The plan for a nine-storey building at the southwest corner of Bank and Flora streets promises to “continue the historic commercial character of Bank Street,” and “won’t harm the overall cultural heritage value of the area,” say city staff in a report to the heritage advisory committee.
According to the report, the proposed new building at 488-500 Bank St. is to be made of brick, steel and glass with stores at the ground level. The building will replace the existing two-storey commercial building, which houses European Glass and Paint.
When the proposal was first reviewed in March 2012, city staff raised concern about the new building “compromising both the heritage character of the building and the heritage conversation district,” according to the report. However, staff concluded that replacing the building is okay from a heritage standpoint.
488 Bank St. is currently home to European Glass and Paint, which has been in business since 1958 in this location. Allan Baker, who started at European Glass and Paint in 1966, said he is optimistic about the move to a new location on Woodward Ave. in mid-February. “It will be more efficient for us, since the new location is all one level,” he says.
Baker agreed that the proposed new building will enhance the beauty of Centretown. “It will improve this property and improve Centretown as a community, 100 per cent,” he said.
Rob Dekker, vice-president of the Centretown Citizens Community Association, said he has heard of the proposal, and has brought forward some suggestions to the city.
Dekker said he is not against the new development, but wants to make sure the new building fits with the rest of the Centretown buildings, especially those in the neighbouring blocks.
“We are looking for some change in the design of the new building. We want the brick façade of the current building to remain, as opposed to using more glass and steel,” he said.
“There’s always the debate of ‘how much is too much?’ in terms of maintaining the heritage aspect,” Dekker added.
Under provisions of the Ontario Heritage Act, council must approve the proposal before construction can begin. When a new building is proposed inside a heritage conservation area, a cultural heritage impact report must be conducted to review the building plan, according to the report. This is meant to assure that the proposed building will “not adversely impact the cultural heritage value of the district, and/or its streetscape/ neighbourhood.”
An advisory committee is to discuss the heritage elements of the proposal on Thursday.