Heritage Ottawa skeptical after years of plans falling apart
CBC NEWS | OTTAWA, By Arthur White-Crummey
After years of false starts and missed deadlines, the owner of the long-neglected Somerset House has again put plans in motion to restore the historic structure.
The downtown Ottawa property on the corner of Bank Street and Somerset Street West was the site of the former Lockmaster and Duke of Somerset pubs.
After a partial collapse in 2007, most of the eastern half of the building was demolished. Its facade was torn down in 2016 and the 127-year-old western half remains vacant and boarded up to this day.
Earlier this month, applications were once again submitted that lay out plans to restore the derelict heritage building and add a three-storey addition where the demolished eastern half once stood.
The city's planning committee is also set to consider a zoning bylaw amendment in September as part of the application.
David Flemming of Heritage Ottawa called the plan "an ideal adaptive reuse," but he won't hold his breath that it'll lead anywhere.
He noted plans for the property have been "lurching forward" for years.
"I'll believe this when I see it," he said. "It's promising, though, and I think that's all we can hope for at this point."
Proposal copies earlier plan that went nowhere
The proposal is similar to a plan first pitched in 2017. At that time, the city granted approvals but the project went nowhere.
Centretown Community Association President Mary Huang noted Somerset House said she doesn't see anything in the current proposal that would face opposition and hopes something is finally done to animate the "important commercial corner."
"To have essentially something that's in limbo is pretty disheartening and upsetting," she said.
Like the old plan, the current one features a design from Chmiel Architects that involves the retention and restoration of the surviving building on the corner, plus a red-brick addition along Somerset of roughly the same height.
The combined structure would have retail on the ground floor and two residential storeys with a total of 14 units.
Compared to the previous plan, the new proposal calls for more brick and less glass on the front of the addition facing Somerset.
"This distinct architectural expression will re-establish the building as a landmark, breathe new life into this underutilized site, and to greatly improve the surrounding urban fabric," said a planning rationale commissioned by the owner and dated June 8.
"Considerable effort has been made to address the renovation of the existing building and design of the new addition, in a style that is complementary, yet distinct to the former."
Long history of 'egregious' neglect
The building is owned by TKS Holdings, whose owner Tony Shahrasebi did not respond to CBC News requests for comment.
According to previous reports to council and its committees, TKS has repeatedly ignored orders to remediate the property in what several councillors have called an "egregious" case of demolition by neglect.
For the past 16 years the city has used its bureaucratic gavel on Shahrasebi — a total of 28 building code orders, 11 notices of violation and six property standards orders.
The city and the property owner have also disagreed on whether to demolish or preserve the building.
As recently as March 2022, Shahrasebi submitted a report arguing the building must be demolished. Staff responded with deadlines for 28 "urgent" actions to ensure the safety and preservation of the building.
By last June, they noted the owner had already missed two such deadlines.
According to a city statement to CBC, investigations later determined the foundation had been underpinned and was not at an immediate risk of collapse. The city explained the owner has done rehabilitation work and metal and masonry stabilization work over the past year, while also cleaning out the interior of the building.
Shahrasebi's new applications are now up for public consultation.
Flemming said the city needs to think about extreme measures such as expropriating the building if the current plan ends up like the old ones.
Related:
Saving Somerset House | CBC Radio All in a Day, June 22, 2023 | with Heritage Ottawa's David Flemming
Heritage Ottawa Opposes Demolition by Neglect of Somerset House | June 30, 2016