Ontario Construction news staff writer
The City of Ottawa’s Planning and Housing Committee has approved a new plan to transform the area around the Pinecrest and Queensview LRT stations. The Pinecrest and Queensview Stations Secondary Plan aims to create a high-density, mixed-use hub with new housing, jobs, parks, and improved connectivity, says a statement from the city after the meeting.
The plan focuses on the area around Pinecrest and Queensview stations, stretching from Dumaurier Avenue and Morrison Drive to the Pinecrest Creek valley. Key strategies include developing a new 6,000-sq. m. park south of Queensview Drive, redesigning Queensview Drive as a “complete street”, and building a new recreation complex at 2550 Queensview Dr., the site of an OC Transpo bus maintenance facility slated for closure.
The plan also proposes several new pedestrian and cycling connections, including a pathway linking Queensview Drive with a school at Severn Avenue, a pedestrian bridge across Highway 417, and an east-west crossing of Pinecrest Road at Harwood Avenue. To guide development, the plan establishes maximum building heights and transition zones, helping to speed up the review of development applications.
In addition to the secondary plan, the Committee approved zoning for a 40-storey building at Dumaurier Avenue and Ramsey Crescent, containing 407 residential units and commercial space. This project aligns with the new secondary plan’s policy direction.
The committee also approved zoning amendments for several other residential developments across the city, including a subdivision on Maple Grove Road in Kanata West that will proceed after Stittsville Main Street is extended.
In Barrhaven West, the Committee approved zoning to allow for the continued development of the Conservancy East subdivision, southeast of Strandherd Drive and Borrisokane Road. The amendment would make minor changes related to lot size and setbacks to allow for development of 180 townhouses and 40 detached homes.
Closer to downtown, the committee approved zoning for an Ottawa Community Housing four-storey apartment building at Somerset and Nelson streets in Sandy Hill. The building would have 23 supportive housing units with rents offered at the maximum shelter allowance established under the Ontario Disability Support Program or Ontario Works Program, for 50 years. The amendment is needed mainly to accommodate development on an irregularly shaped lot that is also located on a slope.
In Ottawa’s east end, the committee approved zoning for the next phase of the Trailsedge subdivision, southwest of Brian Coburn Boulevard and Mer Bleue Road. The applicant aims to build 431 detached homes and townhouses, as well as a commercial block and a park. The amendment would establish a four-storey maximum height for the commercial block and zoning relief for the residential buildings.
The Pinecrest and Queensview Stations Secondary Plan will go to City Council for approval on Jan. 22, 2025. Other initiatives will go to council on Wednesday.