Developer proposes private ‘purpose-built student residence’ for U of O on Laurier Avenue
By David Reevely, OTTAWA CITIZEN September 27, 2013 12:22 PM
OTTAWA — A property developer has proposed a partial solution to the shortage of student housing around the University of Ottawa: A nine-storey apartment block for the corner of Laurier Avenue East and Friel Steet, replacing several low-rise buildings.
The project has been brewing for months but formal paperwork has just been filed with the city, spelling out Viner Assets’ plan to construct a 180-unit complex of bachelor and two-bedroom apartments for a “purpose-built student residence.”
It’s explicitly aimed at taking some of the pressure off Sandy Hill’s existing houses, several of which have lately been converted into tightly packed low-rise apartments in processes that have so alarmed nearby residents that the city passed an temporary emergency bylaw to stop it.
“The tension that has built up between residents of the community and students can be relieved by creating a facility that consolidates the location where many students live, recreate and go to school,” says Viner’s application for the zoning changes it needs, prepared by planning consultancy FoTenn. “With the increase in density on the site, it is likely that the preponderance of the residents would be those students seeking accommodations close to the University for their housing, making the ad hoc rooming houses less appealing.”
Universities simply can’t afford to build all the residences they need, the application says, so this is the private sector stepping in.
The Citizen couldn’t immediately reach Action Sandy Hill, the local community association, to ask about the proposal, but minutes from a June board meeting where an earlier version of the plan was discussed suggest the group’s response is cool: “Attendees expressed concerns about the height, heritage issues, monolithic nature of design and particularly the fact that it is more off-campus student housing,” the minutes say.
Besides the residence space, Viner’s application says the plan is to include laundry facilities, a gym and common areas including study space, just as an on-campus dorm would. The building is also to have stores (including a grocery) and a café at ground level aimed at student business.
Designed by Barry J. Hobin & Associates, it’s meant to be sensitive to Sandy Hill’s character, the application says, mimicking the design of the buildings it would replace and using brick and other materials to help it fit in. At nine storeys, it would equal the tallest building in the area — another apartment a block away — and would need not only a zoning change but an amendment to the city’s official plan, which demands low-rise buildings on the property.
Another developer is planning a similar private student residence for Mann Avenue, the University of Ottawa is itself hoping to build an on-campus residence on Henderson Avenue, and the school is expected to contract someone to build an even larger private residence somewhere else in Sandy Hill, as well.
dreevely@ottawacitizen.com
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