The City of Ottawa’s Finance and Corporate Services Committee has approved a $200-million revitalization plan for the ByWard Market.

The project scope calls for major upgrades to the 55 ByWard Market Square, a new pedestrian plaza on York Street, and the repurposing of a municipal parking garage on Clarence Street.

The committee approved the framework of the revitalization program, which includes a series of investments that “aim to create a vibrant, welcoming and inclusive historic market district.”

A report from staff focuses on three core municipal assets.

The historic market building at 55 ByWard Market Square would be transformed into a food-focused civic anchor that supports local vendors, community programming, and year-round activity.

Meanwhile, two options are being considered for the municipal parking garage at 70 Clarence Street. One is a potential cultural and arts hub with active ground-floor uses, potential residential integration, and integrated parking solutions. The other is to maintain the building as a parking structure.

The report also calls for the creation of a section of York Street between Sussex Avenue and William Street into a civic plaza that is capable of supporting daily use, cultural programming, winter amenities and major events.

The report calls the ByWard Market, which celebrates its 200^th anniversary next year, “one of Ottawa’s most important civic, cultural, and economic assets.”

“It is a defining feature of the city’s national identity, a major tourism destination, and a shared community space for residents. Despite all of this, the district is experiencing a convergence of challenges related to safety and access, public confidence, underperforming public spaces, and aging municipal infrastructure that cannot be addressed through incremental or isolated interventions.”

The report recommends allocating nearly $8 million for the design phases of work on the 55 ByWard Market Square, York Street Plaza and Clarence Street garage. It suggests that the entire redevelopment project could generate as much as $345 million in regional economic output and more than 1,000 jobs during construction.