Andaz Hotel Ottawa seeks approval to demolish York Street building to add onto hotel

The Andaz Hotel in Ottawa's ByWard Market.

The Andaz Hotel in the ByWard Market is looking to expand, and is seeking approval to demolish a building on York Street.

The proposal would require demolishing a building at 110 York St. to facilitate the construction of the 16-storey hotel addition.

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The city says the building set to be demolished was built in the 1950s by Union St. Joseph du Canada as office space. The Union St. Joseph du Canada headquarters next door was demolished in 2014 to build the Andaz Hotel. The city says the remaining building on York Street is "non-contributing" and staff recommend its demolition.

The new development would replace the two-storey redbrick building on York Street and the parking lot behind it with a 106-unit hotel expansion that has a ballroom on the main floor. Parking would be underground, within the same structure approved for the adjacent 137 George St., which has yet to be built.

The proposal before committee is smaller than one floated in 2018, just two years after the Andaz opened. At the time, Claridge Homes was pitching a 19-storey hotel addition with 140 rooms.

Since the property is located within the ByWard Market heritage conservation district, the proposal must also be presented to the Built Heritage Committee to approve the demolition of the building on York Street and the construction of the expanded hotel.

According to a cultural heritage impact statement filed in September, the new building that would face onto York Street would "(replicate) the massing of the existing building at 110 York Street and (provide) similar cladding and fenestration." Renderings provided by NEUF Architects show a two-storey red brick building with four large windows facing the street with the 16-storey hotel addition behind it.

Concept images for the proposed Andaz Hotel Ottawa expansion in the ByWard Market. (Neuf Architects via City of Ottawa)

The 16-storey addition would be one storey shorter than the existing Andaz hotel, and would also be shorter than the proposed high-rise at 137 George St., which will be 22 storeys tall.

The Andaz Hotel Ottawa, operated by Hyatt, opened in 2016.

The Built Heritage Committee will consider the proposal on Monday. It will come before the Planning and Housing Committee on Nov. 15.