In planning documents recently filed with the city, GWL Realty Advisors says its proposal includes a pair of towers at 170 Slater St. between Bank and O’Connor streets.
A prominent North American real estate firm is looking to build two highrises on Slater Street that would add hundreds of residential units and new retail space to the core as the effort to revitalize Ottawa’s downtown takes centre stage.In planning documents recently filed with the city, GWL Realty Advisors says its proposal includes a pair of towers at 170 Slater St. between Bank and O’Connor streets. The development would occupy the eastern half of a two-acre property that is now occupied by a GWL-managed 19-storey office building at 269 Laurier Ave., a three-level parking garage and a small park. The garage would be demolished to make way for the new project, while the existing office tower and park would be retained and integrated into the development.GWL’s proposal features a 26-storey tower on the south side of the property facing Laurier Avenue and a 25-storey highrise facing Slater Street. The two buildings would be connected by a six-storey podium.A design brief filed with the proposal says most of the ground floor of the buildings would be occupied by “small-scale retail commercial businesses” that will be accessible from Slater Street and Laurier Avenue. The rest of the buildings would contain a total of 586 rental apartments, the majority being one-bedroom suites and the remainder a mix of studio, two- and three-bedroom units.An artist's rendering from Neuf Architects depicts GWL Realty Advisors' proposal for Slater Street.According to the original planning documents from last December, a two-level underground parking garage would have 160 spots for cars. That number was lowered to 128 in the site plan control application summary filed with the city this week, which said the garage would include 297 bicycle parking spaces.The design plan from Neuf Architects says the site “offers an opportunity to create a mid-block pedestrian link in the form of a woonerf, or shared street,” adding vehicular traffic “will be limited to parking access and drop off to the proposed apartment building.”The shared street will be a “welcoming public space,” the architecture firm says, featuring “urban furniture” as well as trees and other plants. The firm says the proposal aims to meet Ottawa Official Plan guidelines that encourage the creation of “15-minute neighbourhoods” in which amenities are easily accessible on foot or via public transit.GWL says it plans to build the project in two phases. The south tower would be completed first along with the podium, followed by the north tower. The underground parkade will also be constructed in two phases.The firm says the proposed development “meets all zoning provisions” but did not provide a timeline for construction. GWL officials did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Wednesday.A subsidiary of the Great-West Life Assurance Company, GWL Realty Advisors currently manages 1.8 million square feet of commercial real estate in Ottawa. In addition to 269 Laurier Ave., the firm’s other holdings include 219 Laurier Ave., 90 Elgin St., 200 Kent St. and 255 Albert St. The proposal comes as city leaders look for ways to attract more residents to the core to make up for the exodus of commuters who used to fuel the downtown economy but who have increasingly worked from home since the pandemic.The Slater Street development site is across the street from L’Esplanade Laurier, a one-million-square-foot federal government office complex that is on a list of properties slated for disposal over the next decade as the feds look to shrink their real estate footprint.A report issued earlier this year by a task force examining ways to revitalize Ottawa’s downtown called L’Esplanade Laurier a “prime candidate” for redevelopment. That report included a concept plan that suggested the east tower of the two-building complex could be converted into housing and retail space, while the west tower could be torn down and replaced with a park, townhouses and amenities such as a playground.
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