The Ottawa developer behind the controversial Tewin community development proposal says the project has “reached an important milestone.”
The Ottawa developer behind the controversial Tewin community development proposal says the project has “reached an important milestone.”
“Tewin is one step closer to becoming a reality,” Michelle Taggart, president of Tamarack Homes and Tartan Homes at the Taggart Group of Companies, told OBJ in an email. “Each milestone brings us closer to delivering an innovative, sustainable community that responds to Ottawa’s growth and the evolving needs of its residents.”
The developer is proposing a new residential community on an 838-hectare area in Osgoode ward, east of the airport. The project would create 14,000 new residential units.
Last week, Taggart and its partners, Caivan Communities and the Algonquins of Ontario, submitted an official plan amendment application to the city. The three organizations are also the project’s major landowners, according to a community design plan document.
“Tewin is a community founded on the values of the Algonquins of Ontario (AOO), starting with its name, which means ‘home,’” the document said. “Tewin's development will be underpinned by a commitment to Stewardship of Mother Earth, environmental leadership and design excellence. It will be a place where progressive approaches to community design are continually considered and implemented.”
The official plan amendment would allow the implementation of the Tewin Secondary Plan and the partial removal of the Future Neighbourhood Overlay within the area, according to an application summary for the project. The change would introduce a variety of new land use designations within the area and allow for future planning applications within the community.
“We value our ongoing collaboration with the City of Ottawa and remain committed to advancing this vision thoughtfully and responsibly,” said Taggart in her email. “We look forward to continuing this work together and seeing Tewin take shape.”
The irregularly shaped lands, located within the South Bear Brook and Ramsay Creek watersheds, currently feature forest and vegetation, agricultural lands, wetlands and the Anderson Links Golf & Country Club.
The area is bordered at the north end by Leitrim Road, by Farmers Way to the east and Thunder Road to the south. Anderson Road acts as the western border on the southern section of the development, while Ramsayville Road marks the western edge of the north section.
The community design plan, which the document said will be “guiding early stages of development,” includes a proposed community core with mixed uses and “special streets,” as well as separate neighbourhood centres to support residents’ daily needs and provide high-density living. The community will be connected by a central transit corridor and mobility network.
“Tewin’s Market Street will be a vibrant, pedestrian-focused retail street that connects
the Community Spine with The Commons, acting as an extension of the Harvest
Walk. Designed as a flexible space shared by all mobility modes, it will be lined with
shops, restaurants, and mixed-use buildings — creating a lively destination at the
heart of the community,” the document said.
There will also be a “system of open spaces,” which the document said “brings together ecological areas and places for community.”
The community would support up to 64,500 residents, with more than 20,000 homes and 60,000 square metres of commercial space. It would also include 34 hectares of parkland, 28 kilometres of separated cycling and multi-use pathways, and up to 13 schools.
Sustainability is a major element under consideration in the document, which highlighted active transportation and natural spaces as key to the design.
“Planning for Tewin has embraced systems-based thinking and embedded sustainability across all of its elements. The result is a Community Design Plan which, at a foundational level, is sustainable by design,” the document said. “A One Planet Living Action Plan (OPLAP) is being prepared to inform this decision-making. It will define specific, measurable sustainability
commitments at various stages of the project, including the planning, site design, construction
and community life stages, to implement sustainability in a holistic manner.”
The project was at the centre of public controversy in 2023, when the developers clear-cut 70 hectares of forested land near Piperville Road without a city permit or informing neighbours. However, city staff said Ottawa’s tree protection bylaws allowed unpermitted tree removal as part of normal agricultural practice. The developers argued that the space was being cleared for future farming.
While the city issued a temporary work-stop order, it was ultimately lifted and no fines or penalties were issued.
Last fall, an attempt to remove the development from the city’s official plan was voted down by councillors on the city’s planning and housing committee.
