Dear Resident/Business Owner,
The construction on Ādisōke – the Ottawa Public Library-Library and Archives Canada Joint Facility project – will be resuming after a short break, which provided time for the above-ground portion of the project to be tendered and awarded. The intention of this notice is to share some of the construction activities planned between now and late February 2022.
What: Ottawa Public Library (OPL) and Library and Archives Canada (LAC) are partnering to develop Ādisōke, a new joint facility that will house OPL’s new Central Library and LAC’s public programs and services in the National Capital Region.
When: Work will be restarting on the site this month, including shoring, excavation and caisson work (drilled concrete foundations). These activities will continue for the next four months, followed by the start of the concrete structure.
Where: The work will occur on the site of the new facility, 555 Albert Street, between Commissioner Street and Empress Street.
Who: On behalf of the project partners, the City of Ottawa has retained the Contractor, PCL Construction Canada Inc., to build this iconic and exciting facility. PCL will assist in providing information that will form the content of future updates.
Accessibility
Accessibility is an important consideration for the City of Ottawa and project partners. The City makes every effort to provide access around construction sites. If you require special accommodation, please contact the project team listed below. Accessible formats and communication supports are available, upon request, at the following link: www.ottawa.ca/accessibleformat.
Construction disruptions
The Contractor will take the necessary steps to comply with the City’s Noise By-law (2017-255). As is often the case with this type of work, some inconveniences may occur during the course of the construction work, such as traffic delays, parking restrictions, noise, lighting and dust. You may also feel vibrations due to heavy equipment operations. Vibrations from construction activities are quite common and rarely cause problems.
With the project’s proximity to critical infrastructure, vibration and monitoring sensors have been installed. These sensors will alert the project team to any vibration or movement exceeding specified limits. No exceedances have occurred to date. Those who reside close to the site can expect the following over the course of the next few months:
- Drilling of augured shoring piles will start immediately and continue through February
- Mass excavation and material removal from site may cause increased trucking volume in the area and will continue through February
- Breaking of bedrock using hydraulic hammers will start immediately and continue into February
- Drilling deep foundations through rock will start in February and continue into the spring
- This work will result in loud drilling sounds and construction equipment/truck activity that will generally run from 7am to 5pm Monday to Friday (and in accordance with the construction activity hours of work set by the Province and the City’s Noise By-law)
Construction is planned to continue until late 2025, with the official opening taking place in 2026.
We would like to thank you for your patience. We recognize that living next to an active construction site is challenging.
It is our hope that when this world-class facility opens, you will be able to:
- Chat, lounge and read in the central gathering space
- Explore local and Canadian heritage and culture in the Exhibition Gallery
- Access OPL’s collection for children, teens and adults
- Attend an event in the auditorium, with beautiful views out onto the landscaped greenspace outside
- Grab a snack in the ground floor café or dine at the fifth floor restaurant, overlooking the remarkable views to the north
- Play, dream and learn in the OPL Children’s Discovery Centre, a vibrant and playful place for kids
- Study and contemplate in the LAC reading rooms, with access to Canada’s extensive documentary heritage collection
- Find the information you need in the facility’s world-class Genealogy Centre
- Access the range of LAC’s services and resources, including a “treasures room,” showcasing the wide variety of the national collection with some of its most extraordinary items.
We commit to you that we will continue to provide information regarding what to expect living and working in close proximity to the site. As noted above, for construction activity hours of work, the City of Ottawa follows provincial requirements and the City’s Noise By-law (2017-255).
COVID-19
COVID-19 is an unprecedented situation and the City of Ottawa is committed to protecting people and the community. The City continues to work closely with the industry and to comply with restrictions and recommendations provided by municipal, provincial and federal health officials, as well as the Ministry of Labour, Training and Skills Development.
Register for construction update emails
We will be posting bi-weekly construction updates on the project website, adisoke.ca/construction-updates. If you are interested in receiving these short updates in your inbox, please register by emailing adisoke@ottawa.ca with the subject line: “Construction update subscription.”
Newsletter and project website
Residents are also invited to subscribe to our newsletter, which is distributed electronically and provides information on the latest developments, as well as progress photos from the project site. For more information on the project and to subscribe to our newsletter, please visit adisoke.ca.
Contact information
For any emergency outside normal working hours, please call the City at 3-1-1. For general project information, please email adisoke@ottawa.ca or contact the City’s Project Manager.
City Project Manager
Paul Hussar
Design and Construction
Email: paul.hussar@ottawa.ca
cc: Councillor Catherine McKenney, Ward 14 – Somerset