By Julie Afelskie
For now the corner of Bank and Gilmour remains empty but there are hopes of a new deal.
The planned demolition of one building and the renovation of another on the corner of Bank and Gilmour streets to make way for the Euroflat condominium project has been cancelled. The buildings may now be sold to investment company Stramore Inc.
“The buildings will not be torn down but rather will be cleaned and fixed up to make way for new renters,” says Dave Simpson, consultant for Stramore Inc.
“I spent a lot of money on construction and to obtain vacancy of the building and they’re going to take advantage of that,” says Craig Callan-Jones, president of Teknicity, which currently owns the buildings.
Callan-Jones and Simpson both say the deal is not yet finalized but Callan-Jones speculated it would be by November.
The last couple of months have seen owners being evicted from Ironwood Café, 7th Heaven Futons, and Electric Works — as well as several residents.
This has given the appearance of a ghost town to a once bustling part of Ottawa. The only businesses left in the two buildings are US Hair Design and a gay and lesbian bookstore, After Stonewall.
Reactions to the new plan have been mixed.
“We’re disappointed. It would have been awesome to have 41 new condominiums with their owners to bring business into the area,” says Frank Saab, owner of US Hair Design.
Saab and others remain optimistic.
“We’re hopeful about this area attracting prospective upscale retailers that would compliment us and make the neighborhood more dynamic,” Saab says.
“Bank Street is not the kind of street that it could be, aside from certain areas in the Glebe. It was turning out to be one of the most prosperous places in the neighbourhood and now there’s nothing there. They’ve screwed up and they’ve screwed up big time,” says Alia Offman, long-time employee of Ironwood Café.
“We wanted to stay there. We had built that business out of a labour of love. The whole thing didn’t have to happen. That’s what’s stupid. He didn’t have to kick us out,” said Glenn Saunders, owner and head chef at Ironwood Café. “He could have given us more time by saying ‘when things are solid, then we’ll act.’”
Alvin Roy, owner of 7th Heaven Futons, conveyed many of the same feelings.
“They were kind of rude. We would call over the rumours we were hearing and they wouldn’t return our calls,” said Roy.
Businesses were not the only ones to be affected. Jeff Kerr, a former resident of one of the Bank and Gilmour Street apartments, said he and four other tenants were evicted, in retrospect, for nothing.
Kerr admitted he was paid off to have his lease broken, but thought it best not to reveal the amount. He also said that Callan-Jones helped him find a new place to live, though his rent was almost doubled.
“It was basically annoying. They did everything that they had to do under the law to appease us as tenants. The guy has got more on his plate than he can handle. I don’t think that he ever really considered the human consequences,” said Kerr.
“He just thought everybody would be happy if he paid them money.”