Rideau Centre Expansion | Completed

[jitterbug]

Originally Posted by harls

Empire Theatres is closing at Rideau Centre, and relocating to Lansdowne

http://www.obj.ca/Real-Estate/Non-re...ce%3A-broker/1

Not surprising this movie theatre is closing, unfortunately this leaves only the World Exchange Plaza and the Bytowne as the last movie houses in the downtown area. Not exactly a formula for a vibrant downtown, although if the vacated space is used for anything other than office space , it may not be a net loss at all. Let's hope it doesn't take too long to find a new tenant!

[eternallyme]

Originally Posted by jitterbug

Not surprising this movie theatre is closing, unfortunately this leaves only the World Exchange Plaza and the Bytowne as the last movie houses in the downtown area. Not exactly a formula for a vibrant downtown, although if the vacated space is used for anything other than office space , it may not be a net loss at all. Let's hope it doesn't take too long to find a new tenant!

As previously mentioned, it is in a bad location in the mall, and any new tenant that is just a basic store would likely do poorly with only one way in and out.

[brentgaulois]

Originally Posted by mac_junkie1

That would be pretty cool. Not many people are left who've worked there, so I'm running out of people to talk to about lost details and such. I spoke to someone yesterday who by chance had written a book about his life growing up in Ottawa. Really great book full of nice stories.

Also, it might be too early for your grandmother, but its worth a shot to see if she might know when the "ribbed bricks" were removed from the front part. It would've been mid-40s'ishhhhh. No one can seem to find a concrete year on it. As for the stock bonds, yes I read that in an article I have. Charles was also one of the first employers ever to setup a Pension Plan for his employees to assure them money in the future. Very pioneering....

Out of curiosity, are you responsible for the Facebook page or are writing a history of this building?

If the bricks were removed in the 40s, she probably wouldn't know about it. She arrived in Canada in the mid- to late 50s. But I'll still ask if she remembers anything structurally that may be of interest. Actually, not that I can make any promises, but I may be able to convince her to do an interview with you. Do you have an e-mail I may contact you at in case?

*Oops, I just noticed that I said the stock shares was a good idea, when she actually said it seemed to be bad (and eventually the stocks were taken back).

[mac_junkie1]

Originally Posted by brentgaulois

Out of curiosity, are you responsible for the Facebook page or are writing a history of this building?

If the bricks were removed in the 40s, she probably wouldn't know about it. She arrived in Canada in the mid- to late 50s. But I'll still ask if she remembers anything structurally that may be of interest. Actually, not that I can make any promises, but I may be able to convince her to do an interview with you. Do you have an e-mail I may contact you at in case?

*Oops, I just noticed that I said the stock shares was a good idea, when she actually said it seemed to be bad (and eventually the stocks were taken back).

Actually, Yes, I am the one responsible for it. No one has really seemed to care about this building in the past 20 years except for a handful of people. I decided it was time to give this building some much needed attention, and the response has been nothing but positive. Really cool. I didn't think it would take off this well.

I'm only 23 and never really knew the building as a business but always as a vacant shell with painted or papered windows. As I grew older and started getting more into the history of the city, I found out what this mystery building in the prime of downtown was.... Now I'm working on a book regarding Ottawa's Heritage Buildings, and I decided to cover this one first after all those years of curiosity, I've found so much cool stuff about this one. It almost may turn into its own book . So far I've written almost 15 pages about this one building alone. Research is always fun stuff, and the people I've met so far have been really awesome.

If you want to contact me properly, join the page and message me and we can chat some more in a better way

[Ottawan]

Originally Posted by mac_junkie1

Actually, Yes, I am the one responsible for it. No one has really seemed to care about this building in the past 20 years except for a handful of people. I decided it was time to give this building some much needed attention, and the response has been nothing but positive. Really cool. I didn't think it would take off this well.

