City posts Château Laurier addition design, application

Latest version addresses concerns over heritage, but still faces approvals

The City of Ottawa this week posted online the most recent applications by Larco Investments, which owns the Fairmont Château Laurier, for site control and development permits for a nearly 12,000-square-metre, 159-room addition to the rear of the hotel.

The application comes four months after Larco reached an agreement with Heritage Ottawa, which opposed earlier plans, on the new design, which includes two pavilions, one a 10-storey structure, the other 11 storeys tall, with a two-storey connector joining them.

The new design, says Heritage Ottawa on its website, “is more compatible with the hotel's composition and irregular silhouette.” The original design, the City's approval of which Heritage Ottawa challenged legally, called for a horizontal bar-shaped addition that blocked the rear view of the hotel.

Heritage Ottawa president Richard Belliveau on Saturday described this most recent development as simply a “pro forma” one.

According to the City, the new application will require heritage and site plan approvals from the City, as well as approvals from the National Capital Commission, and a decision from the province's Local Planning Appeal Tribunal before construction can get underway.

Members of the public have until Dec. 23 to provide feedback.

Details of the latest proposal can be viewed at the city website:

Those wishing to comment, or be notified of upcoming meetings, project updates and decisions, can email chateaulaurier@ottawa.ca.

LARCO INVESTMENTS INC. The latest plans for an addition to the Fairmont Château Laurier include two pavilions, 10 and 11 storeys high, joined by a two-storey connector.