Mid-rise development proposed for former All Saints church

A community-led for-profit group is trying to preserve the community functions of the former All Saints Anglican Church in Sandy Hill by building a nine-storey mixed-use development on adjoining land.

The proposal has been four years in the making and involved several community consultations about what kind of uses would be desirable on the site.

On Monday night, about 60 people attended a the final consultation at the church on Chapel Street, some expressed reservations about specific parts of the project, while supporting its general goals.

The congregation of the church celebrated their last servicethere in 2014. Since then, it has been used as an event space.

Leanne Moussa, whose children attended daycare at the church, put together a community group to try to save the building and eventually decided to get people together to develop it based on what the community wanted on site.

'More than bricks and mortar'

"Part of this redevelopment is definitely about restoring the heritage building of this church. But it's about so much more than the bricks and mortar, it's about keeping this place lively, about making it relevant to the people who live here," Moussa said.

She said conservation work on the building will cost between $2 and 4 million and those costs played a role in decided how development would be, so it could be financially viable.

The development is backed by a combination of investors from the neighbourhood andAlberta-based businesses, according to their submission to the city.

Hotel, intensification concerns

Neighbours raised a variety of concerns about how the building would affect traffic, parking and whether it could lead to more intensification in a neighbourhood that has had to contend with rooming houses.

Moussa said the proposed rezoning that would allow the nine-storey tower only five storeys are currently allowed would eliminate the possibility of a shelter or rooming house being built on the site.

The mid-rise would be built on the current site of Bates Hall, an assembly space that fronts on to Laurier and Blackburn Avenues and does not have heritage designation.

It would have commercial uses on the lower floors and residential units in the top five floors, which could possibly be used as a hotel with upward of 80 suites, according to the application.

JoAnn Myer, who lives nearby and attends Spanish lessons at the church, said she supports the proposal but is concerned by the hotel option.

"I certainly don't mind a restaurant, any kind of commercial facility usually closes at a certain time. Whereas a hotel is an ongoing proposition people come in and out at all hours of the day and night," Myer said.

Moussa said zoning to allow for construction of the hotelwould make the church more viable as a conference and event space and would provide some security in case Ottawa's condo market softens.

Parking, traffic issues

The rezoning proposal includes 90 parking spaces in four underground levels with an entrance on Blackburn Avenue. Residents of that street were concerned about traffic and the size of the building.

"It's already a very busy area, it's going to get even busier," Marc Parent said. "I own a heritage building just beside and the structure [being proposed] is not necessarily quite conducive to maintain a heritage character."

Veronica Eden, who lives a block and a half away, invested in the project because she believes it will bring new amenities to the neighbourhood.

"When the opportunity came up to invest, we thought rather than complaining about how the neighbourhood isn't exactly what we wanted, we could get involved," Eden said.

"It could attract a lot of young families to a neighbourhood that could usea little pick-me-up."

It has been a long journey for Moussa, including many community meetings and a redesign of the project before this final version. She described it as her first big development.

"To be honest, I didn't envision at the outset of the project building a nine-storey building. That's been a necessary part of this, but I do think that it's appropriate to the area," she said. "Ithink we've done it in a way that's really respectful."

The rezoning proposal is expected to go to planning committee February 27.