Ottawa Community Housing’s revitalization project stands out, sorely

Larry Newman

Take a good look at the row houses at 214 to 224 Somerset Street East. They may not be long for this world.

At some point in their history, these hundred-year-old structures became rooming houses with about 45 units. Their owner, Ottawa Community Housing (OCH), decided recently that upkeep was becoming too expensive and they were not appropriate for what OCH now wanted to do. There are no tenants now and the buildings will eventually be demolished and replaced. I understand that all former tenants had been offered comparable housing.

Enter the Somerset Revitalization Project, an OCH Community Renewal effort. A design for the new building has already been proposed. If this new building passes the planning stage, it will be colourful. The architects that designed this building were asked “to design buildings that reflect the character of the community.” To OCH, “character” seems to refer to the people in the community.

The architects may have created an interior that meets the tenants’ needs, and in some sense, reflects the community, but their design of the exterior hardly reflects the architectural character of the community. It looks more like a children’s playhouse to me.

Sandy Hill’s beginnings are in the 19th century and a large percentage of our buildings are built of brick and look like those built in late nineteenth and early twentieth century. Too bad the OCH architects didn’t look at the buildings in our neighbourhood for inspiration. There is hope they may yet.

The building will have 23 studio apartments as well as common gathering areas. The big physical change in this building will be in the new construction, high-performance mechanical and electrical systems, roof-top solar panels, and room furnishings.ÊEach new unit will also include a private, fully-functional kitchenÑno granite countertops, however.

There will be a daytime manager or a lead tenant with some managerial responsibilities. For those tenants with particular challenges, there will be staff support, (especially for persons with complex needs) provided by Options Housing (formerly Options Bytown, see IMAGE, Fall 2024 issue). I presume that Options Housing rules prevail and that tenants will be chosen from those assigned Local Priority Access Status on the Ottawa Housing Registry.

To serve the 10,000 people listed on the Ottawa Housing Registry, OCH is increasing the supply of housing through its 10-year development plan. They are currently working on 641 community and/or affordable homes. Somerset Revitalization Development is one of the many housing-type development projects in progress at OCH.

Once 214-224 Somerset is completed, further “Community Renewal” projects are not planned for Sandy Hill.