20. Application to alter ASHBURY COLLEGE, 362 MAriposa Avenue, A BUILDING LOCATED in the Rockcliffe Park Heritage Conservation District

Demande de modification du Ashbury college, 362 rue Mariposa, dans l’arrondissement historique de Rockcliffe Park

COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION

That Council approve the application to alter Ashbury College, 362 Mariposa Avenue, in accordance with the plans filed by David S. McRobie, Architects, received on May 7 2003, included as Document 2.

(Note: Approval to Alter this property under the Ontario Heritage Act must not be construed to meet the requirements for the issuance of a building permit.)

RECOMMANDATION DU COMITÉ

Que le Conseil municipal approuve la demande de modification du Ashbury College, au 362, avenue Mariposa, conformément aux plans déposés par David S. McRobie, Architects, reçus le 7 mai 2003 et annexés comme Document 2.

(Nota : L’approbation de la modification de cette propriété en vertu de la Loi sur le patrimoine de l’Ontario ne doit pas être interprétée de façon à satisfaire aux exigences relatives à la délivrance d’un permis de construire.)

Documentation

Development Services Department General Manager’s report dated 20 May 2003 (ACS2003-DEV-APR-0134).

Report to/Rapport au:

Local Architectural Conservation Advisory Committee /

Comité consultatif sur la conservation de l’architecture locale

Planning and Development Committee /

Comité de l’urbanisme et de l’aménagement

and Council/et au Conseil

20 May 2003 / le 20 mai 2003

Submitted by/Soumis par: Ned Lathrop, General Manager/Directeur général

Development Services Department / Services d’aménagement

Contact/Personne-ressource: Grant Lindsay, Manager, Development Approvals / Gestionnaire, Approbation des demandes d’aménagement

580-2424 ext. 13242, grant.lindsay@ottawa.ca

Ref N°: ACS2003-DEV-APR-0134

SUBJECT: Application to alter ASHBURY COLLEGE, 362 MAriposa Avenue, A BUILDING LOCATED in the Rockcliffe Park Heritage Conservation District

OBJET: Demande DE modification du Ashbury college, 362, AVENUE Mariposa, édifice situé dans le district de conservation du patrimoine de Rockcliffe Park

REPORT RECOMMENDATION

That the Local Architectural Conservation Advisory Committee recommend that Planning and Development Committee recommend that Council approve the application to alter Ashbury College, 362 Mariposa Avenue, in accordance with the plans filed by David S. McRobie, Architects, received on May 7 2003, included as Document 2.

(Note: Approval to Alter this property under the Ontario Heritage Act must not be construed to meet the requirements for the issuance of a building permit.)

RECOMMANDATION DU RAPPORT

Que le Comité consultatif sur la conservation de l’architecture locale recommande au Comité de l’urbanisme et de l’aménagement de recommander au Conseil municipal d’approuver la demande de modification du Ashbury College, au 362, avenue Mariposa, conformément aux plans déposés par David S. McRobie, Architects, reçus le 7 mai 2003 et annexés comme Document 2.

Local Architectural Conservation Advisory Committee Recommendation – 3 June 2003

LACAC supports the departmental recommendation.

BACKGROUND

The entire former Village of Rockcliffe Park was designated as a heritage conservation district under the Ontario Heritage Act in 1997. This report has been prepared because the consent of City Council is required before an alteration to a building within the heritage conservation district can proceed.

Ashbury College, a private school, is one of three schools, two private, one public that lie within the boundaries of the Rockcliffe Park Heritage Conservation District. It is located at 362 Mariposa Avenue amidst large grounds (see Location Map, Document 1). Staff and student housing, a tennis court, and playing fields take up the entire block that extends from Glenwood Avenue to Springfield Road and from Maple Lane to Mariposa Avenue. Its main entrance faces Mariposa Avenue, but most students enter off Glenwood Avenue.

