The city has been awarded a settlement in a legal battle over Somerset House on Bank and Somerset streets. The fate of the heritage building is still uncertain.
The future of a heritage building on Somerset Street is still unclear, despite a partial settlement between the City of Ottawa and the owner of the building.
Tony Shahrasebi, owner of Somerset House, has been ordered to pay back the city $316,000 for the money it spent on emergency measure costs when part of the heritage building collapsed in 2007.
The rear wall of the building collapsed and left a worker trapped for two hours, prompting the city to close off nearby streets for eight weeks.
The city spent money on the partial demolition of the building, street light removal and road closures, among other things related to an emergency order issued in Nov. 2007.
The building, located at 352 Somerset St., is now boarded up, vandalized and its rear wall is held in place by a large steel frame to prevent it from further collapsing.
It has been vacant for four years while the city and Shahrasebi were locked in a court battle.
In December, the Ontario Superior Court ordered Shahrasebi to pay back 75 per cent of the $428,000 the city spent after the collapse of the building.
In a memo from the city clerk and solicitor Rick O’Connor to city councilors, O’Connor wrote the city took precautions and required a complete demolition of the building based on a potential collapse.
Shahrasebi then obtained a court order to have the demolition done in stages to preserve the building. According to the memo, both sides agreed to have the demolition carried out in stages. Demolition would stop when the century-old building was safe enough for workers to enter and assess the space for further work.
The city went to court in 2008 to recover the costs associated with the emergency order.
At the end of December 2011, Ontario Superior Court Justice Robert Beaudoin sided with the City of Ottawa stating that the city was in the right to demolish the building. The city continues to seek the remaining $112,000.
Some Bank Street businesses surrounding Somerset House say they hope that something will happen to the building now that a settlement has been reached.
Eli Hanna, whose restaurant Gabriel Pizza sits directly across from Somerset House, says he still doesn't know what is happening to it.
Hanna says he hopes the building will be restored.
“It’s an eyesore for a lot of people,” he says. “I would like to see it stay the way it is, and to build something inside.”
David Flemming, past-president of Heritage Ottawa, who dealt with Somerset House since the collapse, says he’s optimistic the owner will restore the building.
The original plan for the building was a restaurant on the ground floor, with offices on the upper floors, Flemming says.
“It still seems to be in reasonably good shape and is probably still salvageable I suspect,” Flemming says. “It’s just a question now of Mr. Shahrasebi deciding when he’s got the resources to go in and continue the work he has started.”
Although Flemming says he is optimistic about the future of Somerset House, he adds that something should be done soon.
“Even though it is a pretty rugged structure, the longer you wait the more the building is at risk.”
T.K.S. Holdings Inc., the company that owns Somerset House, has launched a separate civil case against the city.
The statement of claim alleges the demolition of the building was not reasonable and T.K.S. Holdings Inc. is seeking more than $2 million in damages, “which arise from the alleged unreasonableness of that order”, states O’Connor.
O’Connor wrote that it should prove difficult for T.K.S Holdings Inc. to continue with its separate action given that the emergency order was found to be reasonable by the court.
Shahrasebi would not comment on the settlement or the future of the building.