Location: Hamilton, ON
Client: Indwell
Year of Completion: 2021
Final Construction Cost: $4,688,108
Architect of Record: Invizij Architects
The Ottawa Street Apartments revitalized the former Queens Hotel at the corner of Ottawa and Cannon streets in the vibrant Crown Point East neighborhood. This first phase includes 12 studio units of affordable housing, with moderate housing supports. The second phase of the redevelopment is projected to include 38 units. In recent years, the building had become a very run down bar & rooming house, and the purchase by Indwell has been a very welcome improvement for the community.
In addition to the residential, the building provides a new home for The Cannon, a popular local cafe designed with interior design by Stre Studios. With the pink paint from another era carefully removed, the original masonry is again revealed, and the streetscape has been enlivened with a print of Christi Belcourt’s famous piece, ‘Revolution of Love”. Inside on the upper floors, the historic wallpapers from the era of the Queens Hotel have been reimagined and used to bring texture and colour into the corridors.
Like all other Indwell project, the renovations utilize Passive House principles, which in this project included adding 7” of interior insulation and ensuring continuous airsealing around all the existing structure. In order to provide sufficient clearances in the basement for the electrical equipment for Phase 1 & 2 and washrooms for the café, the basement was underpinned and new insulated slabs added.
