Windmill eyes mid-2025 start date for pair of major rental development projects

February 10, 2025

Windmill Development Group says it hopes to start construction later this year on a 24-storey highrise at 384 Arlington Ave., just west of Bronson Avenue, as well as two buildings at 2475 Regina St., just north of Richmond Road on the west side of the Kichi Zibi Mikan Parkway.

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The Ottawa firm that launched the Zibi waterfront development is poised to break ground on two new rental apartment complexes at sites currently occupied by non-profit organizations. Windmill Development Group says it hopes to start construction later this year on a 24-storey highrise at 384 Arlington Ave., just west of Bronson Avenue, as well as two buildings at 2475 Regina St., just north of Richmond Road on the west side of the Kichi Zibi Mikan Parkway. The new developments would add a total of more than 850 units to the capital’s stock of rental housing, with 566 units planned for Regina Street and 296 apartments slated to be built on Arlington Avenue. Windmill president Jeremy Reeds told OBJ this week the company aims to include a “significant” amount of affordable housing at each site and hopes to qualify for funding from the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. designed to help finance such projects. Ottawa city council has given both proposals the green light. Reeds said the firm has applied for building permits in the hope of putting shovels in the ground within the next six months. The new developments use a template Windmill has employed in the past – redeveloping aging community landmarks such as churches and incorporating new, eco-friendly residential components. “In Ottawa, it’s very easy for us to be recognized as that player in that space,” Reeds said. The Regina Street project ultimately calls for three buildings near Lincoln Fields on a two-acre property that’s currently home to Parkway House, a non-profit organization that houses 12 adults with physical disabilities who require 24-7 care. The plan includes two highrises of 28 and 16 storeys, as well as a seven-storey building that will feature a new home for Parkway House on the ground floor and six storeys of rental apartment units on the floors above. The seven- and 16-storey buildings, which will be located on the eastern edge of the site, will be constructed first, Reeds said. The tallest tower will be built later where Parkway House now stands. In keeping with the city’s push for more “15-minute neighbourhoods” near transit nodes, there will be enough parking spaces for about half of the units. The site is located about 400 metres from the Lincoln Fields LRT station that’s now under construction as part of the expanded Confederation Line. The development would include a mix of studio apartments as well as one-, two- and three-bedroom suites. While the first two buildings are planned as rental projects, Reeds said Windmill hasn’t decided whether the 28-storey tower will be a rental building or a condominium. “Ottawa is a smaller market, so there’s definitely a sweet spot of how many units in a condo building you want,” he explained.

Church facade to be saved

Meanwhile, Windmill is also targeting a mid-2025 launch for its planned 24-storey highrise on the corner of Arlington Avenue and Bell Street, just north of the Queensway. The half-acre parcel of land is currently home to the Ottawa Korean Community Church, which is building a new facility for its congregation at a different site. Windmill struck a deal to purchase the property in 2021, with proceeds from the sale helping to finance construction of the new church. While the existing church – which was built in 1910 as a Protestant church and was sold to the Korean church group in the 1980s – is listed on the City of Ottawa’s heritage register, it has not been designated for preservation under the Ontario Heritage Act. Its facade will be retained and incorporated into the new highrise in an effort to “preserve and highlight the history and sense of community” the building once brought to its neighbourhood, Windmill said in an urban design brief filed with its development application. The project is slated to include 296 rental suites. Most units are expected to be one- and two-bedroom units along with 19 studio apartments and a pair of three-bedroom units. Like the Regina Street project, Windmill’s plan for Arlington Avenue calls for far fewer parking spaces than apartment units, with 67 parking spaces set aside for residents. The proposal also features about 22,000 square feet of amenity space, including a rooftop terrace, a “public outdoor area” and an “urban farm.” The Regina Street project sparked concerns from nearby residents who were worried about traffic congestion and the towers obstructing views of the Ottawa River. However, Reeds said the community’s reaction to the Arlington Avenue proposal has generally been positive. The proposal is reminiscent of another project in Windmill’s pipeline – a planned nine-storey mixed-use building that would be attached to the former All Saints Anglican Church on Chapel Street in Sandy Hill. Reeds said Windmill is “waiting for the right time to launch” the new building, which would feature about 100 condominium units and be a first in Ottawa for a building of its height: rather than using concrete beams, it will be built from cross-laminated timber, a specially engineered wood that proponents say has a range of environmental benefits. Founded in 2003, Windmill is best known in Ottawa for helping get the ambitious Zibi mixed-use waterfront development near Chaudiere Falls off the ground. The company has built several other projects in the capital, including the Stone Abbey condo and townhome project on the site of the heritage Southminster United Church near Lansdowne Park. Reeds said the past few years have seen an “unprecedented” jump in construction costs due to factors such as supply chain bottlenecks, rising interest rates and soaring inflation. He’s hoping the Bank of Canada’s recent series of rate cuts will help put the brakes on rising costs and make development projects more financially viable. “It’s definitely that fine balance in the market right now,” he explained. “There are (projects) that don’t work, there are things that do work. I would say most of the things that work are just barely working. A lot of that is tied to what interest rates are at. They’re starting to get within striking distance.” In addition, he said, the threat of a tariff war between Canada and the U.S. and the upcoming federal election add more layers of uncertainty to the industry’s outlook. “Not a lot is going (on in) construction right now, so some costs are starting to get a bit more reasonable,” Reeds said. “But it’s (getting) that right timing of the market conditions and risk profile. Ideally, you want things tied up and going before everybody decides they want to get stuff tied up and going, because then costs are just going to start escalating again. “I feel like the last five years have been constant unknowns. Every time you turn around, there’s something new that’s causing a curveball in the industry.”