Building momentum: Hotel added to growing list of projects planned for Orléans

June 20, 2023

A growing wave of intensification near LRT stations in Ottawa’s east end is poised to continue with a plan to build a hotel near the Taylor Creek Business Park in Orléans.

Already an Insider? Log in

Get Instant Access to This Article

Become an Ottawa Business Journal Insider and get immediate access to all of our Insider-only content and much more.

Learn More and Become an Insider

A growing wave of intensification near LRT stations in Ottawa’s east end is poised to continue with a plan to build a hotel near the Taylor Creek Business Park in Orléans. In an application recently filed at City Hall, a numbered company says it wants to construct a six-storey mixed-use building at 3745 St. Joseph Blvd., just south of the Taylor Creek Business Park and about 700 metres southwest of the future Trim LRT station at the corner of Trim Road and Regional Road 174. Planning documents prepared by urban development consulting firm Parsons say the proposed development will be anchored by a 61-suite hotel that will include amenities such as a gym, a 2,700-square-foot co-working space and a 1,900-square-foot multi-purpose event space. The 40,000-square-foot building would also be home to a number of other services, such as a 2,200-square-foot instruction facility for day programming, plus six commercial units featuring a total of nearly 4,800 square feet of retail and restaurant space. The development would include 76 underground parking spaces and four above-ground spots as well as 20 spots for bicycles. In a brief filed with application, the building’s designer, Ottawa-based CSV Architects, says the four floors of long-term-stay hotel suites “will fill a gap in service” in Orléans and encourage “a broader range of visitors” to the city’s east end. A proposed restaurant and rooftop terrace “will enrich the growing entertainment opportunities in the area,” the document says, adding the hotel complex is “well-placed to benefit from the local amenities, the future Trim O-Train Station, and the existing cycling infrastructure nearby.” The surrounding neighbourhood near the corner of St. Joseph Boulevard and Trim Road is home to a growing variety of services, including the Broadhead and Stray Dog craft breweries as well as various recreation facilities. The site is part of territory that has been earmarked for intensification under the recently approved Orléans Corridor Secondary Plan, which is currently under appeal to the Ontario Land Tribunal. 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.

Orleans hotel rooftop terrace — The developer's plans include a rooftop terrace on the hotel on St. Joseph Boulevard.

The developer says the hotel proposal will complement existing businesses on St. Joseph Boulevard and in the nearby commercial park, offering “hotel and conference opportunities for the area.” Planning documents contend that the site is within “convenient walking and cycling distance” of the Trim LRT station, adding the proposal takes a “balanced approach” to combining parking for cars and bicycles. The developer says the plan “represents intensification of a currently vacant and under-utilized site in the built-up area of Ottawa” and argues that the hotel will “contribute to a 15-minute neighbourhood serving both the Taylor Creek Business Park and surrounding residential neighbourhoods.” The site is currently zoned for a mix of light industrial and commercial uses, with buildings up to six storeys permitted on the property. At 24 metres, the proposed hotel slightly exceeds the current 21-metre height limit.

Flood of applications

Current zoning bylaws do not permit hotels or retail stores, but the developer says “noise and vibration impacts are not anticipated from nearby businesses” and is requesting an exemption. The proposed 80 parking spots for vehicles are also below the minimum of 91 required under current zoning regulations, but the application says the project aims to strike a balance between cars and bicycles. “The site has been designed to encourage the use of existing and active transportation facilities and is located near the future Trim LRT Station,” it says. The latest proposal is part of a flood of recent development applications that could significantly change the face of the east-end suburb. Toronto-based developer Bayview Group 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. Just down the road from the Town Centre, a two-tower, 320,000-square-foot retirement home with nearly 400 units is set to be built on the site of the former Royal Bank building at 211 Centrum Blvd. Meanwhile, a 16-storey highrise is in the planning stages for property just south of the Town Centre on St. Joseph Boulevard. Bayview Group managing director Sameer Gulamani recently told OBJ he’s not surprised that the city’s far east end is suddenly having its moment in the sun, calling the area “ripe” for intensification. “In a way, Orléans has kind of been neglected by the development community,” Gulamani said in an interview earlier this month. “I think we’re in the right place at the right time.”