According to a news report in the Ottawa Citizen dated Feb. 4, 2013, a Lowertown schoolhouse is at risk of collapse.

The city has ordered that the building at 287 Cumberland Street, the former Our Lady School built in 1904, be blocked off because it poses a hazard to pedestrians and passing traffic given its deteriorating condition.

The building, a Category 2 structure in the Lowertown East Heritage Conservation District, has been boarded up and neglected for years. Efforts to introduce a demolition-by-neglect by-law have so far not borne fruit. Neglected buildings can be found in various locations throughout the city, but Lowertown and Sandy Hill have more than their fair share. The previous City Council drafted but never enacted a demoltion-by-neglect by-law.

Heritage Ottawa has brought the subject of demolition-by-neglect to the attention of Council on several occasions, most recently with respect to the Ogilvy Building at 124 Rideau Street. We encourage the current Council to seize this opportunity to move foward with enactment of a demolition-by-neglect bylaw.

The Lowertown Community Association is concerned by the City's recent actions. Heritage Ottawa continues to monitor the situation closely.