The Edgewater Apartments: Ken Greene Ruffles a few Feathers Along the ‘Royal Route’ (1951)

I’ve always appreciated the Edgewater Apartments in New Edinburgh. In most other settings, it would be a tidy (if unremarkable) mid-century apartment block, but set in New Edinburgh – the northern portion of New Edinburgh – it takes on a whole different meaning.

It didn’t even begin like the others. By the time the very active Ken Green hatched his plans to construct an apartment at the corner of Stanley Avenue and Charles Street in New Edinburgh, the lot was empty. This was, of course, not the first time it was built on: that block of Stanley between Charles and School Lane was home to large single home and a pair of doubles, the sort that would not be out of place in the neighbourhood.

After the demolition of the final home on the lot (56 Stanley) was completed some time between May 1931 and May 1933, everything appeared to sit still.  On a more administrative plane, however, it was clear that it was very interesting to investors. First out the gate was the Godson Building Company, best known in Ottawa as the owner and builder of the Strathcona Apartments in Sandy Hill. On December 15, 1930, the Journal reported that Godson had expressed interest in the property and had plans to put up a similar apartment building somewhere in the $300,000 to $500,000 range and that the company was in the process of arranging the financing.¹In various sources, Godson went by Godson Construction, Godson Building, and a few others. For announcement of the apartment, see “Apartment House In New Edinburgh,” Ottawa Journal, December 15, 1930, 1. However strong an investment it might have been, with the Depression bearing down on the market, it is not surprising that investment dollars would not be forthcoming (in mosts cases).

Once Godson kicked the tires and the economic ruin of the Depression ensured that the chequebook remained firmly shut, the property changed hands a number of times. I won’t recount the entire chain of title, but ownership passed from Russell Blackburn (and his Stanley Land Ltd.), to Francis Kingsmill, to Justin Bogue, to Margaret Fitzsimmons, and finally, in 1951, to Ken Greene (via Scrivens and Greene).²Ottawa Land Registry Office, Plan 17, Block 9, Lot 4, Page 3. Also see “130 Transfers Of Property During May, Ottawa Journal, June 5, 1940, 11; “Fred W. Runge Estate Sells Driveway Property for $55,000,” Ottawa Journal, August 13, 1948, 12; “$157,000 Booth Building Deal Tops October Transfers,” Ottawa Journal, November 9, 1949, 5; “$135,000 Bank St. Transfer Largest Deal in November,” Ottawa Journal, December 13, 1951, 32.

In the Spring of 1951, New Edinburgh residents caught wind that Greene had submitted plans to the City to construct a five-storey apartment block at the corner of Stanley and Charles, causing a bit of a political firestorm for the local councillor, John Powers. Opposition to apartments in Ottawa was nothing new, but the intensity was such that Powers had no choice but to act.

On the June 18^th Council meeting, Powers moved that the part of Ward 1³Ward 1 was previously known as Rideau Ward. Earlier in the year, Council undertook a significant restructuring to reduce the number of wards from 14 to 9 and took the opportunity to removed the historic names, leaving them identified by numbers only. As approval from the Ontario Municipal Board had only come in April, the number of wards and councillors would not be reduced formally until the following year’s elections. The names, however, were stripped immediately. See “City’s Ward Reduction Goes Through,” Ottawa Journal, April 20, 1951, 1, 20. bounded by Stanley Avenue, Union Street, McKay Street, and Sussex Street be restricted to the erection of single, double, duplex and triplex residences. It was no contest: the motion was carried 25-to-4.⁴Minutes of the Council of the Corporation of the City of Ottawa for the Year 1951 (Ottawa: City of Ottawa, 1951): 736.

City Council deliberately courted legal action and possible reversal of their legislation by a judge in their determination to prevent erection in Rideau Ward of an apartment to which a number of local residents had objected strenuously.

Ottawa Journal, June 19, 1951, 3.