The school was founded in 1891 and moved to Rockcliffe Park in 1910. The first school building, now called the Heritage Wing, opened in 1910. It was designed by the local architectural firm of Keefer and Weeks, who also designed many houses in the Village in the 1910s and 1920s. The school has grown substantially since 1910, and the most recent additions include a gymnasium in 1984 and the Napier Wing constructed in 1994-95. The school’s sprawling irregular plan reflects its incremental growth.

DISCUSSION

The proposed addition to Ashbury College is a two-storey, red brick structure with stone banding or stringcourses, and a modified mansard roof. It is designed in the same idiom as the two most recent additions to the structure and is intended to create a unified structure out of what is essentially a series of very disparate wings.

The new addition is in two volumes; one rectangular and the other curved. The rectangle has its short end facing east to Glenwood Avenue. The Glenwood façade is very simple, and features secondary entrances and a loading zone located below grade. The south façade, which forms the long side of the rectangle, is also simple. The ground floor has large windows located just above grade that light four classrooms. The second floor is separated from the ground floor by stringcourses and a false pediment. From the west wall of this part of the addition, the building drops in height and curves around an existing theatre to the north. This part of the addition will house the dining room, a one-storey volume with large glass doors and windows facing south-west.

The Village of Rockcliffe Park Heritage Conservation District Study contains guidelines that are intended “to protect and enhance those elements in the Village that contribute to the definition of heritage character.” The Guidelines make it clear that they are not intended to be prescriptive, rather they are intended to apply the design ideals that have influenced the design evolution of the former Village in the past in order to perpetuate the image of Rockcliffe Park as a picturesque landscape characterized by large houses on large lots, surrounded by informal grounds with large trees and many shrubs.

The Guidelines stress that

4. Any application to construct a new building or addition should be reviewed, with consideration of its potential to enhance the heritage character of the Village. New construction should be recommended for approval only where the siting, form, materials and detailing are sympathetic to the surrounding natural and cultural environment.

5. New buildings and additions should be of their own time, but should also harmonize with the existing cultural landscape. They should also be sited and designed so as to retain the existing topography. The use of natural materials should be encouraged.

The Development Services Department supports the proposed addition because it follows the Guidelines listed above. The addition is sensitively wrapped around the existing school in order to preserve the soccer field to the south. Its style reflects the recent wing of the building and complements the character of the original 1910 school. The new wing’s impact on the streetscape of Glenwood Avenue will be restricted to an entrance and a loading zone. These entrances will have a minimal impact on Glenwood as it will face side lots, as no houses face across Glenwood to Ashbury in this location. The view towards the building from Maple Lane will be enhanced by the addition, as the new building will feature the large windows and doorway of the dining hall.

CONSULTATION

Adjacent property owners and residential tenants were notified by letter of the date of the LACAC and Planning and Development Committee meetings and were provided with comment sheets to be returned to LACAC.

The Rockcliffe Park Residents’ Association was informed of the project and the Heritage Sub-committee of the Association commented on the proposal.

Councillor Jacques Legendre is aware of this project.

A public meeting to present the project to which members of the Rockcliffe Park Residents Association, the Lindenlea Community Association and interested neighbours were invited was held in the spring. Staff attended this meeting, as well as the Ward Councillor. The response to the proposed expansion of Ashbury was favourable.

FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS

N/A

APPLICATION PROCESS TIMELINE STATUS

The complete application for this project was received on May 7, 2003 and was processed in the 90 day timeline established for the processing of heritage applications by the Ontario Heritage Act.

ATTACHMENTS

Document 1 - Location Map

Document 2 - Elevations

Document 3 - Site Plan

DISPOSITION

The Department of Corporate Services, Council and Committee Services Branch, to notify the applicant/ agent (David McRobie, David S. McRobie, Architects, Suite 100 – 66 Queen Street, Ottawa, K1P 5C6) and the Ontario Heritage Foundation (10 Adelaide Street, 3^rd Floor, Toronto, Ontario, M5C 1J3) of City Council’s consent to construct an addition to Ashbury College, 362 Mariposa Avenue.

LOCATION MAP Document 1

ELEVATIONS Document 2