EDITOR’S NOTE: I’m part of a group called Friends of the Bradley-Craig Farm. We’ve been meeting since November to try to save the landmark red barn on Hazeldean Road from demolition.
The group includes people from all over Ottawa, including a descendant of the Bradley family. We have sought advice from architects, planning professionals and heritage experts. We have support from a number of local organizations including the Stittsville Village Association, Heritage Ottawa and the Ottawa Farmers’ Market.
On Tuesday, January 26, the City’s Planning Committee will consider an application to demolish the barn. The owner, Richcraft, wants to disassemble the barn and move it piece-by-piece to Saunders Farm in Munster. This brief was prepared by our group for members of the Planning Committee and City Council. It outlines our case for denying the demolition application, and suggests a vision for adaptive re-use of the barn and farmstead.
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The Friends also hired MTBA Associates Inc., a respected Ottawa heritage architect consultant, to review the developer’s plan. “The proposed redevelopment options not only desecrate the Designated Historic Place by removing the barn, they do not even respect the heritage value of the farmhouse,” they concluded. “Clearly, wiping out a 4-acre farmstead, a designated cultural landscape, with formulaic box retail and parking is not a good solution. Going back to the drawing board to produce a design for a new commercial complex that is well-inspired by and sensitive to the Historic Place and incorporates the historic barn is strongly recommended.”
Here’s the full letter that they wrote to councillors:
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(In the interest of balance, we have offered Richcraft the opportunity to contribute an article to publish on StittsvilleCentral.ca. Saunders Farm has a published statement here.)