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Developer Turn Group plans to include various types of residential units, medical offices, and a grocery store in its new project at 299 Carling Ave. near Dow’s Lake.
Developer Turn Group plans to include various types of residential units, medical offices, and a grocery store in its new project at 299 Carling Ave. near Dow’s Lake.Turn Group, which has offices in Ottawa and Calgary, is proposing a four-tower mixed-use development on the three-acre parcel east of Preston Street that’s currently occupied by a parking lot. Ranging from 13 to 30 storeys, the towers would include 750 residential units and 600,000 square feet of mixed-use space that would include commercial and retail uses, including a grocery store.With an influx of development in the area, Turn Group CEO Ash Mahmoud said he wanted to set the project apart by designating space for private medical facilities and offices. “It’s a very common, known model, when you have a hospital,” he said. “You can have things like X-ray specialists and other specialized doctors. They have to be close to the hospital, either because they work there or they have clients there.”The three-acre parcel was previously owned by Canada Lands Company (CLC), a Crown corporation specializing in real estate and development. Under its ownership, the site was approved for a three-tower redevelopment project that would have featured approximately 600 residential units. According to Mahmoud, the project came to Turn Group’s attention while the firm was in the bidding process for a separate CLC development. Mahmoud said it was a “quick decision” to take over ownership, but he felt he could draft a new plan to better suit Little Italy’s evolving landscape. “The concept that was approved, it didn’t make sense for us,” he said. “The initial plan was to do rental apartments. But when we looked at the development, we found that it’s pretty close to the new (Ottawa Hospital) Civic campus. We are 600 metres away, so we thought, this is something we need to capitalize on.”In addition to designating space for private medical facilities, Mahmoud said the development will include a more diverse tenant mix that will benefit from the project's amenities and location. While most units will be designated for typical rental housing, about one-quarter will be dedicated to independent senior living. The project also maintains a previously established agreement with the Algonquins of Ontario to create a certain number of affordable units. Altogether, Mahmoud said the project’s commercial and tenant mix will tap into several demographics where demand is high. “The way we look at it is to diversify the product, make it less risky,” Mahmoud said. “The medical industry is very stable, so it’s not an area where businesses go up and down. All of us need to go to the doctor. And, of course, senior housing is its own kind of stability, and (there is a shortage of) affordable housing. So we have components of all typical market rentals in this project.”Turn Group CEO Ash Mahmoud (left) and Jan Steingahs, Arcadis living group practice manager. Images suppliedWith many aspects to consider, Turn Group brought in global design and engineering consultant Arcadis as the lead architect. Arcadis has worked on mixed-use highrise projects across Canada, including several in Toronto, said Jan Steingahs, manager of the firm’s living practice group. The company’s Ottawa team has worked on several significant local projects, including the re-design of the World Exchange Plaza and the new Parliament Hill visitor welcome centre. When it came to re-designing the original proposal, Steingahs said the focus was on creating “synergies” between tenants, the development and the surrounding area. “I think the project was just buildings, not really functioning as a whole,” he said. “We had to look at what’s required. What do we need to make this project really successful? It’s not looking inward, it’s looking outward. You’ve got the hospital, you’ve got Little Italy, you’ve got the LRT. That all plays a part in what we design.” Despite the complexity involved in such a project, he added that these types of diverse developments are becoming more common. “Projects, moving forward, will have to be a lot more mixed-use, where you have a variety of uses, from education to agriculture to data centres to residential. You name it. I don’t think one precludes the other and, if you’re smart and do it right, you have people there all the time.”He added that the development is currently in the design phase with the goal of getting shovels in the ground in 18 to 24 months, after receiving approval from the city. He added that the construction will be completed in phases and will likely take five to eight years to finish. In addition to community stakeholders and partners such as the Algonquins of Ontario, he added that the two firms will continue consulting with the Canada Lands Company.“We want to be a good neighbour and you want buy-in from as many people as you can,” he said. “When we look at a development like this, we always look at what’s happening in the neighbourhood and how we can connect. We don’t just come in and plug in something. We’re trying to integrate our project so that it actually works as a holistic whole and becomes part of that neighbourhood fabric.”
Ottawa provides stable market for developers
Originally based in Calgary, Turn Group has been seeking opportunities to expand and diversify in other major Canadian markets, Mahmoud said. “I think the boom is almost gone in Alberta,” he said. “In our business, in multi-family construction, we’re sliding into the final stages of a recession. How long that recession lasts, you usually can predict, but with oil, gas and war, you have uncertainty in the market. It’s impossible to see unless you have a magic 8 ball.” Ottawa has become a significant area of interest for the company over the past few years, with two other developments — Westboro Tower and Aurora Apartments, both nine-storey residential buildings on Richmond Road — currently under construction. Mahmoud said, unlike Calgary and large markets such as Toronto, demand and economic conditions have remained relatively consistent in the Ottawa market. “What’s significant about Ottawa, other than being the capital, is the stability of the economy,” he said. “In every market, real estate goes up and down. But what I’ve noticed in the last 10 to 15 years is that Ottawa is pretty stable compared to any other city. We’ve done many studies about all kinds of assets — multi-family, offices, commercial — they have all stabilized at acceptable rates.”Arcadis, according to Steingahs, has also been attracted to the Ottawa area as an opportunity to diversify in a steady market. “We’ve built a lot of major highrise projects in Toronto. But the way the markets are going, if you want to grow, you also have to look elsewhere,” he said. “From an opportunistic standpoint, this is obviously very good for growth. The market in Ottawa is more stable than in Toronto currently. Those things obviously help.”
