It’s time for action in regard to the conversion of federal buildings into housing. We have had enough announcements.
While I appreciate the federal government identifying buildings that are candidates for housing, I note that many of these buildings have already been subject to housing press releases.
I’m not sure how many more times L’Esplanade Laurier, 122 Bank St. and 552 Booth St. (note that Booth Street was on the market before the pandemic) will be announced as targets for disposition. We get it. We understood the first time.
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I believe the feds can play a transformational role in helping deliver affordable housing in Ottawa and across Canada and I would like to table the following suggestions:
1. Choose buildings that are structurally best suited for conversion. Right now the list of buildings is a hodge-podge, many of which offer little in the way of conversion potential.
2. Avoid buildings with heritage designations (at least five of the properties have some form of federal recognition or designation). A heritage designation does nothing to speed up the process of conversion, it also does nothing to lessen the cost, making the target of affordability difficult to achieve.
3. Choose facilities that tie into the existing infrastructure of the city (transit, grocery, parks and rec).
4. Give us a process and a timeline. So far all we know is that the feds are hoping to reduce their disposition timeline from nine years to 4.5 years. What is the process and when are these coming to market?
5. Work with the stakeholder municipalities to identify conversion assets that deliver maximum community benefit. Right now, many of the buildings (In Ottawa) don’t really offer realistic opportunities for any form of achievable housing — affordable or otherwise.
6. Consider donating these assets as a pathway to affordability. Development is a math equation and profits can be managed, defined and controlled in exchange for the value of the donation. Remember that development profit is a reflection of the overall cost of a development (i.e. risk). Minimize the costs and you can control the profits, all of which contribute to the overall affordability of a project.
There is a once-in-a-generation opportunity for a mutually beneficial partnership between the government and stakeholder municipalities as it relates to tackling the housing issue. Right now I fear that more effort is being given toward making public announcements rather than developing and moving forward with true community benefit.
Please, make that key step forward. You are so close. Your partners are ready to work with you.
Shawn Hamilton is a principal at Proveras Commercial Realty.
