- Place Bell
Place Bell is one of the tallest buildings in
Ottawa ,Canada (the fifth tallest in the downtown area). The 27 storey building stands onElgin Street in the city's downtown, and is distinguishable by the wide nature (the building is unusually large in dimensions considering its height, presumably to avoid having a 50+ storey building greatly overshadow thePeace Tower ). It was built byOlympia and York in1971 as the Ottawa headquarters ofBell Canada . The site originally contained a number of small commercial buildings a the large Gloucester Street Convent. Original plans called for the complex to be much larger, and include the entire block to the north. This would have entailed to demolishing of several heritage buildings, including the First Baptist Church. The main level contains a shopping concourse with a number of businesses. The rear of the structure contains aparking garage . In the 1980s the owners sued the city aftersalt placed on the roads by the city corroded the steel structure of the garage and it had to be closed for several years.Bell, which remains the building's largest tenant, owned the building until they sold it to
TrizecHahn in1998 from some $170 million. After the purchase TrizecHahn conducted significant renovations. In2002 it was bought by HR Real Estate Investment Trust for $211 million.ee also
*
List of tallest buildings in Ottawa-Gatineau References
*"Exploring Ottawa: an architectural guide to the nation's capital." Harold Kalman and John Roaf. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1983.
External links
* [http://www.hr-reit.com/properties/Place-Bell.htm Official site]
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