Metropolis to mull alterations Legion Home to permit ’iconic’ tower

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Ottawa’s constructed heritage committee is to think about a proposal on Tuesday that might incorporate midcentury facades from the Legion Home on Kent Avenue right into a 27-storey residential tower venture.

Below the proposal, the south and east facades of The Legion Home could be dismantled and reconstructed on the identical footprint utilizing the 1,200 items of present limestone cladding. The north and west facades could be “reinterpreted” utilizing new materials and a up to date design.

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A report from metropolis employees  recommends that the applying be permitted

The applying from Taggart Realty Administration covers a package deal of three properties: the Legion Home, a mid-century workplace constructing and former headquarters of the Royal Canadian Legion’s Dominion Command at 359 Kent St., and two homes at 436 and 444 MacLaren St.

The reconstructed Legion Home would have institutional or neighborhood makes use of on the Kent Avenue frontage. The 27-storey tower would include 289 residential items. There could be a four-storey crimson brick podium on the east facet of the positioning fronting on Gilmour Avenue and 4 ranges of underground parking.

The tower portion of the proposal could be set again about 2.5 metres from the Gilmour Avenue facade and three metres from the Kent Avenue facade, which might make sure that the Legion Home remained the “dominant characteristic” on the positioning, in line with the town report.

The MacLaren properties, a pair of two-and-a-half-storey brick homes constructed between 1879 and 1901, are designated beneath the Ontario Heritage Act as a part of the Centretown Heritage Conservation District. They are going to be restored and built-in into the general landscaping and web site design.

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In accordance with the proposal, 436 MacLaren St. could be used for native community-based organizations and 444 MacLaren St. would stay both as an workplace or a restaurant. In the meantime, a privately-owned public area on the north facet would exchange present parking, connecting the Legion Home with 436 and 444 MacLaren St.

Taggart’s Heritage Impression Evaluation describes the proposed tower as a “beacon.”

“Its dramatic form not solely acts as a information to the downtown core however may even be seen as a brand new iconic piece within the Ottawa skyline from the Queensway. The slender form of the tower with its sculpted facades, is designed to create visible curiosity from far and close to. A big shroud crowns the constructing and flows upwards to seize the highest of the tower. It bisects the constructing mass to emphasise the verticality of the tower and creates potentialities for out of doors areas on the higher flooring.”

The cultural heritage worth of the Centretown heritage conservation district lies in its position as an early residential neighbourhood, the town report stated. Conserving and integrating the 2 MacLaren buildings into the venture is “elementary to the general web site redevelopment and its skill to respect and keep the historic residential character of the neighbourhood.”

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Legion Home, designed by the architect J.L. Kingston, was inbuilt two phases between 1956 and 1959. The 1997 Heritage Conservation District Plan didn’t establish the Legion Home as a “contributing constructing” beneath the plan. The unique software from Taggart didn’t embody retaining the constructing.

However metropolis employees reevaluated the property and determined the Legion Home had cultural worth because the postwar headquarters for the Canadian Legion’s Dominion Command, whose main goal was to assist returning Second World Conflict veterans making an attempt to regulate to civilian life. The property has been recognized as a contributing constructing within the up to date Centretown Heritage Conservation District Plan permitted by metropolis council in 2022.

“It’s not solely the precise construction, however the position of the establishment performed in Canada’s historical past,” stated Hunter McGill, a member of the Heritage Ottawa board and its advisory committee.

Heritage Ottawa, which champions preserving heritage buildings, has had no considerations with the session course of, which has taken over two years, he stated. However there are considerations concerning the top and mass of the residential tower.

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“The district is basically two-and-a-half- to three-storey brick buildings with a number of consistency. This might be dramatically totally different,” McGill stated.

“We really feel it’s not respectful to the district and its architectural options and character.”

Heritage Ottawa plans to stipulate its objections to the venture to the constructed heritage committee on Tuesday. “It might change the character of the neighbourhood simply by advantage of its top and mass,” McGill stated.

If the constructed heritage committee approves the proposal, it should go to metropolis council.

The employees suggestions embody stipulating a four-year expiry date for heritage approval, noting that the Ontario Heritage Act doesn’t present timelines for the expiry of heritage permits.

“Given the dimensions, complexity and scope of the venture, a four-year expiry date is really useful to make sure that the venture is accomplished in a well timed vogue,” the employees report stated.

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