Glamming up the Glebe
The Glebe BIA is working in partnership with the city and the councillor to brighten up the Glebe through public art, seating, community spaces and music events, making it even more welcoming.
Photo: Glebe BIA
Glamming up the Glebe
By Julia Rocchi
Over the past year, staff at the Glebe Business Improvement Area (BIA) noticed there were certain aspects of the Glebe that needed some TLC. Some key features seemed to have fallen into disrepair in this vibrant, historic and distinctive part of Ottawa. Overgrown gardens, tired intersections and struggling public amenities made the neighbourhood feel forgotten.
To support the area’s business community, boost foot traffic and enhance civic pride, the BIA has made public realm improvements an ongoing priority.
The scope of potential improvements is broad – ensuring adequate care of public or municipal assets, improving lighting, restoring the fading paint on light posts, expanding community gardens, creating gathering spaces, maintaining Bank Street trees and encouraging community participation in revitalization projects.
Ultimately, the BIA endeavours to restore and sustain a welcoming neighbourhood atmosphere that invites people to visit and spend their days here, where they can relax in shaded nooks with accessible seating, enjoy live music along the sidewalk, grab a coffee and groceries and feel a sense of pride in this unique corner of the city.
Last November, the BIA team conducted a full walkthrough of the Glebe. The staff took inventory of City-owned assets that needed repair, such as waste receptacles, parking meters, street posts and benches, and they identified potential spaces for new seating, garden beds and public art.
Working in collaboration with the City of Ottawa’s Public Realm, Ground Operations, Public Works and Right of Way teams, along with support from Councillor Shawn Menard, the BIA set out action steps and timelines. These included reintroducing maintenance schedules for aging assets and identifying areas that would benefit from new features or equipment.
To help bring these visions to life, the BIA retained Siteform, a landscape architecture firm led by Jonathan Loschmann. Three projects have been identified for rollout through this year and next. The first was a Public Seating Program – eight colourful chairs were installed this summer at four locations in the Glebe to provide more seating for customers to sit and enjoy all the neighbourhood has to offer. In 2026, the BIA will explore a redesign of the southeast corner of Third and Bank, introducing more seating and greenery, and it will implement the new Glebe-Off-Bank program, with new street pole banners, gardens and community mural projects along Pretoria Avenue and Isabella Street.
The BIA also continues to champion small-scale, big-impact ventures. A new agreement to upgrade the Courtyard at the Fourth Avenue Baptist Church has enabled the BIA, in partnership with the Ottawa Music Industry Coalition, to bring music back to Bank Street. The BIA is also actively working on creating and maintaining more native gardens and year-round perennial planters, alongside the 13 gardens it currently maintains.
Bank Street is now illuminated year-round, not just through the winter, by the Tree Lighting Program. The parkette at Third Avenue and Bank Street, now in its fifth year, remains a community gem. Designed, built and lovingly maintained by the Glebe Community Association, the BIA supports this space by coordinating with City departments and paying for the pemits and insurance needed to keep it open to the public for up to six months of the year.
The Glebe’s newest mural is in place on the north wall of Fairy Dreams Bridal at 724 Bank. With funding support from the City of Ottawa Mural and Architectural Design Feature Funding Program and in partnership with the store owner, Irene Mei, the BIA worked with local artist Tia Wong to install this unique take on Glebe history. “Chinese Aces Skate the Canal” recalls the local Chinese community that formed the first all-Chinese hockey team in Ottawa in the 1930s.
These projects – public art, seating, community spaces and free events – are direct responses to the questions and input provided by our members and the visual cues we see in our community. They’re inspired by improvised coffee tables, friends perched on planters and benches offered by our cafes. These offerings are key traits which draw visitors and tourists to the Glebe every day.
There’s still work to do, but the BIA is energized. With a strong team and momentum building, the Glebe is on track to become even more welcoming and connected. As these projects continue to take shape in the coming years, each one will help strengthen a sense of belonging for those who live here and for everyone who loves the Glebe.
Julia Rocchi is events and placemaking manager at the Glebe BIA.