Old Ottawa South church seeking financial salvation from condo faces concerns

As Southminster United Church turns to a developer to help its finances, Old Ottawa South residents have raised objections about a proposed condominium's height and the obstruction of heritage views of the church itself.

Windmill Developments is behind the proposal, which includes four three-storey townhouses and a 14-unit, six-storey apartment building.

Church administratorsmade theircase for looking for a development deal at anofficial public consultationheld Monday nightin the churchbasement at 15 Aylmer St.

Andrew Brewin, a member of the congregation in charge of the redevelopment, said the church is trying to make sure it can continue to operate as a place of worship and a community hub.

'Ultimately, it is survival'

"Ultimately, it is survival. Can our congregation pull together the resources, both financial and human, to be able to continue for the next 85-plus years?" Brewinasked.

"If we do this proposal, we will be able to do that. Otherwise, if we have to go back to the drawing board, itreally is hard to see how we'll be able to draw the kind of energy that's needed todo that kind of work."

The church turned to redevelopingthe site after attempts to get more money by renting church spacecame up short.

The church's financial shortfall happenedin part because of overdue repairs to a hall that was built in 1955 and created a "drip, drip, drip" from the congregation's budget, Brewin said.

The value of the deal is "in the neighbourhood" of $2 million, he added.

Questions aboutheight,obstructed views

Residents said they felt the church hadn't consulted enough prior to going to the developer, and that the churchshould have looked for alternatives to keep programs running.

Laura Urrechagawas among the 13 original members of Development Watch Southminster, a group that formed to organize people who were against Windmill's proposal.

"We as a community, want them to survive. But we want the importance of our heritage value to be maintained," Urrechaga said. "We do not want to be turned into Westboro."

Among the key issues is the height of the proposed buildingsix-storeys or about 19 metreswhich is almost double what's allowed forneighbouring residential and commercial buildings, she said.

The church welcomes people into Old Ottawa South as they approach from the Glebe, she added.

'Does not represent our community'

"The church has visual cultural heritage value as the dominant site on that hill when we come into our community," Urrechagasaid.

"A long, residential condominium that is higher than the church doesn't have that same visual cultural heritage value. It does not represent our community."

Resident Michael Lynch claimedthe condo being visible from the Rideau Canal could compromise the waterway's UNESCO World Heritage status.

And some residents said the developer's rendering of the building had optimistic, mid-summer foliage on surrounding trees and didn't accurately represent what the view would be like the rest of the year.

Coun. David Chernushenkosaid the canal's heritage designation has survived other developments, such as Lansdowne Park. He also said federal politicianshad shown no interest in weighing in on the issue.

Ditch the developer, group says

Urrechagasaid the developer shouldagree to take off at least onestoreyfrom the proposed condo or the church should find a developer who can or the church will risk losing the community's trust.

But Rodney Wilts, a partner at Windmill, said the project's current density was the minimum required for it to be viable.

Brewinsaid Windmill has been a good partner for the church and their proposal would allow the sanctuary and community programs to continue during construction uninterrupted, a crucial non-financial benefit.

The proposal still needs to go to the planning committee and city council to approve re-zoning of the church property as a traditional main street, which would allow the residential development.

Chernushenkosaid he has not taken a position on the development, though he has reservations about its height andthe protection of trees around it.