A much-loved plaza in Dunrobin that was destroyed by a tornado in 2018 is now in the final stages of re-opening.
In September 2018, a tornado ripped through Ottawa’s west end and parts of Gatineau, destroying homes, businesses and infrastructure. The worst-hit area was Dunrobin, about 36 kilometres outside of downtown Ottawa.
Among the affected buildings was the Dunrobin Plaza, a commercial centre that housed local businesses such as a butcher, a pharmacy and a restaurant.
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Wadah Al-Ghosen, broker at Royal Lepage Team Realty Vertex Team, said the damage left the plaza’s owners unable to rebuild the facility completely.
“The original owners filed the claims through the insurance but (they) only (got) compensated for a certain amount. The owners were never able to, with that amount, fully restore the plaza,” Al-Ghosen told OBJ. “(The owners) restored the exterior, but nothing was done to the interior. It was stripped to the bone.”
As a result, the owners decided to sell the plaza, which is where Al-Ghosen’s team came in.
“Me and my team with Georges Tayar, we looked at this plaza as an opportunity. We got contacted by the owner (to) sell the plaza. We had a number of people looking for properties like this with deep pockets. The challenge was, for this plaza, it was almost impossible to get any sort of mortgage on a 75-per-cent destroyed (property),” he said, adding that the buyer would need to have enough money to take over the building and pay the construction costs.
After going through a few rounds of getting the property conditionally sold and deals falling through, Al-Ghosen and Tayar found a buyer.
“We (had) contacted a client of ours in Toronto, Okal Leasing Limited. It’s a big corporation in Toronto (that) owns a number of properties. They’re asset-holders and they deal with distribution. It was enticing for him to start something in Ottawa, so he decided to jump on it,” he said.
With a deal closed, Al-Ghosen and his team hired a contractor to bring the plaza back to life.
“We selected a contractor who has been heavily working on this plaza since (the) beginning of the year. Finally, the plaza is restored inside and outside,” he said.
Once construction wrapped up, Al-Ghosen started the leasing process. To better understand what the community would benefit from, he and his team met with Eli El-Chantiry, the former city councillor for the area, in 2018.
“We consulted with him to see what they would like to see in the area, how fast they would like to see it and what kind of services we should look for to better serve the community. Our main goal was to be able to help this community and to make it flourish and to eliminate (further) challenges,” he said.
The 10,000-square-foot building has eight units, with five already leased. “We have a pharmacy, a dentist, a pizzeria and, hopefully soon, Tim Hortons. We still have a number of spaces available,” he said, adding that Tim Hortons is in negotiations to take up two units.
When the original plaza was destroyed, it sent shock waves through the community, Al-Ghosen added.
“What I hear from the community is that (it) was devastated when this plaza got hit. It used to serve the community. There was a pharmacy and other essential services as well as a sports bar that brought some entertainment and was the closest restaurant in the area,” he said. “These businesses never reopened. It was a big loss for the community.”
In the years it stood vacant, the plaza was rife with vandalism, Al-Ghosen said. “It became a (vandalized) area. Young kids and other people would drink around the plaza, break windows. It became a meeting ground for troubled people.”
The revival of the plaza is appreciated by the community, Al-Ghosen said.
“During the restoration, the community always contacted us, asking what was going on with the plaza. It sounded like there was a heavy need for this plaza … (It) sounded like (they’ve) been waiting for this plaza to be built forever,” he said.
However, Wednesday’s reopening ceremony that featured a number of local community leaders doesn’t mean the plaza is quite open for business, he added.
“Each business is going to need two to four months to finish their own retrofits. Each will do their own grand opening,” he said, adding that businesses will likely open in the new year.
