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Photo by Dennis Jacobs / Momentumplancom

Maitland said there have been other property owners in downtown Ottawa who were able to design good additions for historic buildings. She cited as one example the additions on the Lord Elgin Hotel on Elgin Street.

The proposed addition for the Château Laurier looks out of context, according to Maitland.

“They could just do better,” she said.

Jacobs said the intent of the proposed addition is to be complementary and subordinate to the hotel. There probably won’t be big changes to the massing of the addition, but there might be tweaks to the exterior architectural features, Jacobs said. For example, there’s lots of demand for more stone to be visible at the base of the building.

There’s still time for Larco to consider design changes before a report goes to the built-heritage subcommittee, which has a preliminary date of May 10 to consider the application. The subcommittee’s decision would rise to meetings of the planning committee and city council, potentially all by the end of May.

Larco also needs approval from the National Capital Commission board of directors.

The city hosted an open house last week and is collecting feedback on the design until Friday. A model of the design remains in the rotunda at city hall and people can fill out comment forms.

Jacobs said fewer comments have come into the city compared to consultations on previous iterations of the hotel addition. He’s feeling positive about the lighter pushback.

“I would say much less antagonism, is the best way to put it, than the first design that came out,” Jacobs said.

jwilling@postmedia.com

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