Issue link: http://digital.canadawide.com/i/255439
SoHo Lisgar by Irwin Rapoport T he residents of the 16-storey SoHo Lisgar, the second high- end condominium tower to built in Ottawa by the Mastercraft Starwood Group, began moving into their new homes last November. The features of the hotel-inspired condominium are a natural extension of Starwood's hotel expertise – Starwood built and operates the SoHo Metropoli- tan Hotel in Toronto and has decades of Mastercraft's condominium and real estate development experience. SoHo Lisgar's impressive rectan- gular glass not only adds to Ottawa's architectural richness, but combines the features found in boutique hotels with a condo lifestyle. "Ottawa is taking its place with all great capitals of the world and it deserves this type of condominium," says Bruce Greenberg, president of Mastercraft. "Residents of SoHo condominiums appreciate great design and want the convenience and services similar to those of a luxury hotel, but with the space and comfort of a fully appointed luxury condominium, and this is what we provided. Our high- end design and attention to detail stand out in the Ottawa condo market." "SoHo Champagne, which is cur- rently under construction at Carling and Champagne, will raise the bar even further. In addition, Mastercraft was founded in Ottawa by my father in 1951, so we have a great history in Ottawa. It is an opportunity for us to show that the great tradition established by Master- craft is continuing," says Greenberg. To add to the tower's boutique hotel atmosphere, the training of the con- cierge personnel was undertaken by the SoHo Metropolitan Hotel management. The project also reunited the team of Roderick Lahey Architect Inc., the Basscon Group Inc. and Gluckstein Design that have worked together on several Mastercraft projects in Toronto and Ottawa. "It was pretty easy to decide on the design team," says Greenberg. "Why tinker with a winning formula as each one is an artist with incredible experience and expertise." The 194-unit tower has four storeys of underground parking with 113 spaces (accessed by an entrance on the north side), a main floor with concierge, spacious lobby, outdoor lap pool with deck and whirlpool, private screening room, state-of-the-art gym and sauna, and the SoHo Prime Ministers Club (private function room). There are 15 storeys of residential units (one and two bedrooms, with an average size of 604 square feet) and one penthouse (2,328 square feet), as well as a mechanical penthouse, shaped like a wing, which holds all the building's systems. The outdoor pool includes a linear fireplace, green wall by the pool area that acts as a privacy screen and adds lush greenery to the pool space, and an outdoor BBQ and kitchen. The north side has a solid clear glass face that rises from the first-storey podium that is clad in signature black granite, staying true to the look and feel of all of the SoHo luxury condominiums projects, including the SoHo Metropoli- tan Hotel. Following that theme, the front entry walls are marble, as is the floor of the lobby and entry foyer. The south side is also clad in glass, but has balconies with the dual purpose of providing shade. The east and west sides are clad in dark brick and have punched windows and the residential floors have a central corridor with units on either side. The main lobby is accessed via Lisgar, an area where development is rapidly taking place on the site of a former warehouse and manufacturing facility. Jan Kapsa, Roderick Lahey's project architect for the tower, points out the street face is contrasted by the south side which opens onto a green space with a large lawn, trees and flower gardens. "Unlike most buildings from the street, this is very modern with its sheet glass facade with clear anodized window mullions," says Kapsa. "The mechanical penthouse is concealed and it's really quite striking as it overhangs the street – it's the furthest forward ele- ment and it is all glazed, with a sort of concrete wing going around the top." The views on the north and south sides are striking and allow for maxi- mum sunlight to enter the units. "A lot of the suites have internal bedrooms – a combined bedroom with a living/dining area separated by a sliding glass door," says Kapsa. "They have a set-in so that all the windows focus on the living/din- ing areas, which account for more than half of the total area – it really makes the living spaces quite spectacular." He adds that the boutique hotel theme has a strong presence in several residential units and in amenity areas as the executive boardrooms. Gluckstein Design was responsible for the interior design and choice of materials and finishes to ensure the boutique hotel theme was consistent throughout the public spaces. "The lobby is large and has seating areas on the right and left, both backed by a beautiful wall covering and polished brushed nickel geometric screens which separate the seating areas from the hallway," says interior designer Harrison Pike. The flooring pattern for the main floor consists of 12 by 24 light grey marble tiles bordered by dark grey marble. Most of the walls have a sliding glass door system that is pan- elled and the panels for the seating are light grey with a linen texture. "The continuity for the design is kept pretty tight," says Pike. "We always work off the main theme, especially for the common spaces and we have created a comfortable feeling for them. The lobby, with its lounge chairs, couches and cof- fee table, is very esthetically pleasing. It's very much an atmosphere of refined tranquility." Steve DeMauro, Basscon Group's project manager, says his crews broke ground in August 2012 and encoun- tered few problems along the way. "The deeper foundation required shoring and we had to hold back the neighbour- ing two properties simultaneously," he notes. "This phase took five months and then we started the upper floors. The pre-planning paid off and everything proceeded according to schedule." The concrete was poured in and each floor took about a week to com- plete. "We were pretty lucky with the weather," says DeMauro. "The site pro- vided plenty of space for our equipment and materials. Having the pool on the ground floor helped with the construc- tion. The window wall system was unique and that provided our crews an opportunity to hone their skills." n Location 300 Lisgar Street, Ottawa, Ontario owner/DeveLoper Mastercraft Starwood architect Roderick Lahey Architect Inc. GeneraL contractor Basscon Group Inc. StructuraL conSuLtant Cunliffe & Associates MechanicaL/eLectricaL/ civiL conSuLtant Genivar GeotechnicaL enGineer Paterson Group interior DeSiGn Gluckstein Design LanDScape architect Kallala Designs totaL area 212,665 square feet totaL project coSt Undisclosed photos: tony fouhse february 2014 /61 SoHo Lisgar p60-61Soho.indd 61 14-01-22 11:42 AM