The city’s Built Heritage advisory committee’s approval of the renovation plan for Somerset House confirms the former hotel and Bank Street hub will be restored after prolonged lawsuits resulted in the building’s deterioration.
Court cases between the city and building owner Tony Shahrasebi began in October 2007 after part of Somerset House collapsed, causing years of neglect for the landmark.
“This is an important milestone for the building, and hopefully the end of a long nightmare for the city and the owner,” says Barry Padolsky, vice-chairman of the committee.
The Victorian-influenced Somerset House, located on the corner of Bank Street and Somerset Street, was built in 1896, and has a long history of being a centre of Ottawa’s social scene while it was known as the Ritz Hotel from the 1930s to 1960s.
The committee’s approval on Oct. 10 ensures renewal of the heritage site after years of being supported by steel braces and covered in tarps, graffiti and boards.
“When the back of the building fell, it was a sad moment for everyone in the community," says Coun. Jan Harder.
Bank Street and the battles that occurred for months after, this is truly great news,” says Harder, who chairs the Built Heritage committee.
Shahrasebi purchased the building in 2005 and launched a renovation plan in 2007 in an attempt to restore the building.
On Oct. 19, 2007, while a work crew was in the basement, a key support was knocked out, partially crumbling the southeast wall. The collapse trapped a worker in a Bobcat for nearly two hours while police, firefighters, and paramedics attempted to rescue him.
After the collapse, the police closed four city blocks that surrounded Somerset House. Barricades from O’Connor Street to Kent Street, and from MacLaren Street to Cooper Street restricted vehicle and pedestrian traffic for two months as engineers braced the structure so it wouldn’t disintegrate onto passersby.
This ended work on the building, prompting a series of lawsuits between the city and Shahrasebi over who was responsible for public-safety costs.
This legal entanglement was finally settled last December when Shahrasebi agreed to pay the city $650,000 in policing and firefighting costs, and to end a countersuit. The city decided to waive additional encroachment fees.
Nearly a year after the settlement, council successfully approved reconstruction plans from architect Derek Crain.
The plan aims to maintain the building’s heritage look by refurbishing the brick and traditional exterior details of Somerset House’s Bank Street façade while modernizing the newer section on Somerset Street.
Both parts of the building were approximately the same height but the older section had three tall floors while the newer section squeezed in four.
A glass wall and ceiling will replace the upper story of the Somerset Street section.
The plan also includes a completely new, modern interior and the addition of bay windows and an ornamental corner tower.
“The Somerset House was built in the early 20th century, so we want the design to be contemporary and distinguishable while being sympathetic to the heritage character of that time,” says Sally Coutts, planning co-ordinator of Ottawa Heritage Planning Services.“We want to enhance the building’s classic properties.”
The refashioned Somerset House will likely feature retail space at the street level with office space on the upper floors,
The plan still needs approval from the planning committee and city council. The owner will have two years to complete the project.