History Ottawa – a 41,000-square-foot, two-storey concert hall on Rideau Street – is set to open this summer. Over its 25-year lease with Live Nation Canada, the venue is expected to add foot traffic and leasing activity to the city’s ByWard Market and to add $1.2 billion to the local economy.Supplied/History Ottawa
Ottawa’s largest developer is expecting its first concert hall to generate economic benefits and revitalize the city’s downtown core, where it owns several other commercial and residential properties.
The National Capital Commission (NCC), a Crown-affiliated developer, is transforming a shuttered Chapters bookstore on Rideau Street into a 41,000-square-foot, two-storey concert hall that’s expected to open this summer.
Live Nation Canada signed a 25-year lease on the 2,000-capacity space and will operate a venue called History Ottawa, a first expansion of its History live-music-venue brand following History Toronto’s opening in 2022.
The live music industry is experiencing a surge in demand. Live Nation Entertainment, the world’s largest live entertainment enterprise, expects another record-setting year in 2026, its third in a row after 2025 posted $25.2-billion in revenue – a 9-per-cent increase from one year prior.
History Ottawa’s estimated 200 events a year are expected to boost footfall and elevate leasing activity in the ByWard Market neighbourhood. The area has already seen “an uptick in interest” from businesses wanting in on the action, says senior vice-president of CBRE’s Ottawa office, Jamie Boyce, who was part of the team that brokered the lease and the $20-million sale of the building to NCC in 2021.
Part of broad trend
The NCC’s investment places it among a growing cohort of Canadian developers who are using live music venues to cultivate resilient neighbourhoods and anchor mixed-use projects.
Even as an alarming number of Canadian music venues have closed down, new ones are popping up, including Vancouver’s The Key, signalling the revival of the city’s Plaza of Nations; Sidestage, on one of Winnipeg’s main drags, Osborne Street; and in downtown Hamilton, where the “music-first” TD Coliseum launched last November.
In Toronto, Tricon’s ROQ City mixed-use development, near Queen and Parliament streets, will be anchored by a concert venue situated on a music-themed laneway, called Electric Avenue. Acts such as Blue Rodeo are playing at Prince Edward County’s Drill Hall as the 750-acre, mixed-use project Base31 rises around it.
“Entertainment venue development is a positive trendline the industry is leaning into in a significant way,” Mr. Boyce says.
History Ottawa offers cutting-edge audio-visual and sound-barrier technologies. Two ceilings top the two-storey venue, with the lower ceiling suspended with sound-isolating clips. Between decoupled thick interior and exterior walls, powerful acoustic spray insulation absorbs vibrations.Supplied/History Ottawa
Right time for History
NCC’s vice-president of real estate and development, Bill Leonard, directs a portfolio of 1,000 buildings and believes it’s an ideal time to launch a new live music venture in Ottawa.
Revenue from Canadian live performances is expected to surpass $4-billion in 2025, up from a high of $3.8-billion in 2024, according to Statistics Canada. And as consumers continue to prioritize experiences over material things, spending on entertainment is up 204 per cent since 2018, according to recent data from Royal Bank of Canada.
History Ottawa adds a much-needed mid-level venue to the city’s live music scene, Mr. Leonard says.
Mid-size venues, accommodating 1,000 to 6,000 people, are able to showcase performers whose fanbase comprises music tourists, he says. Fans travelling from Montreal, Kingston and other places, from which “Ottawa never typically draws,” will fill hotels, restaurants and shops.
“When we start looking at the value this will have to downtown Ottawa – if we’re talking 200 concerts at 2,000 people – the economic development for the city is orders of magnitude,” Mr. Leonard says, estimating the venue will add $1.2-billion to the economy over the course of its lease.
While it’s a staggering figure, he says it’s on par with a Canadian Live Music Association report that details the economic impacts of the country’s live-music industry. In 2023, the sector contributed $10.9-billion to Canada’s GDP, produced $3.73-billion in tax dollars and generated more than 101,640 jobs.
“The city loves this venue,” Mr. Leonard says. “They moved mountains for us on this one to make it happen.”
History Ottawa is a first expansion of Live Nation Canada’s History music-venue brand, following History Toronto’s opening in 2022. The Ottawa outpost will have a 2,000-person capacity and is estimated to hold about 200 events per year.Supplied/History Ottawa
Noise mitigation
For Mr. Leonard, History Ottawa’s timing could also not be better because advanced technology has contributed to more flexible venue designs and smart sound systems.
With the push of a button, stages and wall partitions can move, while seats can go from flat to raked or disappear, helping promoters such as Live Nation to fill venues more often through various events including concerts, DJ sets, corporate parties and trade shows.
Like its Toronto counterpart, History Ottawa features state-of-the-art audio-visual and sound-barrier technology.
Designing a sound-proof concert hall was a “top-of-mind” concern, says Mr. Leonard, as the venue shares a wall with an office building and is across the street from a residential tower.
To meet this no-noise challenge, local firm CSV Architects worked with Ontario-based sound engineer company Aercoustics Engineering Ltd., whose projects include noise-reduction initiatives for cement plants, wind turbines and concert halls.
After gutting the building, the architects designed a sound barrier to keep all the sound in, says CSV principal architect Darryl Hood.
Two ceilings top the venue, with the lower acoustic-containment ceiling suspended with sound isolating clips. Between decoupled thick interior and exterior walls, powerful acoustic spray insulation absorbs vibrations.
Mr. Hood says modern noise-mitigation technology has advanced so live music venues can be located in virtually any urban environment.
It’s partly why Wayne Zronik, president of business operations at Live Nation Canada, says the company’s venue portfolio has grown in Canada over the past five years.
But that expansion depends on many factors, Mr. Zronik says.
“It reflects rising demand for live experiences, stronger touring activity across Canada and a clear need for modern, well-equipped venues that can support a wide range of artists and productions.”