Centretown is an urban neighbourhood south of Ottawa’s historic core and Parliament Hill. Its layered urban forms reflect several major eras of Ottawa’s urban development and serve a diverse residential base.  In 2018, ERA was retained by the City of Ottawa to lead the Centretown Heritage Inventory project. This comprehensive inventory, finalized in 2020, documented and classified approximately 3,000 properties in Centretown, providing insights into its built and landscape character and evolution.

Serving as the first phase of the City of Ottawa’s Centretown Heritage Study, which informed the 2022 Centretown and Minto Park Heritage Conservation District (HCD) Plan, the Inventory provides essential information about cultural heritage resources in a multifunctional database. This data enables the development of conservation goals, strategies, and urban planning policies aligned with community heritage values and objectives.

ERA employed a streamlined framework that aligns with the provisions of the Ontario Heritage Act and recent best practices, to evaluate and classify each property in Centertown. The evaluation considered design, historical, and contextual value, while emphasizing community engagement and area-shaping themes.

Based on Inventory’s findings, ERA provided key recommendations to the City of Ottawa. Properties classified as Significant Resources were identified as potential candidates for designation under the Ontario Heritage Act. Character-Defining Resources were recommended for listing on Ottawa’s Heritage Register and select Character-Supporting Resources for further review by City staff. These designations and listings aim to recognize and protect Centretown’s layered character and heritage resources.

ERA’s work on the Centretown Heritage Inventory demonstrates our ‘historic urban landscape’ approach to heritage documentation and inventories. Utilizing a comprehensive methodology, informed by legislative and policy frameworks, ERA provided the City with a valuable tool for informed decision-making in heritage conservation and urban planning. The project reflects ERA’s approach to the management of heritage resources in dynamic urban environments like Centretown.

Past project team members also include Christie Ellis Wong.