ByWard merchants petition city to backtrack on redevelopment plans

Merchants in the historic ByWard Market Building are asking the city to cancel plans that could see them all evicted after decades in the building

Nearly every business inside Ottawa’s historic ByWard Market Building is urging city council to scrap a redevelopment plan that would force them out after decades in business. In a petition sent Tuesday to Mayor Mark Sutcliffe and members of council, the newly formed ByWard Market Building Tenants Alliance asks the city to repeal its “reimagining” strategy for 55 ByWard Market Square , arguing it would terminate the leases of all 17 current food and craft businesses to make way for new commercial and event spaces. Signed by 16 tenants, the petition says members were “shocked” to discover that a city staff report approved by council in March recommended replacing existing businesses.

The proposal calls for a 6,500-square-foot flexible event space featuring rotating food vendors, two large “nostalgic food-based” tenants at either end of the main floor and two second-floor restaurants. The redevelopment plan is estimated to cost $40.3 million, including $10.6 million in lifecycle repairs and maintenance over the next 20 years. The tenants say they collectively pay roughly $1.28 million annually in rent, operating costs and property taxes while attracting hundreds of thousands of visitors to the Market each year.

For Gias Salim Uddin, owner of Shafali Bazaar , the proposal tells him that the city doesn’t really care about merchants like him. Uddin has operated restaurants in the ByWard Market for 40 years, including the past 30 inside the Market building. Just before the pandemic hit, he invested $200,000 in renovations and equipment upgrades to his Indian restaurant.

“We survived,” he said. “We still paid the rent, paid the taxes, kept the staff running. And now we see the light at the end of the tunnel.

We are just about to get back on our feet and then we hear this news. “It’s like a slap in the face.” The restaurant employs three people, including one who has worked there for 25 years.

“When we talk about this, she gets so sad,” said Uddin. “‘Where am I going to go? This is the only job I’ve ever had.’”

He says tenants were never consulted about the plan. “We are looked at as just nobody,” he said. “They’re planning on just getting rid of us.

“That’s really very difficult to digest.” The petition argues that the city’s proposal would replace a successful mix of long-established businesses with only vaguely defined new uses, including two second-floor restaurants, one at each end of the building. One restaurant would be located in space currently used by Le Moulin de Provence bakery for much of its baking operation.

The tenants say the proposed ground-floor event space serves no demonstrated need, and question whether the restaurants would even be viable in a district that is already home to more than 100 restaurants and bars. Further, they contend the proposed alterations to the heritage building will diminish its character. Detailed design work has not begun, and the tenants hope council will reverse course before the redevelopment advances.

They are instead asking that the $2.7 million already approved for design work and tenant transition planning be redirected toward repairs and renovations to the existing building. The alliance also calls for barrier-free access to the second floor and upgraded public washrooms. The petition was signed by 16 businesses, including ByWard Café, Le Moulin de Provence, Canada in a Basket, Tickled Pink, Corazón de Maíz , Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory and Wang’s Noodle House.

It was sent not only to council, but also to the prime minister, local MPs and MPPs, the National Capital Commission, various tourism organizations and community associations. Our website is your destination for up-to-the-minute news, so make sure to bookmark our homepage and sign up for our newsletters so we can keep you informed. Related Emergency manager apologizes for surprise Bluesfest fireworks Ontario expected to activate disaster funding this week after Canada Day floods