Wide windows, exposed wood, and blocky proportions continue to redefine the face of Centretown streets.
In accordance with the city’s ongoing intensification plans, Little Italy is expected to witness more unconventional condos, including the upcoming replacement of small white house on Elm Street by a pricey Frank Lloyd Wright-inspired complex, made up of four apartments.
The project’s architect, Jason Flynn, says it’s time Ottawa saw some cutting-edge design.
“We have limits to what a government town has previously been accepting of. But I think, if we’re going to be the capital of Canada, let’s take a step forward and show them what we’re made of. I think there’s some room for it,” he says.
“Contemporary architecture has taken the backseat, but there seems to be real interest in it now, and people are seeing that there is some value in it. It’s something that people shouldn’t be scared of. It doesn’t have to be something that’s difficult to understand or unapproachable.”
The city has acted on its promises to bring more families to the downtown core and has so far been willing to support his designs. Flynn’s condos are awaiting final approval. But building downtown, he notes, still presents challenges that don’t exist in the suburbs. Strict zoning restrictions, a lack of space, and a lack of parking, all make infill housing difficult to design.
Eric Darwin, president of the Dalhousie Community Association, lives on the lot behind the proposed infill project. The look being proposed is already being reflected in developments throughout the neighborhood, says Darwin, pointing to the corrugated iron and colourful panels on Gladstone condos, and more modern designs in Little Italy.
“I like the modern design,” says Darwin. “It’s got some texture and some grit to it.” He admits the Elm Street concept might be “jarring” at first glance but says “it’s not a bad look at all.”
He says he’s happy about the project, but wary of the broader effects of intensification
“The question, when new young professionals move in, and condos are built, is who are they displacing? What’s happening to affordable housing? It’s disappearing.”
He points to a decline in the number of seniors in Centretown as evidence of the effects of development.
He’s also concerned, he says, that newcomers to the area won’t participate in the community, and Little Italy could be suburbanized.
The new condos will be considerably more expensive than most of the surrounding housing. The character of Centretown, Darwin says, lies more in the lifestyle it represents than the buildings themselves.
“Pedestrian-friendliness and participation,” he says, are the backbone of the downtown lifestyle.
Flynn says middle-class attitudes are changing in regards to where people want to live.
“There seems to be a feeling that maybe we’ve missed out on community by pushing further and further out of the city,” he says, “we’re not all models, and we don’t all live in model homes.”