The move might have made for good politics but it was a lousy way to introduce the issue to the courts. Although Council enthusiastically passed the motion and slapped together a last-minute zoning bylaw, it did not do so without some warning. Mayor Goodwin and a few others pointed out that the action would put the city in a legally-vulnerable position. Indeed, the Board of Control was not convinced by impassioned arguments forwarded by Powers, who showed up to the meeting with a phalanx of angry New Edinburghers. According to reports in the Journal, it was probably opposition from the Federal District Commission (FDC) that Council found more convincing.

Although it is unlikely that the community would have supported Greene’s project under any circumstance, one of the reasons they had for the opposition was that there was no sense of notice: sale of the lot to Greene had only closed a week previous⁵At least according to Controller Whitton it did. As things would be, the sale had not yet closed and would not be completed until October 30. See Ottawa Land Registry Office, Plan 17, Block 9, Lot 4, Page 3. and the application was submitted almost immediately thereafter. Still, without a zoning bylaw or other restrictions, what Greene wanted to construct was none of the City’s business. There was no basis upon which the City could turn his application down.

While Council was well-aware that it had placed the City in a vulnerable position, and that Greene was primed for a fight⁶Greene was already embroiled in the same battle, but at Island Park. The local community and the FDC opposed his development there too., some felt that it might just make for a good test case to see, according to one Councillor, “if we can do this sort of thing.”⁷”City Tests Zero Hour Ban on Apartment,” Ottawa Journal, June 19, 1951, 3.

After nearly a week of more back-and-forth on the issue, Greene applied to the court for an order of mandamus, which would force the City to issue a building permit for the five-storey apartment. The application was to be heard at a Toronto court on Friday the 29^th. To add a little more fuel to the fire, the Ontario Municipal Board (OMB) announced that it was going to decide on the bylaw itself on July 11^th.⁸”Court Order Sought For Apartment Permit,” Ottawa Journal, June 26, 1951, 4.

City officials said they passed the law to maintain the “decent, quiet character” of the district noted for its rambling mid-Victorian homes.

Ottawa Journal, July 5, 1951, 3 and Montreal Gazette, July 5, 1951, 12.

The early news from Toronto was a bit of a disappointment to Greene: he was assured by Ottawa Building Inspector Maxwell Taylor that he would get the permit and had already pulled the trigger on $12,000 worth of structural steel and $4,500 for architectural plans and on July 5^th, the Toronto Judge reserved his decision. City Solicitor Gordon Medcalf argued that the City had not implemented a zoning bylaw for the area because “it was ‘completely incongruous’ for apartments to be built in the area.” According to the Journal, City officials quickly passed the bylaw to maintain the “decent, quiet character” of the neighbourhood. Greene’s lawyer Fred Parkinson felt that it was “with almost unseemly speed” that it was passed.⁹”Apartment Decision Reserved,” Ottawa Journal, July 5, 1951, 3; “‘Unseemly Speed’ in By-Law Claimed,” Montreal Gazette, July 5, 1951, 21. However it was going to go, both parties would just have to wait.

Though not without caution, the reservation gave City staff a sense of possibility on the morning of July 6^th. Thinking they had found a loophole, an unnamed source at City Hall stated to the Journal that if the Ontario Municipal Board were to validate the offending bylaw on July 11^th, it would be ante-dated to June 18^th and therefore apply to Greene’s application, dated June 19^th. The source also indicated that residents surrounding the building site – those who protested and motivated Council to act – might launch a court challenge of their own.¹⁰”May Still Block Apartment Plan,” Ottawa Journal, July 6, 1951, 1.

The applicant has a legal right to have a permit issued on that land any building which he may choose.”

Justice R.I. Ferguson, as quoted in Ottawa Journal, July 6, 1951, 3.

