By Michelle Ramsay-Borg
In August, news trickled out that the National Capital Commission (NCC) would soon shut down four heritage buildings— an entire block—on the east side of Sussex Drive for 12 to 15 months, as well as The Black Thorn Café around the corner on Clarence Street.
The businesses that have to relocate include Richard Robinson at the north end of the block, Hazlo Law, MaiYa Pearls, ça va de soi, and Julie Thibault. Two storefronts are already vacant: St. Amour Photography, and McCaffrey Haute Couture at the south end of the block. The vacant lot in between McCaffrey’s and The Black Thorn is 7 Clarence, former site of the popular Memories Café. All of the properties back onto Tin House Court.
Although rumours abounded, the NCC waited until Sept. 15th to make a formal announcement about the shutdown. Prior to that, the only information it released was published in its August 2015 Tin House Court Area Newsletter: “As you may have heard, we are also considering maintenance and life cycle works… on Sussex Drive and Clarence Street. In order to minimize disruptions to residents and businesses, we have considered completing these projects concurrently with the construction at 7 Clarence Street.” The notice called the work “potential projects”, but local shopkeepers confirmed as early as September 3rd that “it’s a done deal”.
The Black Thorn was the first to close, after Sunday brunch on Sept. 13th. According to Shaddy, the bartender, the owner received the written notice to vacate at the end of August. He had first heard the news from someone at the NCC about a month earlier. “They said we had to shut down because they have to demolish a section on the west side of our building to have enough room for the construction next door (at 7 Clarence). The entire kitchen will be demolished.”
Shaddy recounted how the owner broke the news to him. “We have 32 employees. Should we tell them right away so they will have more time to find another job, or wait for formal notice from the NCC?” They chose to tell their people and within days had lost so many staff that they couldn’t cover all their tables, so they removed the front patio. During the final two or three weeks they had only four people to cover all shifts.
All the residents above the shops on Sussex have to move out by September 30th. They were given just over a month’s notice. The owner of the Black Thorn is one of them. “He received the eviction notice for his home the same day he received the formal eviction notice for his usiness,” says Shaddy. “So it was a double whammy.”
The business owners on Sussex Drive were also given notice to vacate by September 30th. Fortunately, the date was recently extended to December 31st, “to allow us to have our Christmas season business, which is good,” said one retailer.
The NCC is endeavouring to relocate the Sussex Drive merchants to other premises. “I’ve looked at one spot north of here, off Sussex, but it doesn’t get as much walk-by traffic,” said one shop owner. “I’m hoping for something more like what I have here.” She added, “It’s such a shame to move, after everything we’ve been through. The Sussex Drive reconstruction, the scaffolding out front, the work out back on the courtyard side. One thing after another since 2010.”
A sales clerk in another boutique shared her understanding of the reason for the evictions. “We heard they (NCC) want to redo everything, inside and out. Really spruce up the buildings in time for the celebrations in 2017,” she said, referring to the 150th anniversary of Confederation.
Tin Court area businesses and residents, as well as other stakeholders such as the Lowertown Community Association, finally heard all the details at the September 15th meeting. According to the NCC, its goal is “to ensure that this historic group of heritage buildings is preserved, that access to the Tin House Court is improved, and that the new building at 7 Clarence Street is built efficiently. There is also discussion about a community public art project to enhance the area.”
Construction work is scheduled to begin in January 2016. The work to be undertaken on the buildings located between 445 and 465 Sussex Drive and at 13–15 Clarence Street will include: restoration of facades, replacement of the roof and windows, improvement of universal accessibility, foundation repairs, replacement of outdated electrical and mechanical equipment and interior renovations. While this work is being carried out, the NCC will also be undertaking work to improve universal accessibility in the Tin House Court.
As for 7 Clarence, the NCC has updated its construction schedule. Over the next two months, the focus is on hiring a company to complete the removal of the foundations and basement, and applying for a construction permit from the City of Ottawa. In November and December, the NCC will put out a tender for the construction work and issue a contract to the winning proponent. Construction will begin in January 2016, with completion planned for December 2016, just in time to open doors again for Canada’s 150th birthday.
The Echo will follow up on this story in the next issue, hopefully with news of where each tenant will be located in the new year. The NCC contact on this project is Émilie Girard-Ruel, Manager, Public Consultations. Phone: 613-239-5678, ext. 5777 Email: mailto:emilie.girard-ruel@ncc-ccn.ca.