Seven years since the initial concept, work is underway on the Sparks Street public realm plan, the head of the BIA said on Monday.
Downtown BIA executive director Kevin McHale gave an update at the BIA’s annual general meeting on Monday, the first since the organization expanded its catchment area and re-branded in 2025.
After several years of carrying a surplus to pay for the project, McHale said work is starting on the public realm plan that the then-Sparks Street BIA proposed to the City of Ottawa in 2019 with the goal of revitalizing the Sparks Street pedestrian mall.
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A request for proposal has been issued for a functional design plan with a contract set to be awarded this spring, McHale told OBJ on Monday.
“The first plan (in 2019) was kind of your first version of a plan. It was taking some of the concepts that we heard from people at consultations and from business members … Part of this process would be to look at that plan that we originally developed and say, ‘Okay, is this still good?’”
McHale added that the project doesn’t have a set timeline and will be executed in a “phased approach” to minimize disruption to businesses.
“There’s no definitive schedule for construction right now, but you have to take the first steps to get to that point. This project, it will take about a year to get a functional plan together and then, from there, they’ll issue tender for the project.
“The original plan was to not do all five blocks all at the same time on the pedestrian street. The intention was to time things out … We don’t want to have a building getting renovated and then, all of a sudden, the building opens up, merchants who have had to deal with that construction for five years and then we just go and rip it up again.”
The work is aligned with one of the four “big moves” identified in the Ottawa Board of Trade’s 2024 Downtown Ottawa Action Agenda, which aims to revitalize downtown Ottawa by 2034.
In the agenda, OBOT says it aims to “focus on catalytic anchors for downtown including investment in the Sparks Street and ByWard Market public realms …” with a $500-million investment fund “to kick-start action.”
Office-to-residential conversions and federal government impacts
Since the pandemic, some downtown core office buildings have been marked for residential conversions, which is both good and bad for the BIA, McHale said at the meeting.
“As a building converts from a commercial operation to a mixed-use or residential conversion, residents don’t pay into the (BIA) levy. (The) levy is only paid for by commercial operations. So if you have a building that was an office tower and now it’s (a residential) building with a couple of commercial businesses at the bottom, it’s just those commercial businesses that pay the levy,” McHale explained.
However, with the federal government planning to have most of its workforce returning to the office four times a week starting this summer, McHale said the BIA is welcoming the boost to business.
“I think (the mandate) will help our business members start getting some stability and seeing what their audience size is actually going to be,” McHale said at the meeting.
Still, whatever boost downtown businesses may see from increased foot traffic is being overshadowed by federal workforce adjustment notices.
“We’re also seeing uncertainty created by the federal layoff notices. Personally, I know some people that see those notices and they’re not spending right now until they know if they have a job or not, so that’s not great for our members,” McHale said.
Metcalfe Plaza returning in 2026
Metcalfe Plaza will return this year with an expanded timeline and lineup of events, McHale said.
“The intention this year is to expand the programming offering and the number of days of activation so that we will continue to support the nighttime economies to work with this project,” he said, adding that the BIA will look to expand the plaza’s daytime programming as well.
In its inaugural season last year, the plaza, a redeveloped vacant space near the corner of Metcalfe and Gloucester streets, attracted 8,700 attendees over 18 nights.
Ahead of Metcalfe Plaza’s second season, McHale said the BIA will look at ways to reduce the impact on residents.
Art installation launching this summer
The stretch of Sparks Street between Kent and Lyon streets will be transformed this summer with murals reflecting the country’s 13 provinces and territories.
The project is a partnership between the City of Ottawa and Bloomberg Associates, which has partnered with the city and its BIAs in the past with projects such as Street Seats in Centretown and an upcoming project on York Street in the ByWard Market.
“Bloomberg has been here at no charge to the City of Ottawa, providing guidance and support for projects and ideas that they’ve had,” McHale said at the meeting. “What we’re looking to do is take Sparks Street’s block five and put 13 murals that will represent the 13 provinces and territories.”
The selection process for an artist is ongoing, with work projected to take place in May and June so the murals can debut on Canada Day. “The intention is for the murals to be there as long as possible,” McHale added.
