Brushing aside concerns from Somerset Ward Coun. Diane Holmes, city council today gave the green light to the controversial Cathedral Hill project.
With only Holmes voting against, councillors approved the project that has been 20 years in the making. The development includes a 21-storey condominium tower, a row of four townhouses and a 12-storey office building around Christ Church Cathedral on Sparks Street.â¨
While Holmes supported most of the project, she reiterated her objections to what she called a secretive development process and the proposed height of the condominium tower.
At 73 metres high, it is more than three times the height allowed in the area.
The plan also calls for the partial demolition of Cathedral Hall.â¨Initially, the condominium tower was supposed to be 21 metres high, but grew to 73 metres in five in-camera planning meetings that reviewed the proposal. â¨
Coun. Peter Hume, chair of councils planning committee, defended both the process and the development.â¨
He said there was sufficient public consultation and that the development was a trade-off between a long, tall, skinny building and one that was short and squat.
â¨The development had previously been approved by the planning committee and Ottawa Built Heritage Advisory Committee.