By Katie DeRosa
A pub is facing the threat of demolition for the second time in five years. City officials are hopeful a major building project that would take the pub’s place would revitalize its area of Bank street..
The plan, still under consideration, is to demolish the popular James Street Feed Company to make way for a new multi-purpose building, according to city planner Doug Bridgewater.
He says the six-storey building will have five floors of apartments, commercial condominiums and space for retail shops at street level.
But what might set the building apart from the other developments on Bank Street can be found underground.
A theatre planned for the second underground level will be available as a small entertainment venue. Bridgewater says the building will also have at least four levels of underground parking.
This is not the first time that the one-storey sports bar has faced the threat of demolition during its 15 years of operation.
Gerry LePage, executive director of the Bank Street Promenade Business Improvement Area, says five years ago a project was planned for the same site but was pulled at the last minute.
The owner of the James Street Feed Company refused to comment.
Bridgewater confirmed that the owner of the bar leases the space from the landowner. The current landowner is the one proposing the project, he says. They are listed on the site plan application as a numbered, private company.
Bridgewater says he is still waiting for the landowner to submit a traffic study before the city can give the project its stamp of approval. Plans for the building have been in the works since 2004 but things have been moving slowly, he says.
“We have to look at the impact of this facility on Bank Street and James Street, it’s not complete yet,” says Bridgewater. “After that we’ll know whether it’s likely to get approved.”
Somerset Ward Coun. Diane Holmes also says the project has moved slower than others since 2004, but once the final details are in, it could move forward quite quickly.
Holmes says she received positive feedback from residents during the project’s public consultations.
LePage says he thinks construction is on track for this spring.
He says the new building is a needed addition for the Bank Street Centretown area, which has been thriving recently with new developments.
“When you look at the type of use that is there now, while it’s served its purpose, I think it’s a good indication that developers are starting to redevelop the properties for highest and best use,” says LePage.
“Developers have realized Bank Street is the last bastion for development…and have been acting on that for years,” he says.
New condominiums are also charted for Strathcona and Bank streets. More are planned on top of the new Galaxy camera store to be built at Flora and Bank streets, on the same block as the Feed Company.
As more developers set their sights on Bank Street as a prime location, Holmes says the city is careful to make sure to leave room for the small businesses in the area, which give Bank Street its charm.
LePage says attracting more people to live in the downtown area will give surrounding businesses a leg up.
“Not only will it help the small businesses but it will help redefine the small businesses to cater to the lifestyles of those new residents more accurately,” he says.
Katy Jago, a 20-year-old Centretown resident, says she will be sad if the bar is closed. She and a large group of friends go there every other week for hockey and wings.
“It’s too bad because it’s owned by one person, it’s not a chain, so it’s always sad to see a business like that close down,” she says.