Is the entire third floor fake? That is super well done. Never would have guessed.
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James House | 390 Bank St. | 34m | 9s | Urban Capital + Taggart | RAW
- Thread starter urbottawa
- Start date
OttawaUrbanite
New Member
It would seem so, I wonder what the rationale was for extending a 3rd floor facade was when they fitted the space for Staples?
Looks like that faux-façade was built hundred years ago with the original structure. It's part of the brick heritage face on Bank and Waverley.
CapitalSeven
Senior Member
Seems more likely that it was really a three-storey building and only the facade was kept when they consolidated various properties into the one-storey Staples.
Edit: I seem to be correct. I checked the historical photos on GeoOttawa, and it seems to have happened in the 90s.
1991:
1999:
PS: I have been in and past this building hundreds of times before but never really looked. The heritage facades are the only bits of the old buildings remaining; otherwise they were completely demolished, and replaced with a steel-frame big box store. It was a complete facadectomy.
Edit: I seem to be correct. I checked the historical photos on GeoOttawa, and it seems to have happened in the 90s.
1991:
1999:
PS: I have been in and past this building hundreds of times before but never really looked. The heritage facades are the only bits of the old buildings remaining; otherwise they were completely demolished, and replaced with a steel-frame big box store. It was a complete facadectomy.
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Noticed that on Geo the other day as well. For what it's worth, they did do a pretty good job preserving the facade, but you can tell by the window's something's wrong. Kind of sad.
urbottawa
Active Member
The blank wall is colour matched pretty well to the brick
Yup, fairly inoffensive blank wall. Hope the current proposal next door goes through as designed.
goozers
New Member
Looking good so far... however I wish they had a bit of a plane change between the 2 bricks.
Really hoping the brick screen walls on the balconies end up getting constructed.
Really hoping the brick screen walls on the balconies end up getting constructed.
urbottawa
Active Member
Looks like the perforated brick feature was value engineered out for painted metal beams:
That's really too bad, that was my favourite feature of this project. Not Claridge level bait and switch, but still a little disappointing and disingenuous.
Ottawacurious
Active Member
Maybe it is still in? That doesn't look 'finished' to me and could just be the framework for whatever they will do to finish it/bolt whatever onto it. Guess we will see!
urbottawa
Active Member
Looking quite good overall:
secretlynotarobot
New Member
Sigh... without the visual interest from the brick lattice this is just yet another midrise who's main architectural feature is poorly placed expansion joints. Hope that they're able to find good tenants for the retail, would hate to see it sit empty on the speculation that one day someone will pay $60/sqft for it.
btap
Active Member
This looks decent from across the street but the sidewalk presence is pretty bad. Kind of a gloomy, dark overhang.
I agree. Great project, but the ground floor is missing something. Hopefully the retail signs and activity will help with that, along with lighting at night. A couple planters with bushes would have helped as well.