New look for Chateau Laurier: Owner submits application for two-tower, 159-room addition to Ottawa hotel

A new application has been filed with the City of Ottawa to build an expansion at the rear of the Fairmont Chateau Laurier. (Photo courtesy: Larco Investments)

OTTAWA — The owner of the Fairmont Chateau Laurier has filed a new application to build a 159-room, two pavilion addition at the back of the historic hotel in downtown Ottawa.

The City of Ottawa posted Larco Investments new application online this week for a site plan control and development permit to build two towers at the back of the hotel, and invited residents to provide feedback on the revised design.

According to the application, the 11,846-square-metre addition includes two pavilions - one a 10-storey tower, the other 11 storeys tall, extending from the east and west arms of the original hotel and connected by a transparent two-storey connector.

"The slight asymmetry of the pavilions, each crowned by a five-metre decorative bronze enclosure, have a vertical proportion and a picturesque character that is in tune with the historic charm of the original Chateau and the Parliament Buildings," said the Architectural Design Text submitted to the City of Ottawa with the new application.

"The two distinct elements maintain the visibility of the hotel from Major's Hill Park and provide hotel guests with beautifully framed views of the park."

There would be 159 long-term suites, 301 parking spaces in a five level underground garage, event space for meetings and special events and a landscaped courtyard.

Larco Investments also posted a YouTube video of the proposed new addition to the Chateau Laurier hotel.

In August, Capital Hotel Limited Partnerships, an affiliate of Larco Investments, reached an agreement with Heritage Ottawa on the design of the proposed addition to the Chateau Laurier.

The new design was released nearly 11 months after the City of Ottawa's committee of adjustment rejected part of the controversial design for the addition.  That design called for a seven-storey,147-room addition to the hotel.

In August, Heritage Ottawa said the new two-pavilion design for the addition on the Chateau Laurier with low-rise connector is more compatible with the irregular silhouette of the original hotel and reopens iconic views to the rear courtyard.

The group added the new look will "reveal the U-shaped form and picturesque qualities of the Chateau Laurier from Major's Hill Park and re-establishes a more favourable relationship with the Rideau Canal."

In December 2016, the City of Ottawa received the initial application for an addition to the rear of the Chateau Laurier. The proposed design of the expansion was criticized by politicians and the public.

The proposed addition replaces the parking garage of the Chateau Laurier.

Larco Investments retained the architecture firm of Architects Alliance to design the latest addition.

The city says the proposed addition requires heritage and site plan approvals from the City of Ottawa, federal approvals from the National Capital Commission and a decision from the Local Planning Appeal Tribunal before construction can occur.

The City of Ottawa says you can provide feedback on the proposal to add a rear addition at the Chateau Laurier hotel by Dec. 23, 2020. Email [e-mail]. You can also submit written comments to or speak to the relevant Built Heritage Sub-Committee or Planning Committee.

The Built Heritage Sub-Committee will consider the staff report in the winter of 2021, with the City of Ottawa's Planning Committee and Council also considering the report in the new year.