A
potential housing development on Sussex Drive
remains one of the more controversial pieces of the National Capital Commissions’ core area plan.
On June 19, the National Capital Commission board passed Volume One of an updated core area plan covering its land-use policy for the region. The plan includes the rezoning of parcels of land slated for development.
In the previous core area plan, from 2005, the anticipated use of the parcels on Sussex Drive was for “institutional use” such as embassies, NCC CEO Tobi Nussbaum said in a media availability.
Now to help meet the needs of Ottawa’s housing crisis, the NCC board “approved an approach where we are being more flexible in the kind of development that could occur there,” Nussbaum added.
Planning for the land parcels remains in a conceptual phase, he said.
In March, the NCC presented possible renderings for a possible housing development to New Edinburgh residents. The concept included three mid-rise structures around four or five storeys each, done in the New Edinburgh neighbourhood style.
Alain Miguelez, vice-president of capital planning and chief planner for the NCC, told the Ottawa Citizen that, when renderings of the potential development were issued, the NCC was showing the possibilities of what housing on Sussex Drive could look like.
“We were deliberate in our choice of architecture to show that we want something elegant that fits with the heritage feel of New Edinburgh because we think that’s appropriate,” Miguelez said.
Miguelez confirmed that the NCC had no interest in developing high-rises. He also confirmed that the NCC would retain ownership of any developed buildings, meaning units would be rental housing.
“We’ve said a couple of times, I mean, these blocks were never intended to stay vacant,” Miguelez said. “They were, in fact, developed before they were part of the New Edinburgh neighborhood.”
Miguelez pointed to lumber mills and a former school house that remains on the parcel of land as an example of historical development on Sussex Drive. He also confirmed that the heritage school building would remain. “There’s no plans to tear it down.”
However, the
development remains controversial.
Detractors say a housing development would be counter to the NCC’s mandate to beautify the capital.
They also say housing has no place on the so-called ceremonial route between Parliament Hill and the Rideau Hall grounds that house the governor general and the prime minister.
During Thursday’s public meeting there were audible frustration from public observers after board member Eleanor Mohammed voiced support for residential development on Sussex Drive during a national housing crisis.
“That was ridiculous,” one attendee said.
New Edinburgh resident Richard Emmerson, who sat in on the public portion of the NCC meeting, said he was concerned with what would happen to the neighbourhood if construction of the mid-rises created a jump in population.
“We have nightmarish traffic problems already,” Emmerson said.
He said he was not against all development, but wondered if apartment buildings were the best option “adjacent to a primarily 19th century single-family dwelling neighborhood on the ceremonial route.”
For opponents like Emmerson, other developments like some retail space or cafes and restaurants would “create more of a nexus for visitors and residents to use the blocks, to celebrate the connection between the Rideau River and the Ottawa River.”
Emmerson was also concerned about green space, with the mid-rise buildings blocking the view of New Edinburgh from Sussex Drive. Even if the buildings are “tastefully done, it totally transforms the look and feel of the neighbourhood,” he said.
But others like the idea of housing on Sussex Drive. David Hodgson, who also attended Thursday’s meeting, was “very supportive” of the NCC’s ambitions to develop housing, citing the housing crisis in Ottawa.
For Hodgson, the concept of the development of Sussex Drive represented the so-called “missing middle” that some housing advocates say are needed.
“I thought it looked really good,” Hodgson said of renderings for the proposed development. “I hope that we have more more developments along this line.”
Hodgson also pointed to the need for more people to live near NCC-stewarded areas in Ottawa, giving the example of Sparks Street, which is relatively empty on evenings and weekends. He sees Sussex Drive in the same light.
“I think it’s always been very strange to me that you go by the Global Affairs (building) and the French Embassy and all these, like really big institutions and it was just three empty lots,” he said. “I think NCC getting into housing is really great.”
It’s unclear if more details about the Sussex Drive land parcels will be contained within Volume Two of the core area plan, which Miguelez said would be voted on in 2026.
Other parts of the plan include turning the
National Capital Region towards its waterfronts
, developing more public space and creating connections through supporting more transit and active transportation.
The NCC board also approved a partial portion of the design for Block 2 across from Centre Block in the parliamentary precinct. The design included new infill buildings for parliamentarians, extensions on existing buildings, retail space on Sparks Street and a public plaza.
The board will vote on the full design next year.
