Committee moves to permit development of nearly 1,700 new homes

The Planning and Housing Committee today approved Official Plan and zoning amendments that would facilitate highrise developments with nearly 1,700 new dwellings

The Planning and Housing Committee today approved Official Plan and zoning amendments that would facilitate highrise developments with nearly 1,700 new homes.

Near Dow’s Lake Station, at the gateway to Little Italy, the approved amendments would allow for a 50-storey building northwest of Carling Avenue and Preston Street. The building would have 503 homes and would include unit types ranging from studio apartments to three-bedroom units. The ground floor would have 300 square metres of commercial space on Preston Street to reinforce the main street character.

The Official Plan amendment would reduce the minimum tower separation from 25 to 20 metres. The zoning amendment would increase permitted height from 30 metres (nine storeys) to 167 metres (50 storeys). The site is in an area the Official Plan designates as a Hub, close to an O-Train station, making it suitable for high-rise development with heights up to 55 storeys.

Near Carson Grove, the Committee approved Official Plan and zoning amendments to facilitate a five-building development south of City Park Drive. The buildings would range from 12 to 30 storeys, with the tallest ones at the rear of the property, along Highway 174. The proposal would add 1,192 homes near Blair Station and includes underground parking, a new private road, a public park and multi-use pathways.

The amendment would redistribute heights limits at the site, reducing the maximum height at the front from 20 to 12 and 16 storeys and increasing height at the rear to 30 storeys. This creates more appropriate transitions to the nearby residential area. The zoning amendment also establishes heights for the bases of the buildings, sets a maximum footprint for the towers, and requires that at least five per cent of units be large-household dwellings. The project will also require Site Plan Control approval for all the towers before construction could begin.

Zoning approved for new animal welfare hub in Vanier 

The Committee approved rezoning to facilitate the retrofit of a former Canada Post mail depot to create an animal welfare hub, northwest of Durocher and St. Paul streets in Vanier. The site would be changed from a minor institutional zone to a general mixed-use zone to reflect its new use. Uses that would be permitted in the building include an animal hospital, animal care establishment, retail store, retail food store and training centre. No major changes are planned for the exterior of the site.

Tracking Ottawa’s housing approvals 

To help address the housing crisis, City Council committed to providing home builders enough opportunities to build 151,000 quality market homes by 2031. The City tracks the progress of residential development in Ottawa and shares that data through an interactive housing approvals dashboard.

Since tracking began in January 2023, Council has provided approvals for more than 60,000 new homes, putting applicants in a position to build roughly 40 per cent of the homes required to meet that 2031 goal.  If Council approves the land-use permissions recommended today by the Planning and Housing Committee, applicants will be in a position to build another 1,695 new dwellings. Since the start of 2025, it is estimated this Committee has enabled the development of about 13,700 new dwellings.

City Council will consider the recommendations from today’s meeting on Wednesday, December 10.