T.O. firms behind luxury downtown rental complex eye more builds in ‘strong’ Ottawa market

The Toronto-based developers of two luxury apartment towers in downtown Ottawa say they are looking at more development opportunities in a bid to satisfy ongoing demand for rental housing in the National Capital Region. Main and Main Developments and Centurion Asset Management are two of the companies behind Relevé, a new project at the corner […]

The Toronto-based developers of two luxury apartment towers in downtown Ottawa say they are looking at more development opportunities in a bid to satisfy ongoing demand for rental housing in the National Capital Region. Main and Main Developments and Centurion Asset Management are two of the companies behind Relevé, a new project at the corner of Albert and Lyon streets consisting of 29- and 23-storey highrises with a total of 560 rental apartment units. During the official opening of one of the towers last week, Centurion executive vice-president of property operations Stephen Marshall told OBJ he hopes the project will attract new residents to the city’s core. “I think this is all part of the revitalization of the downtown,” said Marshall, whose company was the lead investor in the development and will manage the property. “All of this adds up to a new, vibrant downtown where people are going to want to live.” Marshall pointed to the site’s proximity to the new Food Basics store that recently opened on Queen Street and the nearby Lyon LRT station as major draws for urban dwellers who want to be close to shopping and transit. “You look across the street, there’s grocery shopping now where there wasn’t a year ago,” he said. “You can live here and function without a car if you need to.” Main and Main director of development Emily Edmunds said 130 of the 560 units at Relevé have already been leased. 

She said Ottawa landlords continue to see brisk demand for apartments – in contrast to Toronto, where more and more property owners are offering incentives and where rents reportedly dropped slightly in the second quarter as the city’s condo glut intensifies and investors who can’t sell their units are putting them up for rent instead.  Edmunds said Main and Main is seeing steady rental activity at Relevé and Maison Riverain, another of its Ottawa developments underway in Vanier that will ultimately include three highrises ranging from 22 to 32 storeys on Montreal Road containing about 1,100 residential suites and more than 25,000 square feet of retail space. The first tower on Montreal Road is complete, with the second slated to be finished in 2027. Edmunds said there are about 150 people living in the 294-unit building that's now ready for occupancy. “We’ve had a fantastic summer on both projects,” she said. “Leasing interest has been very strong and consistent all summer, and we’re looking forward to continuing that momentum. Definitely, there’s a different feeling here than in the GTA in terms of lease-up and momentum and construction starts.” Indeed, Ottawa builders are continuing to churn out apartments at a near-record pace. The Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. said Tuesday the city has recorded nearly 5,900 multi-unit starts in the first eight months of 2025, up 67 per cent from a year ago. Marshall said Ottawa isn’t nearly as much of a condo market as Toronto, meaning builders of purpose-built rental apartments in the capital face less competition from condo investors who can’t sell their units. Centurion now manages three rental properties in the Ottawa region and is hoping to add “another one or two” developments to its portfolio in the National Capital Region, he added. Marshall said the company is eyeing potential sites in Kanata and other neighbourhoods with strong employment that are currently underserved by rental housing.  While he noted that overall population growth is slowing, he still sees plenty of upside in the Ottawa market.  “Ottawa is a core market for us. We see this as a community that will benefit from additional rental housing, and we want to be part of that,” Marshall said. “We’re very pragmatic at how we look at where we want to be. Location is key, but also what stage are developments at because you don’t want to start something when you know there are four or five thousand units being developed within a two-kilometre radius. “We like the Ottawa market. We’ll be here. We’re going to grow here.” Main and Main is also jumping into the Kanata market in a big way. The firm owns 14 acres of development land at the corner of Terry Fox and March roads, where it plans to construct as many as 10 buildings that could include more than 2,000 residential units. Edmunds called Ottawa a “strong rental market” thanks to its stable economy anchored by the federal government and tech sector. She said Main and Main continues to be bullish on the region’s future development prospects. “We’re always looking for a great opportunity and a great site to build (on),” she said.