The Canadian government is stepping up efforts to address the housing crisis by planning to build about 1,100 new homes on a parcel of land along Heron Road in Ottawa’s Alta Vista neighbourhood. The project includes both affordable housing and heritage preservation.

Canada Lands Company (CLC), which handles real estate on behalf of the federal government, will ask Ottawa council this month to approve the project, which is expected to begin construction in 2026. About 3,000 people will be able to move into the new homes by 2028. About 30 per cent of the housing will be affordable, and 24 per cent of the land will be dedicated to parks and green space.

Historic heritage will also be taken into account: the site contains 13 buildings, 12 of which were built in the 1960s and were intended to house Catholic sisters. In 1973, the site was transferred to the federal government and used as a training center for government employees. In 2014, it was deemed surplus and sold to CLC for $7.57 million in 2020.

Some buildings will be preserved and restored, while others in too poor condition will be torn down and replaced. A rezoning meeting will be held on October 23 to allow construction of up to nine stories, including tall buildings, townhomes, and condos. The first sale of the site for development is expected to begin by mid-2025.

The Guildwood Estates community next door raised concerns about the height of the new buildings, which they felt was inconsistent with the low-rise buildings in the area. CLC responded to these concerns by lowering the height of buildings next to the community to four stories and leaving a 14-meter buffer zone.

Anastasia Chupina