Report to/Rapport au :

 

Local Architectural Conservation Advisory Committee

Comité consultatif sur la conservation de l'architecture locale

 

and / et

 

Planning and Environment Committee

Comité de l'urbanisme et de l'environnement

 

and Council / et au Conseil

 

29 July 2004 / le 29 juillet 2004

 

Submitted by/Soumis par : Ned Lathrop, Deputy City Manager /Directeur municipal adjoint

Planning and Growth Management / Urbanisme et Gestion de la croissance

 

Contact Person/Personne ressource : Grant Lindsay, Manager / Gestionnaire

Development Approvals / Approbation des demandes d'aménagement

(613) 580-2424 x13242, grant.lindsay@ottawa.ca

 

Rideau-Vanier (12)

Ref N°: ACS2004-DEV-APR-0103

 

 

SUBJECT:

DESIGNATION OF 5 BLACKBURN AVENUE UNDER PART IV OF THE ONTARIO HERITAGE ACT 

 

 

OBJET :

DÉSIGNATION DU 5, AVENUE BLACKBURN EN VERTU DE LA PARTIE IV DE LA LOI SUR LE PATRIMOINE DE L'ONTARIO

 

 

REPORT RECOMMENDATION

 

That the Local Architectural Conservation Advisory Committee recommend that Planning and Environment Committee and Council approve the designation of 5 Blackburn Avenue under Part IV of the Ontario Heritage Act in accordance with the Statement of Reason for Designation, attached as Document 3.

 

RECOMMANDATION DU RAPPORT

 

Que le Comité consultatif local sur la conservation de l'architecture recommande au Comité de l'urbanisme et de l'environnement et au Conseil d'approuver la désignation du 5, avenue Blackburn en vertu de la partie IV de la Loi sur le patrimoine de l'Ontario conformément à l'énoncé des raisons motivant la désignation ci annexé (document 3).

 

BACKGROUND

 

The building at 5 Blackburn Avenue is a 2-1/2 storey, red brick structure (see Document 1).  Built in 1905, it features an irregular plan, projecting bays, a cross-gambrel roof, noteworthy interior decoration and an elaborate carriage house (see Document 2).  This designation was requested by the current owners of the building, the Heritage Canada Foundation.

 

DISCUSSION

 

Part IV of the Ontario Heritage Act gives municipalities the power to designate properties of cultural heritage significance.  In order to be designated, the City's Local Architectural Conservation Advisory Committee (LACAC) considers the designation and makes a recommendation to Planning and Environment Committee and City Council.  The Act requires that a statement of the property's cultural heritage significance, including its heritage attributes, be prepared and published in a local newspaper.  The Official Plan states that, "Individual buildings, structures and cultural heritage landscapes will be designated as properties of cultural heritage value under Part IV of the Heritage Act."

 

The building is worthy of heritage designation because it illustrates the urban development of Sandy Hill in the late 19th and early 20th centuries and is a good example of the late Queen Anne Revival style. The scale and richness of materials and architectural details of 5 Blackburn are a reminder that this area was once a neighborhood of large, single-family houses. 

 

Notable interior elements include the paneling throughout the main floor, the front staircase balustrade and newel post, plaster decoration in the main floor living room and the eight fireplaces with mantles.  The carriage house also exhibits Queen Anne Revival influences, with its hipped towers and use of stone masonry and decorative brickwork.

 

For these reasons, this building including portions of its interior and the carriage house are recommended for designation under Part IV of the Ontario Heritage Act (please refer to Document 3).

 

CONSULTATION

 

The Ward Councillor, Georges Bédard, Action Sandy Hill and Heritage Ottawa are aware of the proposed designation under Part IV of the Ontario Heritage Act.

 

A "Notice of Intention to Designate" is published in Ottawa's daily newspapers as a requirement of the Ontario Heritage Act.  Anyone wishing to object to the proposed designation may do so within thirty days of the publication of the "Notice."  If there are objections, a Conservation Review Board hearing is scheduled to hear them and report to Council. Following the hearing Council can either uphold the designation or withdraw it.

 

FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS

 

The cost of the one time statutory advertising of the designation in the "Ottawa Citizen" and "Le Droit" shall be paid from the 2004 operating budget of the Planning and Growth Management Department,  account number 112762-502210.

SUPPORTING DOCUMENTATION

 

Document 1   Location Map

Document 2   Heritage Survey and Evaluation Form

Document 3   Statement of Reason for Designation

 

DISPOSITION

 

Corporate Services, Secretariat Services Branch, to notify the property owner (Heritage Canada Foundation, 5 Blackburn Avenue, Ottawa, K1N 8A2) and the Ontario Heritage Foundation (10 Adelaide Street, 3rd Floor, Toronto, Ontario, M5C 1J3) of Council's decision to designate 5 Blackburn Avenue under Part IV of the Ontario Heritage Act. 

 

Planning and Growth Management Department, Planning and Infrastructure Approvals Branch to advertise the Notice of Intention to Designate and subsequent Notice of the passage of the designation by-law.

 

Corporate Services Department, Legal Services to prepare the designation by-law and submit it to City Council for enactment and register the by-law on title following passage by Council.

 


LOCATION MAP                                                                                                         Document 1

 


HERITAGE SURVEY AND EVALUATION FORM                                                 Document 2

 




 


STATEMENT OF REASON FOR DESIGNATION                                                  Document 3

 

The building at 5 Blackburn Avenue and its carriage house are recommended for designation because of their cultural heritage significance. 

 

Constructed in 1905 in the Queen Anne Revival style, 5 Blackburn Avenue is an example of the type of house built in Sandy Hill as it developed into an upper-class residential area.  Over the years, this building has been the home of First World War aviator Billy Bishop, the offices of the Italian Embassy and the national headquarters of the Victorian Order of Nurses (VON).  Established in 1897 by Lady Aberdeen, the VON provided much-needed nursing care to frontier communities across Canada.  The Heritage Canada Foundation has occupied the house since 2001.  Located at the corner of Laurier and Blackburn Avenue, this building is part of a group of historically and architecturally significant buildings along Laurier Avenue East built by prominent citizens. 

 

The Queen Anne Revival style attributes include the steep, cross-gambrel roof, decorative brickwork, classically inspired porches, use of a variety of materials including slate, stone and brick, and corbelled chimneys.  Further noteworthy details include the leaded glass double door, bull’s eye windows and the rich variety of windows arranged singly, in pairs and in threes, some of which feature multiple panes and leaded glass. 

 

Also typical of the Queen Anne Revival style are interiors with rich finishes.  Interior elements included in the designation are the plaster decoration in the main floor living room, the eight fireplaces with mantles, the panelling on the walls and ceiling throughout the main floor and the panelling, balustrade and newel posts of the main staircase. 

 

Notable attributes of the Queen Anne Revival-inspired carriage house are the decorative brickwork, masonry decoration, corner towers with hipped roofs, coupled windows and panelled wood doors.