The Met [180 Metcalfe St] | 84.5m | 28f | U/C

[OTSkyline]

I guess they are trying to move fast on this one, there is already a big "Notice of Development Application" with info and render posted at the site from City of Ottawa.

[McC]

There's nothing unusual about the sign going up at the same time as application docs going up online.

[Beedok]

Signs can stay up for years. There's one lot near the grocery store I go to that's had one up for probably 2 or 3 years.

[JHikka]

Love the location, hate the impending wall of 27 floor buildings.

[Boxster]

The best views from this building on a scale of 1 to 10 is 2....just want to be polite.

[Arcologist]

Sure, why not?!? The building is as ugly as the Tribeca buildings across the street.

If you ask me, the Tribeca buildings were a missed opportunity to break-up the overwhelming Place Bell mass with some slightly taller buildings. Building them slightly shorter only makes Place Bell seem even more hulking.

I'd consider making this building taller, at maybe 34 storeys, but with the last 7-8 storeys much more slender than the lower floors. A tapered peak would be a nice change!

[kevinbottawa]

Originally Posted by Arcologist

Sure, why not?!? The building is as ugly as the Tribeca buildings across the street.

If you ask me, the Tribeca buildings were a missed opportunity to break-up the overwhelming Place Bell mass with some slightly taller buildings. Building them slightly shorter only makes Place Bell seem even more hulking.

I'd consider making this building taller, at maybe 34 storeys, but with the last 7-8 storeys much more slender than the lower floors. A tapered peak would be a nice change!

Doesn't the CDP cap buildings at 27 storeys?

[Urbanarchit]

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[McC]

A couple of things to remember: Tribeca was before the CDP; and the Centretown CDP didn't change the zoning, so that there could still be s37 benefits from up zoning the sites designated for highrises in the CDP.

[Arcologist]

Originally Posted by defishel

Typically the CDP does cap at 27 stories, but I think this site is zoned for much shorter (37 meters according to the article). Reading back about Tribeca, it was zoned for something like 12 or 15 floors, and it was such a struggle to get 27-stories.

Not sure what the regulations are, but something needs to be done about the wall of 27-storey buildings and the completely dead skyline. (Come to think of it, not just in the downtown CBD, but also the Market!)

[Urbanarchit]

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[1overcosc]

^ I think it's the global height limit imposed on large swaths of the core area due to Parliamentary viewplanes.

[Harley613]

So who the hell is 'Toth Equity' anyhow? Google shows they are an Ottawa company but I can't even find a website...

[rocketphish]

Originally Posted by Harley613

So who the hell is 'Toth Equity' anyhow? Google shows they are an Ottawa company but I can't even find a website...

The Toth family were the owners of Burkholder Furs and Dworkin Furs in Ottawa. They developed the former Burkholder site at 119 Bank St at Slater St into the Telus Bldg, and they sold the old Dworkin site at 256 Rideau St. site to Phoenix Homes.

http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/news...?id=47209aee-a797-4f56-b663-94756cf5bf30
http://www.obj.ca/Other/Archives/2002-09...Furs-shutting-doors-for-good-this-week/1

Toth Equity (a commercial real estate holding company) also own the Towngate Shopping Centre at 2446-2470 Bank St.

http://www.canlii.org/en/on/onca/doc/2011/2011onca372/2011onca372.html

[drawarc]

Re: 180 Metcalfe, here's an old pic from Lost Ottawa, showing Medical Arts Building.



Source:https://www.facebook.com/LostOttawa/phot...5592534./823364227762803/?type=3&theater

[ServiceGuy]

Fabulous photo find. It seems odd to see all the cars facing the "wrong direction" given current day design.

[acottawa]

Originally Posted by 1overcosc

^ I think it's the global height limit imposed on large swaths of the core area due to Parliamentary viewplanes.

I think the view plane limits are variable (depend on things like elevation of the site). I suspect it either has something to do with the OMB (which is based on precedent, so if somebody gets a 27 floor building approved all the other developers know they will win cases for 27 floors) or building code (over 27 floors requires more elevators or something like that).

[black cat]

This looks like a very good proposal, and very respectful of integrating the Medical Arts Building, and the tower is set back and reasonably similar to others in the immediate vicinity. Its a pity Ottawa does not have more projects of this ilk and which keep the heritage building fabric rather than permitting the heritage property to be dismantled and replaced by a contemporary facade as is permitted along Rideau Street.

[Urbanarchit]

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[rocketphish]

Metcalfe Medical Arts building recommended for heritage status

Matthew Pearson, Ottawa Citizen
Published on: June 11, 2015, Last Updated: June 11, 2015 12:25 PM EDT



The built-heritage subcommittee has granted a heritage designation to an Art Deco-style building in Centretown slated for redevelopment as part of a new 27-storey tower.

The Medical Arts building at 180 Metcalfe St. is a six-storey brick office building built in 1928. It was designed by Ottawa architect W.E. Noffke, the same man responsible for the Champagne Bath and Central Post Office buildings.

Heritage planners say the building’s symmetrical facade, copper panels and geometric patterned brick panels help make it a rare example of the Art Deco style popularized in the 1920s and 1930s.

The property’s current owner, John Toth, has applied for a zoning bylaw amendment to permit a 27-storey mixed-use building that will incorporate approximately 80 per cent of the existing building.

He told the committee Thursday that he did not object to the heritage designation, which would only apply to the building’s exterior.

The planning committee is set to consider both the heritage designation and the zoning bylaw amendment at its next meeting.

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http://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-news...building-recommended-for-heritage-status