It was early in the day that Judge R.I. Ferguson made his decision: that there was no “effective or enforceable bylaw” to allow the City to refuse Greene’s application and that the City will be forced to grant Greene his permit. The bylaw would not be enforceable until the Ontario Municipal Board approved it, which would not be until July 20. The apartment was to be a five-storey 22-unit building that was to cost $150,000 and feature a penthouse laundry room.¹¹”Apartment Fight Ends With City the Loser,” Ottawa Journal, July 6, 1951, 3. Mayor Goodwin stated that there would not be an appeal.¹²”City Ordered To Grant Disputed Building Permit,” Montreal Gazette, July 6, 1951, 11.

Coverage in the local press – then as today – was highly sympathetic to the complaints of New Edinburghers. In the Ottawa Journal, reporter Ainslie Kerr spoke with neighbour Isabel Ralph, who stated that “[These] people have being paying taxes for years and years and surely their views should be respected.” She added that “everyone around here is darn mad.” Quoting another unidentified resident, it was stated that “[The] contractor has scores an important blow. We’ll see who wins the final round.”¹³Ainslie Kerr, “The ‘Burgh Battered, Not Beaten,” Ottawa Journal, July 7, 1951, 3.

In a Journal editorial run the same day, the paper’s board argued that while Greene was – strictly speaking – correct and entitled to construct his building, it was time for the City to “lock the stable door” and investigate the need for more building restrictions where there are none.¹⁴”The Time To Lock The Sable Door,” Ottawa Journal, July 7, 1951, 6. However reluctantly, the City issued the building permit on July 9^th, comforted only by the fact that Greene would have to demonstrate before the Ontario Municipal Board that his plans were approved by the City before June 18.¹⁵”Issue Permit For Stanley Apartments,” Ottawa Journal, July 9, 1951, 1.

The Battle for the ‘Burgh, was what the local papers dubbed it as was fought before the Ontario Municipal Board. On July 10, after hearing testimony from both sides of the battle, OMB chair D. Roy Kennedy and vice-chair W.J. Moore decided that it would be best to visit the site themselves. What they found when they arrived was an empty lot with signs of construction preparation and a host of angry New Edinburghers.

One resident, Helen Anderson, whose home was at the corner of Union and Stanley, exclaimed that “[This] monstrous erection – a tower to the folly of Ottawa – will be in full view from both the Minto and Sussex Bridges” and that it “will destroy the peace we enjoy and bring the noise of the city to our front doors.” Gerald McLatchie, another nearby resident, stated that the “people are quiet-living and don’t like the noise.” He added that “[It] is a Royal Route. Our residents remember when the Duke of Cornwall and York passed along it, the late George V, the present King, President Truman, and the late President Roosevelt. We don’t want to do anything to spoil the look of this street.”¹⁶”‘Burgh Battles for ‘Royal Route’,” Ottawa Journal, July 10, 1951, 1, 12.

This monstrous erection – a tower to the follow of Ottawa – will be in full view of both the Minto and Sussex Bridges …and it will destroy the peace we enjoy and bring the noise of the city to our front doors.

Helen Anderson, as quoted in Ottawa Journal, July 10, 1951, 1.

In all, seventeen New Edinburgh residents stood up in opposition to allowing the apartment to go forward.¹⁷Ibid.

We are living in an era of housing pressure, and are 22 families going to go homeless because of some people’s nebulous objections to children in an apartment house?

Fred Parkinson, K.C., representing Kenneth Greene, as quoted in Ottawa Citizen, July 10, 1951, 12.

