa Centre has made it clear that there are indeed such plans.
• The proposed expansion of the hospital’s north tower to widen it and increase its height, and the subsequent impact to the Dominion Observatory Complex, has not been assessed at all. 

Prince of Wales Drive

• On the southern edge of the site, where the future Heart Institute may come to rest, there is little thought given to buffering at this point, and to the potential impact to the Arboretum across the road. Thoughtful buffering and other landscaping features were applied along the Prince of Wales edge and the parkade, and similar design principles ought to be applied along the southwest edge.
• A view is offered (in the Site Plan) past the Saunders Building from the south/southwest towards the proposed hospital. A better perspective would be from the east side looking up Birch Drive. In either case, the view would benefit from increased tree plantings to remove the heightened wings of the hospital from view, and to accentuate the setting of the Saunders Building proper. 

To read Heritage Ottawa’s full submission, CLICK HERE.