The owners of an Ottawa retirement residence are asking the city to ease height restrictions on the property, located on Carling Avenue near Highway 417, as part of a long-planned expansion.
The original five-storey Embassy West building is more than 50 years old and operated as a hotel until the late 2000s, when it was converted in stages to a retirement residence.
In 2007, the property owner applied for permission to build a 10-storey tower on either side of the building but ultimately delayed construction due to “changing market conditions,” according to a rezoning application prepared by planning firm Holzman Consultants and released by the city this month.
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The latest plans still call for a 10-storey tower on the western part of the property, but propose a 13-storey structure on the east side.
Property owner Sharon Enterprise LP wants the extra height so it can build larger residential units in the tower, according to the application.
Modifications are also planned to the exterior of the existing building.
The rezoning application is the latest development proposal for the area around the Carling Avenue / Highway 417 interchange, a neighbourhood that’s slated to see a dramatic increase in the number of residents in the coming years.
Holloway Lodging is planning to demolish a two-storey parkade and vacant nine-floor building on its adjacent Travelodge Ottawa hotel property to make way for a new mixed-use building on its property.
Separately, RioCan REIT plans to construct five mixed-use towers on the site of the Westgate Shopping Centre over the next 20 years.