A clearly frustrated Greene, on the other hand, reminded the OMB that he had paid $12,000 for steel, $12,000 for the land, and $4,500 for architects’ drawings and stated that the city’s performance before the Board that morning was “just a continuation of impropriety,” that “it is acting even more dishonestly than I thought – it is trying to defeat the judgment of Mr. Justice Ferguson.” A representative of Clayton Fitzsimmons, who owned property nearby, also argued that his lot at Sussex should be excluded by the bylaw.¹⁸Ibid. The strongest words in favour of Greene were issued by his lawyer, Fred Parkinson, who noted the acute housing shortage that Ottawa had yet to deal with in any sense,¹⁹Most estimates showed a shortage of between 5,000 and 6,000 units. See: “Ottawa Housing Committee Told of Need for 5,000 Units,” Ottawa Journal, October 19, 1946, p. 26; “Study Water Supply at Lansdowne Park,” Ottawa Journal, October 23, 1946, p. 23; “Say 2,000 New Homes in Ottawa During 1947 ‘Not Impossible’,” Ottawa Journal, October 24, 1946, p. 10; “Cannot Cure Housing Ills By Flouting Law – St. Laurent,” Ottawa Journal, October 25, 1946, p. 3; “Pickering Adjourns Housing Committee Meeting After Hanratty Refuses to Keep Quiet,” Ottawa Journal, October 25, 1946, p. 13; “Housing for Emergency Cases Assured in Ottawa – Pickering,” Ottawa Journal, October 26, 1946, p. 7. Even by 1951-52, the shortage had not let up. See “So-Called Low-Rent Housing Blasted by Judge Allan Fraser,” Ottawa Journal, September 22, 1951, 3; “Says Ottawa Short 6,000 Housing Units,” Ottawa Citizen, November 21, 1952. Also see Humphrey Carver. Houses for Canadians: A Study of Housing Problems in Toronto. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1948; Otto J. Firestone. Residential Real Estate in Canada. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1951. and questioned if the city was prepared to see 22 families go homeless “because of some people’s nebulous objections to children in an apartment house?”²⁰”Lawyer Raps City By-Law,” Ottawa Citizen, July 10, 1951, 12. Both Kennedy and Moore stated that they would give the matter their full attention and hand down the decision at a later date.²¹Ottawa Journal, July 10, 1951, 12.

For all the too-clever-by-half arguments made by City Solicitor Gordon Medcalf, the OMB’s D. Roy Kennedy and W.J. Moore did not find them to be sufficiently convincing to allow the Hail-Mary zoning bylaw to stand. On July 30, the Journal reported that the review body dismissed the bylaw, but added that even if it had approved it, that “it would be necessary to exempt Mr. Greene’s lands” from it. With that decision made, the City set down to draft a new bylaw for the area, Ken Greene was allowed to go ahead and construct the apartment, and the neighbourhood was able to ensure that Greene’s apartment remained a one-off.²²”Apartment Battle Lost By City: Ontario Board Gives Stanley Ave. Ruling,” Ottawa Journal, July 30, 1951, 1. In an editorial the following day, the Journal‘s board expressed satisfaction that justice had been done, but that the city had its work cut out for it and would have to be proactive in its development of zoning bylaws, as the reactive approach had been taken off the table.²³”A Property-Owner Has Rights,” Ottawa Journal, August 1, 1951, 6.

With the matter largely settled by losses in the Superior Court of Ontario and in front of the Ontario Municipal Board, Cecil Wight, the City’s Director of Planning and Development sat down with Greene in an attempt to come to an agreement that would modify his plans to be more acceptable to the neighbourhood. In the end, Greene agreed to reduce the building’s height from 5½ storeys to 4½, set back the penthouse 8 feet from the Charles St. wall, to relocate the structure on the property so that it would sit 11 feet from the Charles St. boundary, leaving about 30 feet from the building to the street.