I'm only 23 and never really knew the building as a business but always as a vacant shell with painted or papered windows. As I grew older and started getting more into the history of the city, I found out what this mystery building in the prime of downtown was.... Now I'm working on a book regarding Ottawa's Heritage Buildings, and I decided to cover this one first after all those years of curiosity, I've found so much cool stuff about this one. It almost may turn into its own book . So far I've written almost 15 pages about this one building alone. Research is always fun stuff, and the people I've met so far have been really awesome.

If you want to contact me properly, join the page and message me and we can chat some more in a better way

Awesome idea about the book! While the Ogilvy Building is really cool, there are so many heritage buildings in the city that deserve some attention that I hope you do get around to others. If you need any suggestions on other worthy locations, I (and probably many other forum members) would be happy to point some out (although probably in a different thread - apologies for getting off-topic).

[mac_junkie1]

Originally Posted by Ottawan

Awesome idea about the book! While the Ogilvy Building is really cool, there are so many heritage buildings in the city that deserve some attention that I hope you do get around to others. If you need any suggestions on other worthy locations, I (and probably many other forum members) would be happy to point some out (although probably in a different thread - apologies for getting off-topic).

Thanks. That would be great. I have a list already done up, but I'm looking for other diamonds in the rough for an honorable mentions page or something like that. Stuff that deserve mentioning, but won't find much info on. I'm even covering the old Parliamentary Pumphouse station which is that crumbling foundation down past Bytown Museum facing the river at the bottom of the hill. Another challenge. Any help from anyone is always appreciated.

[J.OT13]

Originally Posted by mac_junkie1

Actually, Yes, I am the one responsible for it. No one has really seemed to care about this building in the past 20 years except for a handful of people. I decided it was time to give this building some much needed attention, and the response has been nothing but positive. Really cool. I didn't think it would take off this well.

I'm only 23 and never really knew the building as a business but always as a vacant shell with painted or papered windows. As I grew older and started getting more into the history of the city, I found out what this mystery building in the prime of downtown was.... Now I'm working on a book regarding Ottawa's Heritage Buildings, and I decided to cover this one first after all those years of curiosity, I've found so much cool stuff about this one. It almost may turn into its own book . So far I've written almost 15 pages about this one building alone. Research is always fun stuff, and the people I've met so far have been really awesome.

If you want to contact me properly, join the page and message me and we can chat some more in a better way

I don't know if you have this one, but it contains a lot of information on Ogilvy the building and the man.

http://www.eeldersite.com/Charles_Ogilvy_Limited.pdf

I, and I'm sure many others, will want to buy your book once completed.

[Capital Shaun]

Ogilvy building partially collapsed today:
http://www.ottawacitizen.com/news/ot...151/story.html

[rocketphish]

Originally Posted by Capital Shaun

Ogilvy building partially collapsed today:
http://www.ottawacitizen.com/news/ot...151/story.html

[J.OT13]

What the hell did they think was going to happen!? If you a have partially demolished wall , you take out the roof and the windows (and the temporary pieces of wood in the window openings), of course it’s going to collapse. When you are demolishing a building, you have to the exact opposite of how you built it, in this case, they should have demolished a complete floor at a time, not this weird stairway thing where the back is still fully supported and the front, which you are trying to save, ends up a shell with no support.

And now that the rounded corner toppled over, and they didn’t even save the bricks for that feature on the 4th and 5th floors, can they still rebuild the façade? Can they do as well as the original?

To the city, PCL and Cadillac Fairview;

Congratulations you idiots, I hope you’re proud of yourselves!!!

[mac_junkie1]

Originally Posted by J.OT13

What the hell did they think was going to happen!? If you a have partially demolished wall , you take out the roof and the windows (and the temporary pieces of wood in the window openings), of course it’s going to collapse. When you are demolishing a building, you have to the exact opposite of how you built it, in this case, they should have demolished a complete floor at a time, not this weird stairway thing where the back is still fully supported and the front, which you are trying to save, ends up a shell with no support.

