A couple of years ago a third year studio - let by Sheryl - proposed re-using this building as a site for a spa. Some very nice proposals!

Just to clarify, the city designated the three street fronting facades, all five stories.

As for the Woodwards development, it's nothing short of impressive. It's much larger than Ogilvy's and the new use is incredibly mixed with a lot of moving parts. I think the fact they made it work and are building it is nothing short of a miracle. Although, I am not sure how things usually go in Vancouver, maybe it is the usual Ottawa pace of progress that impacts that judgement.

1 - more mall space,
2 - more luxury housing

Like the author and those who have posted here, I regularly admire this building and wonder why it's sat empty for so long (I've always assumed that it was a victim of real estate speculation). It's a shame that the city has only designated the lower facade as heritage, this should be extended. I also agree that ground level retail or other (quasi)public space would add to the charm of the neighbourhood.

While office space seems like a reasonable use of the upper levels, this building could represent an opportunity to recognize those residents of this neighbourhood who are regularly derided and increasingly criminalized. In the nearly two decades that this building has sat vacant, the rates of homelessness in Ottawa increased steadily. Many of the victims of this trend have been drawn to the market by the availability of services and sense of community that exists for them.

These people are as much a part of this neighbourhood as any of the folks who have bought into the recent condominium developments. Unfortunately, rather than adequately addressing their needs they are being pushed out of the neighbourhood through draconian safety laws and insulting public relations campaigns (think 'Kindness' meters). This is a terrible way to treat people who's biggest problems are public perception and the fact that they have no homes.

If this building could be wrangled away from the Rideau Centre (certainly a big if), the space would serve the community much better as a new affordable housing development. This idea is not without precedent. The old Woodwards building in Vancouver (just steps away from posh Water St.) was sold to the city by a private developer so that it could be transformed into a mixed income housing development. A project of this vision is not beyond Ottawa's reach, but it may be beyond it's political will.

Somehow I don't think it will become lofts, too close to the centre of action and not enough density for profitable residential development (by developer measurement). Hopefully the Rideau Centre will develop it with sensitivity putting retail and offices into the building and not try to build a tower on top of it.

But after Lansdowne, who knows what council might approve.

To me, this building is another (of many) diamond in the rough in Ottawa. I too thinks a mixed-used building would be great, but I'm leaning more toward the combination of boutique below and lofts above (real lofts with large open spaces and height ceiling). This building would also be great for a boutique hotel (a real boutique hotel like the W or Le Germain).

Hopefully there aren't any major structural issues after being abandoned for so many years! I'm not sure the Rideau Center would be able to properly take care of it based on some of the choices made on the main building (not pretty).

I love that "beltline" between the third and fourth story. And I would love to know exactly why the building has remained vacant nearly 20 years. The city? The owner? Etc. etc.?