New Nokia campus will pave way for transformation of Kanata North, proponents say

David Sali

December 3, 2024

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Nokia’s plan to build nearly 600,000 square feet of new office, R&D and retail space on March Road is expected to usher in a wave of new developments that will transform the Kanata North tech park into a thriving mixed-use community hub, proponents say. The Finnish telecom giant recently unveiled its site plan for the first phase of a long-term project that could eventually see thousands of residential units as well as shops and restaurants constructed at the Nokia campus near the corner of March Road and Terry Fox Drive. According to a recent site plan control application, the first phase of the project at 570 March Rd. will include roughly 592,000 square feet of new office, R&D and retail space, with completion targeted for 2027. Nokia spokesman Kevin Petschow told OBJ in an email last week the company will provide more details about the project “as they become available.” Kanata North Coun. Cathy Curry said she has been receiving updates on the project’s status from Nokia “almost every week,” adding she expects site preparation work to begin shortly. “As soon as this is approved, they will have what they need,” Curry said. “They know that people would like to see this go up as quickly as possible. In the corporate world, time is money, and they want to make sure they can get in the ground and start building as quickly as possible.” Curry and local business leaders say Nokia’s new campus is just the first of a series of projects that will add new businesses such as restaurants and bars as well as thousands of new residential units to an area that was previously dominated by office towers. Nokia’s 11-acre site between March Road and Legget Drive is located in the heart of Kanata’s technology park, an area that was designated a “special economic district” in the City of Ottawa’s latest official plan three years ago. Since then, Curry said, she and city officials have had about 10 meetings with tech leaders, developers and neighbouring community associations to look at ways of streamlining the zoning approval process to fast-track projects such as Nokia’s. “The idea is that whatever the regular timeline used to be … this should be significantly shorter,” she said. “(The designation) really reduces red tape … and all the difficult, challenging steps that used to be in place prior to having a special economic district.” The special status also loosens zoning rules that restricted what could be built in the tech park, paving the way for more highrise residential developments. As a result, Nokia plans to eventually tear down its current office tower at 600 March Rd., just north of the new campus, and replace it with apartment buildings, Curry told OBJ. The company's original proposal called for around 2,000 residential units at the site.

Growing residential base

Nyle Kelly, general manager of the neighbouring Brookstreet Hotel and Marshes Golf Club, said the tech giant’s plan to bring thousands of new residents to the area will invigorate Kanata North. “We’re probably 10 to 15 years away from that, but at the same time, we’ll watch that residential base grow, and that will be great for all the businesses in the community, and the Marshes and the Brookstreet as well,” said Kelly, who is also a past member of the Kanata North Business Association’s board of directors. The Kanata North special economic district plan calls for new residential development to be concentrated near two transit hubs located along March Road, near Station Road and Terry Fox Drive. All those new residents will provide a ready-made customer base for local businesses and turn the area into a thriving mixed-use neighbourhood where people can walk to work in nearby offices and shop, eat and drink in new commercial spaces on the lower levels of condo and apartment towers, proponents say. “We’re following the vision and the plan for Kanata North in creating a place where you can work, play and live,” Kelly said. “That’s good for everyone.” Curry agreed. She said Nokia was a catalyst for other companies to put forward their own proposals for Kanata North, such as Toronto-based Main and Main Developments' plan to transform a 13.6-acre parcel of land at the corner of March Road and Terry Fox Drive, just across from the Nokia site, into a cluster of mid- and highrise buildings that would include more than 2,000 residential suites. “It starts off this entirely new way of being, because never before has anyone ever lived in the tech park,” Curry said. Meanwhile, KRP Properties plans to convert a 10-storey office building near the Brookstreet Hotel into a residential complex with 116 units that are expected to be ready for occupancy in about two years. Gatineau-based Brigil has also presented a plan to build a series of residential highrises near the Marshes Golf Club that would contain a total of nearly 2,000 suites. Curry says more builders are waiting in the wings. “We’ve had a lot of questions asked to us by other developers,” she said. “But I think right now, what’s happening is they’re watching to see how (Nokia’s project) is going to go. Seeing is believing. “I think there are developers that are watching this and saying, ‘Oh, this is a place where there is much less rigmarole and we do things more easily and innovatively.’ If that proves to be true … then I think that other developers will then come.” Kelly said the tech park is poised to undergo a significant transformation in the coming decades as light rail makes its way to Moodie station and other transportation options help transport people to and from Kanata North. “You’re going to see the skyline change over the next 10 to 15 years,” he said.