Colonnade BridgePort is wasting no time moving to develop a four-acre parcel of land along a LRT corridor in Ottawa’s east end, filing a proposal for a five-tower purpose-built rental development which would include about 1,200 units.

The property includes the four acres of vacant land at 2000 City Park Dr., plus an adjacent five-storey, 93,381-square-foot office building at 1900 City Park Dr. on 2.5 acres.

Although Colonnade BridgePort’s initial proposal focuses on the vacant property, it is moving to rezone both properties to offer it flexibility based on future market conditions, the company’s development manager Bonnie Martell told RENX.

“We’ve just recently put in an application to the City of Ottawa that encompasses both of the parcels and it’s for an official plan amendment and a zoning bylaw amendment,” Martell said. “The plan is that it would be a phased development, starting with the vacant parcel and, potentially, consider a redevelopment of 1900 City Park in the future.”

The master-planned community as currently envisioned would include five towers ranging from 20 to 30 storeys and comprising over a million square feet of residential space.

The project would make a “significant impact in addressing the city’s need for housing,” the company states in the announcement.

Nearby retail, LRT, existing high-rise development

The property is well-positioned for a high-density residential development. It sits about 500 metres from Blair Station on Ottawa’s east-west LRT line and is within walking distance of the Gloucester Centre mall as well as entertainment facilities, restaurants and other services.

It’s adjacent to Hwy. 174, which is Ottawa’s main east-west highway corridor.

Finally, it is also adjacent to an existing purpose-built rental development by RioCan REIT (REI-UN-T) and Killam Apartment REIT (KMP-UN-T), where two towers are completed and three more are planned.

“It’s a really unique site in that the urban fabric already exists,” Martell noted. “It’s amenity-rich with the Gloucester city centre and all the restaurants and commercial nearby. It has all the walking distance and pedestrian connectivity you could ask for in a true TOD site.

“Unlike many other sites, it already has established residential as well, the low-rise to the north as well as the high-rise to the east. We just feel very fortunate to be able to integrate ourselves into an existing urban fabric.”

It’s one of four multiresidential projects Ottawa-based Colonnade BridgePort has on the go in the city, with other developments at 25 Pickering Pl. (in partnership with Fiera Real Estate), 2026 Scott St. and 100 Argyle Ave.

Design team, project timeline

Colonnade BridgePort has its design team in place, led by Neuf Architects, which has offices in Ottawa, Montreal and Toronto. Although there is no firm timeline in place to begin construction, Martell said Colonnade BridgePort hopes to move quickly.

“From an approvals perspective, our goal is to wrap up the OPA and zoning process this year,” she said. “Then we would head into a site-plan process with building design and construction thereafter.”

One major advantage is that the area is already zoned for high-density development. The applications Colonnade BridgePort seeks would bring the zoning into alignment with its specific plans.

“True urbanism is about putting that density right next to these modes of transportation. In addition to being able to travel by LRT it’s also walkable, it’s accessible.”

The project will be constructed in phases, but Martell said Colonnade BridgePort is still deciding how many units might be included in Phase 1.

It will depend on market conditions.

“Right now we are doing market research as well as pulling our own expertise to determine what absorption looks like,” she explained. “That will influence how many units we bring on in the first phase but the intention right now is to start building east to west, closest to where the density already is, and closest to the LRT station, and move west from there.”

Commercial/retail and office components to site

With nearby access to a large commercial/retail district, Martell said Colonnade BridgePort is still determining what type of activity might happen on the ground floors of the towers – whether there is a need for retail or commercial services, and if so, what types.

“Across the street, there is already a lot of commercial and retail, so it would have to be complementary what we bring here.”

The existing class-A office building at 1900 City Park is currently listing about 42,000 square feet available for lease in five blocks. A Colonnade BridgePort spokesperson told RENX it has a tenant committed for one of those blocks and that it is “actively working on others.”

“Our intent is to fully lease up that building,” Martell said.

The City Park properties were acquired for Colonnade BridgePort’s new private equity real estate fund, in partnership with an institutional investor.

Martell said the ownership structure remains in place, though how the partnerships will work within the planned development is still to be determined.

“In my opinion there are only a limited number of places like these in Ottawa where you have the opportunity to take a true placemaking approach and be thoughtful of the integration of the design decisions we make when it comes to the proximity to the LRT,” she concluded.

“I think it’s just a great opportunity for us to bring a special project to the city that also addresses what’s happening in the market.”