A Montreal developer is proposing a new highrise apartment complex in the heart of Ottawa’s burgeoning downtown “urban tech” district.
Place Dorée Real Estate Holdings says in a site plan filed recently with the city it plans to build a 25-storey mixed-use tower at 81 Slater St. that would include 196 rental units and about 830 square feet of ground-floor retail space.
OBJ360 (Sponsored)
Ottawa Salus’ pioneering role in bringing supportive housing to Ontario
From the inception of supportive housing in Ontario to the first supportive housing building in Canada for older adults, Ottawa Salus leads the way in transformative care.
Hard Rock Casino: Experience the ultimate entertainment destination at Ottawa’s only casino
Ottawa’s Hard Rock Casino has big plans to keep you entertained all summer long!
A two-storey parking garage and restaurant currently occupy the property and would be demolished to make way for the new building. The site is directly south of the Capital Hill Hotel and Suites at 88 Albert St., which Place Dorée purchased last summer from Beacon Realty.
The plan calls for parking for 105 bicycles, but includes just 18 spots for cars – all of them reserved for visitors.
In planning documents, the developers note that the property is less than 200 metres from the new Parliament LRT station that is slated to open this year and is located near major bus corridors on Elgin and Bank streets. In addition, the proposed residential tower would be just a few blocks’ walk to several federal government departments as well as major tech employers such as Shopify, Klipfolio and Telesat.
“Given the property’s location within the central area of the city, with excellent access to alternative transportation modes, parking spaces are required only for residential visitor purposes,” the development application says.
Place Dorée says the structure will be integrated into the existing 12-storey hotel on Albert Street, which will remain open. Apartments on the first 12 floors of the new building will be targeted at short-term tenants, the developer added.
The developers say the proposal conforms with current zoning and official plan requirements. Pending city approval, the builder says it hopes to start construction on the project early next year.
According to the most recent statistics from the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp., the rental vacancy rate in the downtown core was just 1.4 per cent in October 2018, below the city’s overall average of 1.6 per cent.
