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Skepticism, cautious optimism as work on Somerset House begins
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There's skepticism about whether substantial renewal work has finally begun on Somerset House, which has sat derelict for nearly 18 years in the heart of Ottawa's Centretown neighbourhood.
The 129-year-old building at the corner of Bank Street and Somerset Street W. partially collapsed in October 2007.
The eastern half of the building was demolished nine years later, while the western half has been boarded up since the collapse.
New work on the building began at the start of June, but for those who've been following the Somerset House saga, there's still doubt as to whether it will ever be fully restored.
'Blot on the landscape'
"It's better than we've seen for a long time," Linda Hoad told CBC as she looked out onto the concrete foundation that had been laid and what appeared to be fresh wood on the basement floor.
As co-chair of the Heritage Ottawa advocacy committee, she's been attuned to what's been happening with Somerset House and says she's now "cautiously optimistic."
"It's a blot on the landscape — and on the reputation of the city, to some extent," Hoad said.
"We've seen more work done these past two weeks than we have for I don't know how many years," she added. "But we aren't counting on anything at this time."
Once home to hotels, pubs
The three-storey downtown building has a long history.
Built in 1896, Somerset House was originally a department store for the Crosby, Carruthers Company. It then transformed into a series of hotels and pubs, including the Lockmaster and the Duke of Somerset.
According to the city, permits to restore the building — which would include 14 apartments and two businesses —were issued in 2023, but as a private property it remained the owner's decision as to when the work would be done.
Lesley Collins, program manager of heritage planning with the city, wrote in a statement to CBC that work is "actively underway" to repair and stabilize the building.
CBC contacted building owner Tony Shahrasebi twice but did not hear back.
With little done to Somerset House over the last 18 years, many people have been using similar words as Hoad has to describe the building's progress — or lack thereof.
"That's been part of the problem is that every time, there's a promise to move ahead," said Ottawa Centre MPP Catherine McKenney. "It drags out. Next thing you know, another six months, year, two years has gone by. And here we are, 18 years later, and nothing has been done on that building."
McKenney, the former two-term councillor for Somerset ward, also said the building has been an "eyesore" since long before they joined city council.
They said they've watched various parts of the building rot away, including around the windows and window wells.
'Poster child for demolition by neglect'
Ariel Troster, the ward's current councillor, has also seen the building deteriorate, calling it "the poster child for demolition by neglect."
"People are right to be concerned, and they're right to be cynical. The reality is that we don't have a lot of tools to compel a property owner to take care of their property, to develop it and to do those added renovations," Troster said.
The city can fine someone under the Property Standards Act if a property is falling apart, Troster said, and can send bylaw officers when there are maintenance complaints.
But "when it comes to carrot and stick, we don't really have a big stick," she added.
In a September 2023 report, the city said 19 orders had been issued since 2007 against the property under the Building Code Act.
There had also been 31 calls to bylaw, resulting in 11 violation notices and six property standards orders.
In that report, staff said that aside from the removal of the easterly wing in 2016, nothing had been done to the property.
But Troster also said there are rumblings of a possible plan to impose a vacant commercial property tax on buildings like Somerset House, left vacant for years, similar to the residential vacant unit tax.
On Tuesday, the built heritage committee also approved additional money for owners of heritage properties on a stretch of Bank and Somerset streets to improve those buildings' facades — including the windows, brickwork and heritage signage.
While also skeptical that significant repairs are underway, Jack Hanna, co-chair of the planning committee of the Centretown Community Association, said he hopes the once "magnificent" Somerset House — with its exquisite masonry and a six-metre sheet metal spire that soared up on its leading corner — eventually returns to its original glory.
