InterRent Real Estate Investment Trust has announced a multi-use “transformational development” in downtown Ottawa at the junction of the city’s two new light rail transit (LRT) lines.

InterRent, Trinity and PBC are partners on a major multi-use development planned for the junction of Ottawa’s two new LRT lines. (Rendering courtesy InterRent)

InterRent (IIP.UN-T) purchased one-third of the approximately 3.6-acre site at 900 Albert St. for $14.2 million in a joint venture with Trinity Developments and PBC Real Estate Advisors Inc. Each of the partners holds a one-third interest in the development. 

The project, InterRent says, will be one of the first true multi-use developments in the country on a mass transit line.

The site is approved for up to three towers with the initial concept design to potentially include 1,000 multi-family residential suites as well as retail and office space.

It will be situated at the link between the Trillium Line (Ottawa’s north/south LRT line) and the Confederation Line (the east/west line, for which Phase I is currently under construction).

Easy walking distance

Located at the intersection of the Hintonburg, Little Italy and West Centretown neighbourhoods, the property is within easy walking distance of many of the city’s core regions.

“Locations like this do not come around every day and we felt that we needed to participate and have a hand in shaping the new wave of multi-family development,” Mike McGahan, InterRent’s CEO, said in a release Friday. “Now it is time for us to keep pushing forward and develop another line of income growth to combine with our repositioning line of business. These are indeed exciting times.”

With the resurgence of high tech in the National Capital Region and the trend toward offices and people moving back into downtown cores, InterRent and its partners believe this site will be attractive for both corporate purposes and personal lifestyle.

Trinity key developer of Lansdowne Urban Development

Trinity Developments was one of the key developers and owners of the Lansdowne Urban Development in downtown Ottawa, and was part of the winning bid team RendezVous Lebreton for the redevelopment of the Lebreton Flats in Ottawa.

Lansdowne included the rejuvenation of the city’s TD Place football stadium, while the Lebreton project includes a new arena for the Ottawa Senators NHL franchise.

Trinity brings a wealth of retail and recent mixed-use experience to the project.

PBC involved in Parq Urban Resort Casino development

PBC Real Estate Advisors Inc., as asset manager for PBC 900 Albert Street Limited Partnership, brings more than 30 years of development and construction management experience. It is also involved in other developments underway, such as the Parq Urban Resort Casino in Vancouver with a 515-suite JW Marriott and Douglas Hotel.

The owners have enlisted the services of Toronto-based B+H Architects and GGLO Design, a Seattle-based architect which has been at the forefront of tech-orientated markets, for their combined international design experience.

“We believe the combination of these entities and the premium location shall ensure long term success and more importantly a steady stream of cash flow for our valued shareholders,” McGahan said.

The 20-kilometre Trillium Line will extend south past the Ottawa International Airport. The Confederation Line, when fully built out, will extend nearly 40 kilometres from the east side of Orleans to Moodie Drive in the west end of the city, near Crystal Beach and the new DND headquarters.