Downtown Kingston is known for its heritage buildings, but trying to fit a hamburger chain into century-old architecture can be a challenge.
A&W wants to serve papa burgers and root beer from a heritage bank building at the corner of Brock and King Streets, which overlooks historic Springer Market Square in the downtown.
City heritage planners say great care must be taken when heritage-designated buildings are re-purposed into modern uses. A collection of restaurants, financial institutions and coffee shops already overlook the public square behind City Hall — all with purposely designed low-key signage so as not to detract from the district’s heritage character.
The latest restaurant chain seeking to move into the square seems to have found the right balance to attract customers and promote its brand without cluttering the area with suburban-style neon lights and signs, according to city staff.
“No heritage attributes will be obscured and the architectural style of the building will continue to be legible.”
It will be up to city councillors to decide whether to approve the fast food chain’s heritage permit at their April 2 meeting.
The restaurant is seeking permission to install its familiar brown-and-yellow A&W signage on the three-storey stone building, and to install an accessible entrance.
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The heritage committee recently endorsed alterations to allow two illuminated wall signs on the east and north sides of the building at 328 King Street East, fixed fabric awnings over the ground floor windows and three flag signs in the existing pole brackets.
If endorsed by council, however, details of the external illumination and colours will still be subject to further approvals by heritage planning staff “to ensure that the lighting does not obscure the heritage attributes of the property and that it conserves the cultural heritage value and attributes of the Market Square heritage conservation district.”
City staff say the heritage building, which opened as a Canadian Bank of Commerce in 1911, is noted for its neoclassical revival style design and the architecture must be protected.
“The bank building was designed in the ‘temple bank’ tradition and is a fine example of neoclassical revival architecture in Kingston from the early 20th century.”
If approved it would be the city’s fifth stand-alone A&W restaurant.
In 2011, Jack Astor’s Bar & Grill fought a prolonged battle with city heritage planners over the type of signage, lighting and brick colour it wanted to install on another building, also a former bank, that overlooks Market Square.
Meanwhile, in suburban Kingston where heritage protection is not as prevalent, the Popeyes chicken restaurant chain is planning to open a drive-through restaurant on a vacant lot in the city’s west end.
The proposal includes constructing two low-rise commercial buildings plus a stand-alone Popeye’s restaurant that will have entrances off both Bath and Days Roads with a total of 74 surface parking spaces.
The developer has filed a site plan control application to build small commercial plaza on the northwest corner of Bath and Days Roads, site of a former McDonald’s restaurant. The site plan application, which includes landscaping, pedestrian access, parking, building appearance and waste disposal, is still being reviewed by city planners.
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