Architect blames city’s permit process for lengthy delays in rebuilding Somerset House
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
By Tom Spears, Ottawa Citizen
In October 2007, the southeast corner of the Duke of Somerset Pub building at Bank and Somerset streets partly collapsed. All work stopped, and the intersection was closed for eight weeks. The city intended to demolish the building, saying it was unsafe. Instead it agreed to let rebuilding go ahead, after tearing off the fourth floor of the back of the building. Photographed by:
PAT MCGRATH, THE OTTAWA CITIZENOTTAWA — The architect for the former Duke of Somerset Pub building hopes to have a building permit within days, but says he has never seen the city play such hardball.
The delays over rebuilding the 1890s heritage building, also known as Somerset House, have “given the city a black eye,” says architect Derek Crain, who also chairs the Somerset Village BIA.
In October 2007, the southeast corner of the building at Bank and Somerset streets partly collapsed. All work stopped, and the intersection was closed for eight weeks. The city intended to demolish the building, saying it was unsafe. Instead it agreed to let rebuilding go ahead, after tearing off the fourth floor of the back of the building. That is now the subject of a lawsuit between the city and owner Tony Shahrasebi.
Crain said the project has been singled out for “special treatment — not in a positive way” by City Hall.
“The city’s way has been to say, ‘It’s our way or the highway’, and they’ve been really tough. I’ve never seen a permit process as onerous as this,” he said. “And that’s the city’s prerogative.”
He applied for a building permit in 2008.
“It’s an important heritage building in this city. ... It’s been a struggle and I’m a bit upset that my city has been so hard on this owner, and we’re working hard to get it into the constructive infrastructure of our city.”
A major hurdle now is that the city has ordered Shahrasebi to rebuild the Duke according to the 2006 Building Code, “which is much more punitive and much more costly,” Crain said.
For example, the measures now demanded to resist earthquakes will require the owner to remove the steel frame he has recently installed and replace it with a concrete frame. This is slow and expensive, and makes the final structure heavier — a major complication, as it sits on clay that Crain calls “not that great.”
He called this “a horrendous imposition.”
“I’m trying desperately to save this building,” he said. “It is, despite what the fire department or anyone else says, structurally sound.” (A recent report from the Ottawa Fire Service listed the Duke as one of 35 dangerous buildings that could collapse on firefighters in its current state.)
Crain said the structural engineer retained by the city has now approved the application. There should be a permit within days, and Crain says work could start in six to 12 months.
The building is 55 feet by 110 feet. When rebuilt, it will be three storeys. It may end up as a restaurant and bar, Crain said, but that still has to be determined.
“The Somerset Village BIA is very much in favour of getting this corner developed and rebuilt, and get it into the marketplace,” he said. “Even the sidewalk is horrible now because you can’t use the street effectively.”
Development should proceed regardless of what is happening with the lawsuits, he said.
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