Ontario Construction News staff writer
Ottawa’s municipal Planning and Housing Committee has approved Official Plan and zoning amendments to facilitate development of a 25-storey residential building in the Westboro Beach community.
The new building, on Clearview Avenue, would replace surface parking on part of a property already occupied by a 26-storey residential tower. It promises to add more than 180 new dwellings within walking distance of Westboro LRT Station, the city said in a statement after the meeting last Wednesday (Oct. 4).
The Official Plan amendment would revise the secondary plan to permit increased height, in line with the large lot that will support appropriate transitions to nearby townhomes to the north. The zoning amendment would ensure the entire site is zoned for residential use and would introduce a schedule to define setbacks and a maximum height of 80 metres. Minimum bike parking would also increase to require at least one space per dwelling unit, although the applicant plans to include more bike spaces than required.
The committee also approved a zoning amendment to facilitate a six-storey, mixed-use building on the south side of Hawthorne Avenue, west of Main Street in Old Ottawa East. The proposed building would include 67 dwellings, ground-floor commercial space, underground parking for 47 vehicles and space for 72 bikes.
The amendment would increase the permitted height from 14.5 to 20 metres, in line with the Old Ottawa East Secondary Plan and the Official Plan’s policies for mainstreet corridors. The applicant revised the proposed design based on public comments, increasing front yard setbacks, providing space for commercial uses on the ground floor and increasing bike parking, among other design changes.
If council approves, the land-use permissions committee recommended at the meeting will help put applicants in a position to build 251 new dwellings in Ottawa.
Recommendations from the meeting will rise to City Council on Wednesday.
