Ottawa’s planning and housing committee is slated to vote next week on a proposal that would see more than 200 new housing units built near the future Sherbourne LRT station in the city’s west end.
Theia Partners and Ontario Aboriginal Housing Services (OAHS) are teaming up on the project to construct a six-storey building as well as a 16-storey highrise at 30 Cleary Ave.
OAHS would administer the six-storey building, which would contain 66 affordable housing units aimed at Indigenous residents. The 16-storey tower would feature 148 apartments that will be rented at market rates.
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The five-and-a-half-acre property is currently occupied by the two-storey First Unitarian Congregation of Ottawa church as well as a four-storey retirement home and a one-storey daycare centre. Those buildings, located on the northwestern portion of the site, would be retained.
The site is 200 metres north of the Sherbourne LRT station currently under construction as part of phase two of the Confederation Line.
The proposal includes 155 underground parking spaces for cars. There will be 219 spots for bicycles – double the number required under current zoning regulations.
Current zoning rules limit building heights on the property to 15 metres. The applicants are seeking to raise the maximum allowable height to 49.8 metres to accommodate the proposed highrise.
In comments attached to the staff report, Bay Ward Coun. Theresa Kavanagh, who represents the area, said the proposal’s proximity to the property lines of residents on nearby Aylen Street has been “a contentious issue.”
Kavanagh also noted that some occupants of the seniors’ residence on the property have expressed concern about increased traffic that would result from the new development.
“Building housing near transit is essential to creating a sustainable and efficient city,” she wrote. “However, I ask the Unitarian Congregation and Theia Partners continue to work with the neighbouring Woodroffe North homes to ensure as little disruption to their community as possible.”
Kent Street proposal also on docket
Meanwhile, the committee will also consider a proposal from a Gatineau developer to construct a nine-storey mixed-use building on a Centretown property that’s now occupied by a medical office.
KTS Properties says the building at 381 Kent St. between Gilmour and James streets would contain 218 residential units and more than 1,800 square feet of ground-floor commercial space. The company also plans to build a 4,100-square-foot park on the southwest corner of the site near James Street.
The five-storey Kent Medical Building now sits on the one-acre site, which also contains a surface parking lot.
While the property is located in the Centretown Heritage Conservation District, the developer says the existing building, which dates from about the 1950s, is classified as a “non-contributing” structure to the heritage district. A heritage impact study included with the application says the proposal is consistent with the district’s policies and guidelines.
