The idle state of Somerset House may be damaging business in the surrounding Somerset Village, experts say.
The heritage building was partially demolished after a failed renovation in 2007 which saw the collapse of its rear wall. It has sat vacant due to legal battles between owner Tony Shahrasebi and the city over who should pay for closing the street for three months in 2007 when the site was deemed dangerous.
The defunct building, which most recently housed the Duke of Somerset pub, sits empty at the corner of Bank and Somerset.
This does not sit well with Derek Crain, Somerset Village BIA chair and the building's architect.
“These two parties, the city and the owner, have struck hard lines and when that happens the public are the losers,” Crain says.
The owner wants to settle the case before spending more money to restore the building but, Crain says, “What’s more important is to get the city centre functioning.”
Crain says plywood walls around the site block the sidewalk and hurt pedestrian circulation.
“As BIA chair, I’ve encouraged the owner that if this lawsuit is going to go on to remove the wall to open up the sidewalk,” he says.
Dwight Williams, a blogger for Spacing Ottawa, a magazine about urban infrastructure, calls Somerset House an “anchor point.”
“It’s something that everybody in the neighbourhood uses as a mental reference point,” he says.
Crain and Williams agree it affects nearby businesses.
“There have been three failed restaurants in the last year, there might be another,” Crain says.
Williams says he has an “irrational fear” Somerset House and empty restaurants nearby could repel potential business owners.
Rocco Manfredi, a real estate agent for one of the closed restaurants, says the state of Somerset House, visible from the property he is selling, is not a concern.
“It is an eyesore but you have to see beyond that, and I think most people do,” Manfredi says.
The future of Somerset House is uncertain. Crain says the four-year battle may become too much for the owner. “As time goes on I think there is an increased threat that the owner might apply to demolish the building."
Williams says this would mean “another piece of history gone.”