Tourism industry encouraged by proposed plan to revitalize ‘sad’ ByWard Market

A group of businesses is urging the City of Ottawa to push forward with its $129-million plan to revamp the ByWard Market, as it worries the survival of their businesses and the historic district hangs in the balance.

Word of mouth can be a powerful marketing tool, but some visitors have been left with a negative impression of one of the capital's top tourism destinations.

“Their experience during that time will not only shape their own opinions about Ottawa, but the stories that they tell will also help shape the opinions of their friends and their family members,” says Catherine Callary of Ottawa Tourism. “So if they have a negative experience, which some of them did in 2019, that's the story.”

Hoteliers are also concerned about the state of the area, and the online reviews their guests are leaving.

“The hotel is great, however it's in a sad area,” says Steve Ball of the Ottawa-Gatineau Hotel Association, as he reads an online review of a ByWard Market hotel. “The city needs to clean up this problem or people are going to lose their jobs.”

At the heart of the proposed revitalization plan is a project to replace the city's Clarence Street parking garage with a “destination building” and open plaza. The loss of parking has alarmed some of the area's business owners.

“Councillor [Mathieu] Fleury's assistant turned me around on the parking lot issue by saying there will be an attempt to create replacement parking,” said Grant Hooker, founder of Beavertails. “If that's the case, the use of space by the current parking garage is not the best use of space for the benefit of the market.”

The plan would preserve on-street parking in the area, and the report also suggests that, if approved, the city should consider building underground parking at the Clarence Street site.

While the plan lays out a vision, there is no funding allocated at this point and Mayor Jim Watson has said that turning visions into reality would require financial assistance from other levels of government.

The ByWard Market Public Realm Plan goes to city council for approval on December 9.