PLEASE ENJOY YOUR STAY

By all measurable standards for such projects, the latest proposal for an addition to the Château Laurier meets the criteria. That doesn’t mean we have to like it.

Yet we think the city should approve it. Otherwise, council sends a message that even when a property owner follows the guidelines and makes significant changes based on feedback, approval still boils down to whose personal taste holds sway politically. In which case, why have standards at all?

Clearly, the public has a stake in this iconic landmark. Built between 1908 and 1912 in what’s referred to as “late Victorian French Château style,” the hotel practically defines our cityscape. And although the building is private property, this is not a simple case of a developer pitching a new condominium. The Château holds a place in our hearts.

Owner Larco Investments Ltd. wants to build an extension on it at the back, adding 164 more rooms and conference space. The proposal is “contemporary in expression,” as a city report describes it, and stands seven storeys. The exterior would combine dressed Indiana limestone, glass and bronze. The design, according to the report, would allow the hotel’s classic roofline to remain the “dominant element” of the site.

Larco unveiled its plans in 2016, to dismal reviews. It has since revised them three times, altering the height and building materials, and separating the addition from the hotel by a courtyard, making it effectively a stand-alone structure. It didn’t do so in a vacuum: There were extensive consultations with the city’s heritage and planning staff and with the public. There was input from the Heritage Working Group of the National Capital Commission and the city. There was review by the city’s Urban Design Review Panel. Parks Canada weighed in. City staff now recommend that the proposal be approved.

“The City,” it notes, “cannot require a building to be built in a particular style, or by a particular architect — that is the choice of the applicant.” What it can do is ensure that whatever style is chosen meets the criteria of the Ontario Heritage Act in 1978 and applicable federal guidelines. Staff ’s conclusion: “None of (the Château’s) character-defining elements as listed in either the City’s Statement of Significance or the federal Statement of Cultural Heritage Value will be removed, replaced or altered to complete the addition.” In other words, the integrity of the Château remains, even if much of the public is unhappy.

This proposal has proceeded by the book. So let Larco build its extension. Who knows? In 50 years, we might actually like it.