A plan that could allow up to 90 not-for-profit housing units to be built on a vacant parking lot in the Glebe will be put to city council later this week.
Last week, the city’s finance and corporate services committee approved a recommendation by city staff to transfer ownership of a portion of the land at 574 Bank St. to the Centretown Citizens Ottawa Corp. (CCOC), which is looking to construct a nine-storey mid-rise development on the lot.
Located behind the colourful Glebe sign on Bank Street at the intersection of Chamberlain Avenue just south of the Queensway, the portion of the lot declared surplus is 690 square metres and currently occupied by a parking lot.
A city report said the site is valued at approximately $3.3 million, according to an internal assessment, but will be transferred to CCOC for “nominal value.”
CCOC, a not-for-profit focused on building affordable housing in Ottawa, currently owns and operates more than 50 properties across the city. In recent years, it has built 51 new residential units between developments at 212-216 Carruthers Ave., 171 Armstrong St. and 159 Forward Ave.
The organization would partner with McDonald Brothers Construction Inc. on the Bank Street project.
The construction company and 578 Bank Street Holdings Inc. share ownership of the adjacent property at 578 Bank St., which is currently occupied by a low-rise commercial building.
The organizations intend to amalgamate the two properties as part of the redevelopment project. On the new site, CCOC would own and operate the residential units, while 578 Bank Street Holdings would own and operate the ground-floor commercial units.
The proposed nine-storey development would include 80 to 90 residential units, 30 per cent of which would be affordable at below-market rents.
The land transfer is part of the city’s Municipal Land Strategy, which calls for the disposal of surplus city-owned lands so that they can be redeveloped for not-for-profit housing, including new affordable units.
According to the city report, staff have advanced sixteen sites for not-for-profit housing redevelopment since the program started in 2024.