Greene agreed to the modifications and to forego the taxation of the costs of the Court action against the City is he would be guaranteed that the City would not appeal the ruling. As Solicitor Medcalf was not confident that an appeal would be any more successful, he recommended that the City take the deal, and the motion was carried.²⁴Minutes of the Council of the Corporation of the City of Ottawa for the Year 1951 (Ottawa: City of Ottawa, 1951): 868-869. With the issue now put to bed, the City set down to pass a holding bylaw for the area bounded by Stanley, Sussex, Mackay, and Union Streets whereby building would be restricted to residential buildings of no more than 3½ storeys and the remainder would be limited to singles, duplexes, and doubles.²⁵Minutes of the Council of the Corporation of the City of Ottawa for the Year 1951 (Ottawa: City of Ottawa, 1951): 893. With the issue cleared up, the Central Mortgage and Housing Corporation approved Greene’s loan of $110,000 for construction of the apartment.²⁶”CMHC Approves Construction Of 4 West End Rental Blocks,” Ottawa Journal, December 11, 1951, 3.

Unsurprisingly, the issue of apartments (and development in general) in Ottawa did not really die with the detente between Greene and the City. The City was once again caught flat-footed when Garfield Weston and his Whittington Investments proposed a new modern office building to be located on Wellington Street between the Norlite and Metropolitan Life Buildings. The ten-storey modern office block was not only twice the heigh limit envisioned by federal planners, but the modern style caused more than a few proverbial monocles to be lost.

As was the case with Greene’s Edgewater Apartments, the Federal District Commission was opposed to the building going up, but aside from the “nuclear option” of expropriation, it did not have the power to enforce it. Major General Howard Kennedy, the FDC’s Chair came out swinging against the building, stating that it “won’t fit in very well with the sky-line already planned.” A report in the Journal suggested that he remarks were used to support the quick passage of a by-law giving the city the power to regulate the appearance of all new buildings facing FDC property. 

The story had, of course, been hear before. The Journal reminded readers that the City had heard this one before, just that it was then Ken Greene – and not Garfield Weston – playing the role of arch-villain to the proposal’s opponents. One difference, it was noted, is that the City had petitioned Queen’s Park for new regulatory powers, which it was granted in 1952, but no bylaw had yet been passed. That is, until October 5, 1953, when Weston’s proposal was submitted.²⁷”Weston Building Would Violate Capital’s Skyline,” Ottawa Journal, October 6, 1953, 1, 16.

I’ll leave the remainder of the story of Weston’s proposal to Robert Smythe’s excellent run-down at URBSite, but in this case, the proponent was not as determined to see the project built and took the plan elsewhere in the downtown.

The issue of apartment construction was not even settled in the northern end of New Edinburgh. The bylaw passed in 1952 immediately following Greene’s successful petition came with a two-year sunset clause and for it to remain active, required re-authorization by City Council. In the Spring of 1955, Council voted to delete the two-year sunset, which seemed to be a fairly easily-completed move.  

Civic government marches on!

Last night City Council debated for nearly an hour about whether to pass a bylaw they forgot they had already passed two weeks ago.

Ottawa Journal, May 3, 1955, 1.

At least, the functional part of passing the bylaw was an easy move: it seems that Council and even City Clerk Nelson Ogilvie had forgotten that the new bylaw had been passed two weeks previous. What was clear is that the political jousting over development in New Edinburgh had not yet been completed.²⁸”City Council Talks and Talks But Bylaw Passed 2 Weeks Ago,” Ottawa Journal, May 3, 1955, 1. 

In the end, an acceptable solution to the question of New Edinburgh’s northern end and apartments was solved in a decidedly amiable way: through negotiation. On September 24, 1955, the Journal reported that an agreement had been reached on the content of the 1952 holding bylaw. While it had been extended in the Spring, a number of New Edinburghers had come around to apartment buildings: at least in part. Where the 1952 bylaw had restricted 3½ storey apartments to Sussex and Stanley, a change of mind resulted in a new bylaw that allowed apartments of that height to be constructed in the whole control area (Sussex, McKay, Union, Stanley).²⁹”Housing Site Row Settled,” Ottawa Journal, September 24, 1955, 15. Having reached an agreement, the Ontario Municipal Board gave its formal approval to the bylaw in November.³⁰”Small Apartments Allowed in Area Near Stanley Ave.,” Ottawa Journal, November 8, 1955, 2.