In what Ottawa nightlife commissioner Mathieu Grondin hopes will be one of his office’s legacy projects, a new outdoor events space at Metcalfe Plaza has opened, offering free shows and social activities during a six-week pilot.
In July, Downtown BIA announced its plans to transform an empty lot at 151 Metcalfe St. near Gloucester Street into a “vibrant cultural destination.” Running from Aug. 14 to Sept. 20, the six-week pilot is a collaboration with Montreal-based event organization company Aire commune and Ottawa-based event curator Amashowza.
Open Thursdays through Saturdays from 12 p.m. to 10 p.m., the “open-air social hub” will feature a co-working space during the day with seating, tables and electricity. In the evenings, the space will feature music from local DJs, drag artists, pilates classes and an art market.
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“This joint project is a strategic investment into building community, cultural and commercial vibrancy — our key priorities as we work to revitalize downtown Ottawa,” said Kevin McHale, executive director of Downtown BIA, said in a news release. “By reimagining underused spaces like 151 Metcalfe, we’re creating new cultural assets and more reasons for people to come downtown, support local businesses, and discover local artists.”
Aire commune has been involved in the development and execution of placemaking urban spaces in Montreal, Calgary and, more recently, along Bank Street in Ottawa with the Street Seats project.
“We’re excited to bring Aire commune’s unique brand of urban placemaking to Ottawa. After launching successful projects in other cities, we know how meaningful these spaces are for communities to gather, connect, and celebrate local culture,” Aire commune co-founder Emilie Wake said in the release.
Mayor Mark Sutcliffe shared in a LinkedIn post last week that he had taken a tour of Metcalfe Plaza.
“I’m excited for the upcoming opening of Metcalfe Plaza, a vibrant new outdoor venue in downtown Ottawa created through a collaboration between Montréal’s Aire commune and Ottawa’s Amashowza, presented by the Downtown BIA. We toured the space during construction, and it’s great to see it taking shape,” Sutcliffe said in the post.
The City of Ottawa launched its Nightlife Economy Action Plan in 2023. One of the recommendations in the plan is to “facilitate, with partners, new and diverse cultural and placemaking activities,” including supporting accessible pop-up events.
Nightlife commissioner Grondin said the Metcalfe Plaza project will help the city’s nightlife initiatives.
“This is exactly the kind of partnership we want to see as we build a more vibrant nightlife economy for Ottawa. Projects like this show how creative placemaking and diverse programming can help strengthen Ottawa’s nightlife sector and bring dynamic energy to the downtown core,” Grondin said in the BIA’s release.
In a post on LinkedIn, Grondin said Metcalfe Plaza has “all the ingredients to be a game-changer for the vibrancy of downtown’s nightlife.”
“Thanks to Kevin McHale and Court Curry’s trust, we made it happen and I hope this will become the first legacy project for Ottawa’s Nightlife Office,” he said in the post. “Placemaking is not just about colorful urban furniture. It’s about programming and animating underused spaces to bring people back together. Metcalfe Plaza’s events are free to attend, something Ottawa needs more of!”
Another similar placemaking events space, Uncommon, opened at Snider Plaza on Bank Street in June. SabriNa Lemay, executive director of Centretown BIA, told OBJ at that time that the space was key to the city’s downtown revitalization project.
“I heard this at the City Building Summit. ‘If the core of an apple rots, the entire apple does.’ Our core, our downtown, needs to be thriving … If our core is thriving, then (there is) more tourism. People want to be in our city,” she said in June.
