The letter below was sent to City Council by Heritage Ottawa President David Flemming expressing the concern of the members about protecting Ottawa historic Registry Office in any move to expand the Rideau and/or Congress Centres.

Located at 70 Nicholas Street, the structure was built in 1873 and used as the City Registry until 1909. An excellent learning guide about the history and architecture of the Registry Office has been prepared by Katie Chau of the Ottawa Regional Society of Architects. It is available (in PDF format) here.

Mayor Robert Chiarelli and Members of Council,
City of Ottawa,
110 Laurier Avenue West,
Ottawa, ON
K1P 1J1

Your Worship and Members of Council:

Recent proposals to expand Rideau Centre and the Ottawa Congress Centre, brings into question the fate of the Old Registry Office located at 70 Nicholas Street.

Built in 1873, it was used as the City’s Registry Office until 1909. It was sold to the Federal Government in 1935 and was acquired by Viking-Rideau in the 1990's in a land exchange deal with the Department of Public Works and Government Services without any covenant requiring the new owner to preserve the structure. Viking-Rideau Corporation have stated that they do not wish to keep the building in its original location and have suggested that they would pay the cost of moving the building off the site to make way for any future expansion of the Rideau Centre/Congress Centre. Viking-Rideau have stabilized the building and have an engineering study which indicates that the structure can be safely moved

The existing City of Ottawa Official Plan’s Secondary Policy Plan for the Rideau/Congress Centre Area, recognizes: "...the City Registry, the Albion Hotel, and the Carleton County Courthouse, Registry and Gaol buildings as a very significant cluster of heritage buildings east of the Canal which serves as an important source and reminder of local civic history." The Old Registry Office was designated under Part IV of the Ontario Heritage Act in 1978. It is a stunning example of a 19th century land registry office and is one of only four of its kind still remaining in Ontario. Its historic importance is also recognized by the Federal Heritage Building Review Office.

Heritage Ottawa believes that, ideally, the building should be kept in its original location and incorporated into any modern development planned for the site provided that it is not encompassed by a modern building and that all four sides are exposed. Failing this, we would reluctantly support moving the building to 60 Waller Street ( the southwest corner of Daly and Waller Streets), within the historic precinct described in the Secondary Policy Plan..

In planning for the preservation of this building, we suggest that the City make its retention a pre-condition of municipal financial support for any Rideau Centre/Congress Centre expansion and develop a strategy for its ongoing use.

We welcome the opportunity to discuss this matter further and hope that our request will be given serious consideration.

Yours sincerely,

David B. Flemming,
President