Ottawa’s mayor has presented what he’s calling an “action plan” for the ByWard Market, but it largely builds off ideas city council already approved five years ago.
At an Ottawa Board of Trade event Thursday, Mark Sutcliffe delivered a speech saying the strategy outlines “clear and specific steps” to “restore the market to its vital place as the heart of our city.”
A six-page handout with Sutcliffe’s branding was given out at the event.
It came one day before a report from city staff is expected to provide full details and recommendations for a finance and corporate services committee meeting on March 3.
The timing of the announcement is in part to prepare for the coming of ByWard Market’s 200th anniversary next year.
“As we celebrate the first 200 years of the Byward Market, we have to imagine the next 50, the next 100, the next 200 years,” said Sutcliffe.
But many of the key points Sutcliffe highlighted in his handout and speech — livening streets, safety improvements and redevelopment of the historic market building and Clarence Street parking garage — were included in the $129-million plan to rejuvenate the ByWard Market that the former city council approved in January 2021 after months of discussion.
A rendering of the inside of the historic market building after renovations. (City of Ottawa)
Sutcliffe said the city will add “new outdoor dining terraces, a welcoming gathering space, a family-friendly zone, local pop-up retail vendors, and new public art throughout the market,” aimed at bringing in more daily traffic. That kind of programming was also in the 2021 vision, though implementation so far has been limited.
The longer-term ideas outlined in the speech revisit concepts already thought up years ago. Sutcliffe proposed reimagining the iconic market building at 55 ByWard Market Square as a modern, food-focused hub, and mentioned replacing the aging 70 Clarence St. parking garage with a mixed-use “destination.”
He also pointed to the replacement of water and sewage pipes under York Street in 2028 as an opportunity to create a plaza-style space for events, another concept previously approved.
‘Neglected for far too long’
Josiah Frith, co-vice-chair of the Lowertown Community Association, said Sutcliffe’s plan is “a lot of things that we’ve seen before.”
He pointed to revitalization plans for William Street, the market building and York Street that were part of earlier public realm planning.
“These things have been neglected for far too long,” Frith said.
Frith said the plan appears to prioritize beautification and tourism over the social challenges facing the neighbourhood, saying it “will not have the desired result unless they take care of the other aspects of life down here.”
An image of the outside of the 70 Clarence st. parking garage, which Mayor Mark Sutcliffe will be converted into a mixed-use destination building in his ByWard Market action plan. (Francis Ferland/CBC)
The handout from the mayor’s office outlines a $1-million investment in private security announced in December, and a $1.2-million pilot project with the Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addiction. But Frith said the scope of that project is still unclear.
“I’m not really sure if that’s to study things or to provide solutions for the issues that continue to pervade and be concentrated in Lowertown and ByWard Market,” he said. “We really are eager to hear more details about that.”
‘Action plan’ pre-empts city report
This isn’t the first time the mayor got out ahead of city staff on messaging for a revitalization plan: He did something similar for the contentious Lansdowne 2.0 project in October.
Asked why the information was delivered this way, the mayor’s office said in a statement: “The Board of Trade’s Downtown Ottawa Forum was the ideal platform to share our vision and rally support for this important economic and cultural district.”
Since September, the mayor has pledged to end youth homelessness by 2030 and unveiled what his office termed “Canada’s most ambitious housing action plan.” He’s also announced a $1-million fund for festivals, and a public safety action plan.
Frith said he believes it’s “an attempt to get some sort of popular support behind him.”
“During an election year,” he added.
Plan to bring out ‘best of ByWard’
Business leaders were more optimistic, but still acknowledged the overlap with earlier plans.
Victoria Williston, executive director of the ByWard Market District Authority (BMDA), said the strategy reflects “a lot of good momentum.”
“It’s a reannouncement? Yes,” she said. “But I think it’s also to drum up that excitement.”
She said the BMDA is focused on short-term action, like an initiative expected to launch this summer with seating, food and programming.
A rendering of the proposed York Street Plaza. (City of Ottawa)
“It’s sort of that best of ByWard,” she said.
Williston said that despite 2021’s plan being unanimously approved by the last city council under former mayor Jim Watson, “the main problem is there’s not funding for all of the parts of the plan,” adding there are some design concepts that have yet to advance to the construction phase.
What appears new is the emphasis on timelines, rather than entirely new policy directions.
Still, with the detailed staff report not yet released, it remains unclear which elements represent new investments or changes, and which simply advance previously approved plans.
A ByWard Market report produced by city staff is expected to be discussed at a finance and corporate services committee meeting on March 3.