Back on time: Centrepointe Commerce Clock ticks again after more than a decade

After over a decade of inactivity, the Centrepointe Commerce Clock is working once again, marking a small but meaningful revival of one of Nepean’s most recognizable landmarks.

Originally built in the 1980s, the Centrepointe Clock became a familiar symbol when Nepean was still an independent city.

“The Centrepointe area was intended to be a sort of downtown for the city of Nepean,” said College Ward city councillor Laine Johnson. “The clock was installed as a focal point for Centrepointe Drive.”

Nepean formally amalgamated with Ottawa in 2001 but still maintained its own identity.

When the clock stopped working over a decade ago, it left some in the Centrepointe community questioning when it would be repaired.

“The clock did work when we moved in here a long time ago, and then it just stopped, and we just assumed it was a cost issue for the owner of the building,” said Centrepointe Community Association president Brian Grant.

However, the clock’s standstill was more complicated than it appeared. The clock sits on private property owned by Uniform Developments and needed rare parts from France to get it running again.

It wasn’t until this year that the property owner made a breakthrough that allowed the clock to be repaired.

“They found a supplier in Canada that they can get the parts from,” said Johnson. “So they’ve been able to repair it after many, many years of trying to chase down their French supplier. Now they’re using Canadian parts, and we can have a clock that works.”

With the current political climate and the Canadian government encouraging people to “buy Canadian,” it was fitting that a Canadian company provided the clock with its long-sought-after parts.

“There are a lot of people who lived in Nepean then and live in Nepean now that have a lot of attachment to the history of the town and want to make sure that its artifacts are preserved,” said Johnson.

For residents, the clock’s return marks a subtle but significant change.

Grant said while it wasn’t an overly pressing issue for the community, it’s nice to see it back up and running. “I always wondered when they would get around to fixing it, so I would say it’s good that it’s back,” he said.

“In a community and in an organization, symbols are important,” said Grant. “If it’s back to working, it may rise again to the status of a symbol. I mean, it’s on a major street through the community. And so, it’ll certainly be recognized as being important.”