Federal government to use 22 properties in Ottawa for housing

Article content

Amid a national housing crisis, the federal government plans to convert 22 of its Ottawa properties into homes.

It’s also calling on housing providers to make proposals to access one property in the city on “a long-term leasing basis at a discounted value.”

On Sunday, the government launched the Canada Public Land Bank, a new tool listing 56 federal properties across Canada identified as able to support housing. It includes five properties that are ready for builders to submit their plans.

Article content

The properties in Ottawa span from Tunney’s Pasture to Alta Vista. They include:

• 10 Columbine Dr., 50 Columbine Dr., the Brooke Claxton Building at 70 Columbine Dr., 100 Chardon Dr. and a building at Frederick Banting, Colombine, and Tunney’s Pasture driveways
• The Federal Study Centre at 1495 Heron Road and the former headquarters of the Canada Revenue Agency at 875 Heron Rd. in Alta Vista
• The National Defence Medical Centre at 1745 Alta Vista Drive
• Five sites at 470 Tremblay Rd. and 599 Tremblay Rd.
• The Jackson Building at 122 Bank St.
• L’Esplanade Laurier’s Commercial building at 171-181 Bank St.
• 552 Booth St.
• Edward Drake Building and former Canadian Broadcasting Corporation head office at 1500 Bronson Ave.
• 2670 Riverside Dr.
• The Sir Charles Tupper Building at 2720 Riverside Dr.
• The former CFB Rockcliffe site at 370 Codd’s Rd./800 Winisik St. in Wateridge Village
• Tawadina Road and Wanaki Road

According to Public Services and Procurement Canada, the new list will grow regularly in the coming months and will include more details on listed properties. More details on the Public Lands Acquisition Fund, which will allow the government to buy land from other levels of government to build homes, are also expected soon.

Article content

“Canada is facing a housing crisis that is impacting lives and communities across the country,” the news release stated. “We need to build more homes, faster, to get Canadians into homes that meet their needs, at prices they can afford.”

Under the new plan, the government plans to partner with the housing sector and communities to build homes with a “novel long-term lease, not a one-time sale, to ensure every site has affordable housing and public land stays public.”

It said the government was accelerating its real property disposal process to “match the speed of builders and the urgency of getting affordable homes built for Canada.”

“Public Services and Procurement Canada will adopt service standards to deliver these properties to interested partners for the purposes of housing,” the release said. “New measures will continue to be announced under the Public Lands for Homes Plan in the coming months.”

Many of the 56 properties across the country were listed as housing solutions in Budget 2024, including the five properties for which the Canada Lands Company is seeking proposals.

Article content

In April, the Liberals announced their larger housing plan, which aims to create 3.87 million new homes by 2031. Through the Public Lands for Homes Plan, it hopes to unlock 250,000 new homes.

Several of the Ottawa sites, including the Jackson Building and the Edward Drake Building, were already in the disposal process as of May 2023. One of the sites that was on that list, the Asticou Centre at 241 Blvd. Cité des Jeunes in Gatineau, has since been transferred to the Government of Quebec and the National Capital Commission to build a 600-bed hospital.

The government and the City of Ottawa signed an agreement earlier this year to use the Graham Spry Building at 250 Lanark Ave., which was also on that list, for an emergency homeless shelter.

As Canada’s largest landowner, the government promised in its 2024 budget to reduce its office portfolio by 50 per cent. The document stated that Public Services and Procurement Canada had over six million square metres of office space, with around half being underused or vacant.

“We need to build more homes in Canada, and one of the largest costs in building is land,” Minister of housing, infrastructure and communities Sean Fraser said in the news release. “By building on public lands, we can make it easier to build, and by leasing those same properties, we can make sure the homes built stay affordable for the long term.”

The government is seeking feedback on the new land bank and its properties, inviting everyone from developers, to housing advocates to interested Canadians to fill out an online form. It said the data will be used to “inform the development” of properties.

Article content