Hope for Somerset House renewed as 'major construction' finally underway

Construction is underway to renew the derelict Somerset House, a historic building in Centretown that's sat empty for almost two decades, according to the local councillor.

This 129-year-old heritage building at the corner of Bank Street and Somerset Street W. partially collapsed in 2007.

The eastern half was demolished and the western half boarded up, remaining empty and largely untouched ever since.

In an interview with CBC on Sunday, Somerset Coun. Ariel Troster said she was "really excited" to see significant development work on Somerset House begin.

"There was a large concrete pour that happened on Friday ... and that was the first piece of major construction on this building for 17 years," Troster said.

"Frankly [it's] been a much derided eyesore in the centre of town." 

3 different redevelopments approved

For Troster and others, the work is a relief — but also a symptom of the city's inability to act on a major "blight" affecting downtown Ottawa. 

When Jack Hanna, chair of the heritage working group for the Centretown Community Association, heard about the renewed construction efforts, his excitement came with an asterisk.

"We have our fingers crossed that this time work proceeds through to completion," he said.

That cautious attitude has been years in the making.

Redevelopment plans put forward by the owner, TK Holdings, had been approved by the heritage committee three times: in 2013, in 2017 and again in 2023. A sign boasting the 2017 redevelopment plan is still on display on the Bank Street side of the building.

In the meantime, the city has allowed an unstable wall to come down, ordered repairs and declined the developer's plan for a different project until Somerset House was fixed.

"People look at it and they see what it was and what it could be again and it just irritates them," said Hanna. "It sits there year after year and nothing happens and it gets worse."

'Demolition by neglect'

Hanna and Troster both described the building as an example of "demolition by neglect" — a building that's allowed to become rundown because it's too expensive to repair.

The city should have more tools to compel owners to act before properties reach this state, Troster argued.

"[Demolition by neglect] leads to urban blight and ... a downturn in the urban core," she said, adding that it's "very hard to compel [owners] to take action."

Many landlords are letting properties sit empty or unrepaired until interest rates drop, Troster said.  A vacant commercial property tax, she suggested, could encourage them to not leave properties empty.

Hanna agreed, noting the city currently "can only do so much."

"It needs more tools," he said. "It needs a tax to encourage developers to get on with building what they proposed to build."

It's an issue Troster said she'd investigate if she won a second term after the 2026 election, as her focus now is on a renovictions bylaw.

City staff worked hard to ensure construction began on Somerset House, Troster added, noting there was "a lot of hand-holding, a lot of faith" to re-establish a relationship with the owner.

She didn't have a specific construction timeline but said she hoped things would "move considerably over the summer."