Heritage Ottawa says it has retained a lawyer as it seeks to challenge the addition to the Château Laurier.
In a press release Tuesday, Heritage Ottawa says it has retained lawyer Michael Polowin, of Gowling WLG, and co-counsel Marc Denhez, of the former Ontario Municipal Board to offer advice on their legal options.
The group aims to put a halt to a proposed addition to the hotel, which it says “denigrates rather than enhances the Château Laurier, and its unique symbolic place in the magnificent Canadian landscape.”
This comes just over two weeks after City Council rejected a motion–put forward by Rideau-Vanier Coun. Mathieu Fleury–to reject the heritage permit that grants the Château’s owner, Larco Investments, to proceed with the expansion. A motion to reconsider the vote that defeated Fleury’s motion was also voted down in a special council meeting a day later.
The proposed addition would add 147 hotel rooms and conference space, but each attempt at a design has been met with significant backlash from the public. The current design, the fifth attempt, was approved in June of 2018. The site plan for the addition was given the green light earlier this year.
Heritage Ottawa says it is teaming up with the Friends of the Château Laurier group to fundraise for any legal challenges it intends to launch.
