By Kristy Moffitt
An Ottawa landmark has been located at 144 Wellington St. since the 1930s. The Bank of Montreal is yet another business leaving the Sparks Street Mall and taking with it much-needed pedestrian traffic. It will be moving to its new location at 269 Laurier Ave. as of April 29.
Two years ago, during its contract negotiations with its landlord, the federal Department of Public Works, the bank was told its lease was being ended. Renovations are needed on the walls, roof and windows of the building and Public Works says the work would be too disruptive for the tenants.
Michael Edmonds, a spokesperson for the Bank of Montreal, calls the bank one of the “crown jewels” of Canadian banking. “We’re certainly very disappointed,” he says. “They just don’t make buildings like that anymore.”
Sparks Street business owners are disappointed to see the bank leave.
“Losing any business on this street is very sad,” says Sharon McKenna, manager of Sparks Street Mall. “But this is one of our grandfather buildings. It’s a beautiful, beautiful building – one of my favourites.”
The bank brings in much needed pedestrian traffic to the Sparks Street Mall. Many buildings in the mall are now occupied by government offices and, therefore, the mall is often deserted after the business day ends.
McKenna says she has heard rumours that the building will be used for temporary office space while Parliament Hill’s West Block is being renovated this June.
“Those are just rumours,” she says, adding that she would like to see another business move into the building.
“Public Works told us they had new plans for the facility,” says Edmonds. However, they have yet to unveil what those plans are for the building’s future.
Louise Proulx, senior communications officer for Public Works, says they are“currently examining various options for this very important heritage building.”
She says that public access to the building is something that is being discussed.
The Bank of Montreal has been occupying the space since 1932. It is bordered by Wellington, O’Connor and Sparks streets.
The bank went from being an owner to being a tenant of the building when it was expropriated by the federal government in 1973.
It was one of several buildings along Sparks St. that was purchased by the federal government in the 1970s because they were historic and close to parliament.
The Bank of Nova Scotia is an example of one building that was purchased. It was closed to the public for years, but since 2001, has been used as the temporary facility for the Library of Parliament during its renovation.
The Bank of Montreal will re-locate to 269 Laurier Ave. “There will be no disruption in service to our customers. We’re looking forward to serving them in our new, modern facility,” says Edmonds.