And now that the rounded corner toppled over, and they didn’t even save the bricks for that feature on the 4th and 5th floors, can they still rebuild the façade? Can they do as well as the original?

To the city, PCL and Cadillac Fairview;

Congratulations you idiots, I hope you’re proud of yourselves!!!

Everything that was being saved has been saved. That's why the back has no brick. They needed the "ribs" from 1916 to recreate the front. The "round" brick, which I also thought was round isn't. I spoke to someone yesterday who said they were normal square bricks just cut custom to be rounded. They weren't keeping it because it was newer from the 40's when the whole front was "modernized" and the back left untouched. Luckily to that, they now have all the appropriate pieces in storage to rebuild the facade as it was in 1907. It'll look cool when rebuild. The top cornices lost in 1931 will also be remade from scratch to recreate the effect.

[J.OT13]

Originally Posted by mac_junkie1

Everything that was being saved has been saved. That's why the back has no brick. They needed the "ribs" from 1916 to recreate the front. The "round" brick, which I also thought was round isn't. I spoke to someone yesterday who said they were normal square bricks just cut custom to be rounded. They weren't keeping it because it was newer from the 40's when the whole front was "modernized" and the back left untouched. Luckily to that, they now have all the appropriate pieces in storage to rebuild the facade as it was in 1907. It'll look cool when rebuild. The top cornices lost in 1931 will also be remade from scratch to recreate the effect.

And the CO medallion on the rounded corner should be pretty cool. I still find it strange that they didn't take out the 1907 bricks between the third and fourth floor; that pail bar where the "Charles Ogilvy Ltd" sign use to be was kind of sharp.

[mac_junkie1]

Originally Posted by J.OT13

And the CO medallion on the rounded corner should be pretty cool. I still find it strange that they didn't take out the 1907 bricks between the third and fourth floor; that pail bar where the "Charles Ogilvy Ltd" sign use to be was kind of sharp.

Yea the CO medallion will be cool to see again once re-created. I find it a shame also the 1906 brick part wasn't kept, but oh well. What can you do... I'm glad I got a good photo of it before that portion was dismantled. It wasn't part of the collapse. It had already been partially taken apart first.

[kevinbottawa]

Heritage elements of Ogilvy building saved before partial collapse, architect says

By Neco Cockburn, OTTAWA CITIZEN March 25, 2013

OTTAWA — Heritage elements of the former downtown Ogilvy’s store were dismantled and saved before part of the building collapsed over the weekend, says the architect working on a project to preserve the facade for an expansion of the Rideau Centre.

Important brickwork, windows, metal spandrel panels and terra cotta ornaments had been removed from the historic building at 126 Rideau St. at least two weeks ago, said Barry Padolsky, and the material was numbered and put away for restoration and storage.

What remained of the derelict building was slated to be demolished as part of the planned shopping mall expansion when a piece of wall at the corner of Rideau and Nicholas streets collapsed Saturday evening.

“There was nothing there that we were intending to claim,” Padolsky said on Monday.

“Everything that was from that area that we needed to meet the council approval had been already removed.”

No injuries were reported in the collapse. All work at the building has been stopped while the province’s Ministry of Labour conducts an investigation, said a city statement on Monday attributed to Arlene Gregoire, the director of building code services.

Demolition can continue once the ministry approves, Gregoire stated.

The building was expected to come down by the end of April so that work can begin on excavating the three-level underground parking garage that’s to go beneath a new four-storey mall building expected to open in the spring of 2016, said Padolsky.

In 2006, council approved the dismantling, cataloguing, storage and reconstruction of some of the building’s facade, though the plans were put on hold by the Rideau Centre’s former owner, Viking Rideau Corp.

Cadillac Fairview, the mall’s current owner, reactivated the project, and work began late last year.

The building on Rideau Street operated for years as the flagship location for Ogilvy’s department stores.

The facade of the original dry goods store at the site, designed by Ottawa architect W.E. Noffke and completed in 1907, is to be reassembled and installed on the new mall building.

