The federal government is about to embark on a nearly decade-long construction project that will force a partial closure of Wellington Street, and could once again upset traffic and frustrate businesses in Ottawa’s downtown core.
The South Block project will give federal properties across from Parliament Hill a dramatic facelift, beginning with the block bounded by O’Connor, Metcalfe and Sparks streets.
Work on “Block 2,” which includes office space for the Senate, the House of Commons and the Indigenous Peoples Space at 100 Wellington, will begin next month and extend through 2033.
“You’re going to make sure that you’re going to maintain automobile traffic in front of there because we worked very hard to get that open back up as a a corridor through at our city,” said Tim Tierney, chair of Ottawa’s transportation committee.
Councillors passed two motions during Thursday’s committee meeting: tying approval of a city permit to lessening the impact on traffic, and providing financial support for Sparks Street.
Moving fast
Staff with Public Services and Procurement Canada who spoke to the city’s transportation committee on Thursday would not provide a final project cost, but original estimates pegged it at $430 million.
Their presentation did not mention plans to build a tunnel that would require tearing up sidewalk and digging 13 metres down.
When asked by Tierney, Roque Gameiro, director general for the project, said there’s no word on exactly when the work to provide underground connections between government buildings would start, though he said it would be a few years in.
“I’ve never seen the federal government move this quick in my life,” Tierney said. “We have to make sure we put the appropriate checks and balances to protect our citizens.”
Several councillors appeared caught off guard by the project details.
Court Curry, the city’s manager of right of way, said that staff “have been encouraging the federal government to remember that they’re building this project in downtown Ottawa.”
“It is a neighbourhood,” he said.
Good news for businesses
Kevin McHale, executive director of the Spark Street Business Improvement Association, expressed excitement over the project.
“When completed, the South Block project will bring back to live several retail bays that have been vacant for many years, waiting for this project to start, and it will revitalize an empty office complex,” he said. “This will be a good thing for Spark Street and downtown Ottawa.”
He said his organization’s relationship and communication with the federal government has greatly improved over the last decade, noting that the days of workers “dumping dust into patios as people are trying to eat” are long over.
But McHale also emphasized the need for the federal government to ensure Wellington Street remains open to traffic, saying its lengthy closure during the pandemic made the downtown “feel closed, even though it wasn’t.”
Negotiations ongoing
In order to block the city’s right of ways, the federal government needs to apply for a temporary construction encroachment permit.
It comes with a $1,000 fee and a per-metre cost for renting city space, paid on a 90-day basis.
Curry could not provide a definitive cost, but estimated the project will net the city a few million dollars over the next decade.
The Wellington Street closure will not force lane closures until the third phase of construction begins in July 2025, giving the federal government’s consultant time to work with the city to understand the effects on traffic and negotiate further.
A motion from the area’s city councillor also directed staff to negotiate a memorandum of understanding to ensure that the federal government:
- Pays its share of funding through the previously negotiated Sparks Street Public Realm Plan.
- Provides ongoing financial support to local businesses.
- Adjusts leasing terms to get tenants into vacant federal buildings.
The public realm plan went unfunded through the pandemic. Somerset ward Coun. Ariel Troster says it would pay to repair broken brickwork and upgrade amenities including the installation of public washrooms.
Gameiro said he couldn’t comment on the feasibility of those demands before discussing them with his team.
‘A lot’ of pain before gain
The debate comes amid renewed interest in the potential sale of Wellington Street to the federal government, with city staff contending they have received no “official” offer.
But the planning chief says that issue is completely separate.
The same was said of the City of Gatineau’s ongoing efforts to build a tramway either on Wellington Street or under Sparks Street.
But Troster was perhaps most interested in whether the federal government will provide a break to public servants who will need to commute through an even more congested downtown, or funding to increase public transit options.
“If there’s going to be a particular period of time where traffic is going to be incredibly difficult because of this construction … could you maybe ease up on some of the return-to-work protocols during that?” she asked.
There was no answer.
“It’s frustrating because this is a project manager for just one project, but we’re looking at the big picture here,” she told CBC after the meeting.
“The final project will be incredibly beautiful, but there’s a lot of pain before we get to the gain.”