Grocery giant Sobeys is spearheading a mixed-use development that would see up to seven buildings constructed on a prime parcel of land near a future LRT station in Orléans.
A zoning bylaw amendment application prepared by Fotenn Planning and Design says the proposal calls for seven buildings ranging from seven to 18 storeys at 1887 St. Joseph Blvd. between Youville Drive and Jeanne d’Arc Boulevard.
The document lists the applicant as SDLP 1887 Orleans Limited. City officials told OBJ this week that Sobeys is behind the plan, saying the company has retained Fotenn and Figurr Architects Collective to develop concepts “to accommodate multiple residential and mixed-use buildings, which align with the vision outlined in the (Orléans Corridor) Secondary Plan.”
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The grocery chain “is looking for others to develop the site and may choose to retain a stake in the project or sell it entirely once the zoning is approved,” John Sevigny, the city’s manager of development review for the east branch, said in an email.
Sobeys did not respond to requests for comment from OBJ.
The 5.7-acre property is located about half a kilometre south of the Jeanne d’Arc transit station that is currently under construction as part of phase two of the Confederation LRT line. It is now home to a building containing a pharmacy and several health-care facilities as well as a surface parking lot.
Current zoning bylaws limit building heights at the site to 13 and 19 metres. Sobeys wants the height limit raised to 56 metres to accommodate a pair of proposed 18-storey towers on the northwest and southwest portions of the property.
The application says that if the rezoning application is approved, it would represent “one of the first opportunities for redevelopment” in the area around Youville Drive south of the future Jeanne d’Arc LRT station.
The site is part of territory that has been earmarked for intensification under the Orléans Corridor Secondary Plan. The secondary plan aims to promote higher-density mixed-use development within 800 metres, or about a 10-minute walk, of transit stations from Jeanne d’Arc Boulevard to Trim Road.
The current proposal fits the guidelines of the secondary plan and meets the plan’s “long-term vision for a mixed-use residential neighbourhood with opportunities for active and public transportation, high-quality urban public realm, commercial enterprises, and office spaces,” the document prepared by Fotenn says.
The buildings facing St. Joseph Boulevard would be “vibrant mixed-use” highrises with six-storey podiums featuring commercial and retail space on the ground floor, the application says.
It does not indicate whether a food store would be among the proposed commercial uses.
The remaining buildings, which would be seven or nine storeys, “are proposed to be residential and are oriented with the greatest heights to the north, near the future LRT station, and to the south, fronting onto St. Joseph Boulevard,” the application adds.
It doesn’t specify whether the units would be rentals or condos, saying only “the unit mix and layout will be further refined at the site plan control phase.”
An underground parking lot would include 495 spaces for residents and 95 for visitors, while about a dozen surface parking spots would be set aside for commercial and retail users.
A public road would connect St. Joseph Boulevard to Youville Drive. The proposal also includes two private roads – one running north and south to provide access to parking garages along the eastern entrance, and the other an east-west connection to nearby Marenger Street that would be designed to “encourage low-speed local traffic rather than (act) as a cut-through to the existing low-rise residential neighbourhood to the east.”
Orléans West-Innes Coun. Laura Dudas, who represents the area, said much of the feedback she’s heard from constituents about the proposal so far has been positive.
“This proposal brings density, but its chosen location allows that density to still respect the makeup of the existing surrounding neighbourhood,” Dudas said in an email to OBJ. “It proposes a new community with walkable amenities, in line with what the City, and what residents, want to see more of in Ottawa.”
The plan is the latest in a flood of recent development applications that could significantly change the face of Orléans.
Toronto-based developer Bayview Group, for example, has applied to build a trio of mixed-use highrises a couple of kilometres west of the proposed hotel near the Orléans Town Centre. That project would include more than 1,100 residential units along with retail and office space.