That facade is composed of three of the existing building’s five storeys, along with the five bays that face Rideau and seven of the 15 bays along Nicholas.

(The existing building had been extended back eight bays to Besserer Street in 1917, and its fourth and fifth storeys were added in 1931 and 1933, but those parts of the facade aren’t being reinstalled.)

Once dismantling began, it was discovered that original bricks for the oldest portion of the building had been replaced, probably in the late 1930s, Padolsky said. Brick claimed from the later addition toward the back of the building is similar to the original material and is to be used when the facade is reassembled, Padolsky said.

Most of the material had been moved away to be stored, though some window frames are stacked inside the building, in a safe place away from the collapsed section, Padolsky said.

“We’re relieved that none of the heritage components were affected,” he said.

The city is waiting for assessments from the labour ministry’s engineer and the consulting engineer for the developer, according to Gregoire.

To protect public safety after the collapse, the city closed a lane of Rideau beside the building, as well as all of Nicholas between Besserer and Rideau.

“These lanes will reopen to traffic once safety is no longer a concern,” Gregoire stated.

ncockburn@ottawacitizen.com

twitter.com/NecoCockburn
© Copyright (c) The Ottawa Citizen

http://www.ottawacitizen.com/news/ot...926/story.html

[c_speed3108]

Simons confirmed for Rideau Centre.

From twitter:

Vanessa Lee
‏@VanessaLeeCTV
#Quebec department store @Simons coming to Rideau Centre (via Le Droit's @mat_belanger) #ottnews #ottcity Can't wait!

http://www.lapresse.ca/le-droit/econ...tre-rideau.php

That article is in French, but automatic translation in Google Chrome seems to do a pretty decent job on it.

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by c_speed3108

Simons confirmed for Rideau Centre.

From twitter:




http://www.lapresse.ca/le-droit/econ...tre-rideau.php

That article is in French, but automatic translation in Google Chrome seems to do a pretty decent job on it.

Not surprising at all. Ottawa (either St-Laurent or Rideau) was Simons' first choice for this region all along.

I do agree with the guy from Les Promenades who says the region is big enough for two stores but I am not sure this is what will happen. Might be a bit of wishful thinking on his part. At least for the short to medium term.

[gjhall]

re: Simons, would be cool if they took over the movie threatre space and expanded that level east as part of the general expansion. It would be unique.

[c_speed3108]

Originally Posted by gjhall

re: Simons, would be cool if they took over the movie threatre space and expanded that level east as part of the general expansion. It would be unique.

Architecturally unique...yes.
Good for retail...no.

If I were Simons I would want to be down at the Rideau street level ideally around where the old Ogilvy's was such that (hopefully) the foot traffic coming west on Rideau will short-cut through the store to get into the mall (or even just duck cold weather by walking through the building). Sorta like Sears had with foot traffic coming up the bridge from U of O.

Retail is about impulse. Foot traffic is king.

[Kitchissippi]

Originally Posted by c_speed3108

Retail is about impulse. Foot traffic is king.

Foot traffic and visibility.

If I were Nordstroms taking over the Sears space, I'd open up that facade on the Mackenzie King Bridge instead of all that ugly blank precast concrete. With internet shopping's strong foothold, brick-and-mortar stores need to upscale the retail experience and focus on their strength — flaunting the real thing, and it's available right away because you are there.

[gjhall]

Originally Posted by c_speed3108

Architecturally unique...yes.
Good for retail...no.

If I were Simons I would want to be down at the Rideau street level ideally around where the old Ogilvy's was such that (hopefully) the foot traffic coming west on Rideau will short-cut through the store to get into the mall (or even just duck cold weather by walking through the building). Sorta like Sears had with foot traffic coming up the bridge from U of O.

Retail is about impulse. Foot traffic is king.

I know, I definitely get that, but would be interesting architecturally, and with a sweetheart deal on rent, they could be an anchor to a new floor. but I agree, they will probably want to be on Rideau for all the reasons you note.