An Ottawa real estate investor is eyeing a property just a block away from the Altea Ottawa fitness centre for a new development that would include two highrises and a seniors living facility.
The Properties Group has submitted an application to the city to redevelop a 1.06-hectare site on Carling Avenue. The proposal includes plans to build a 32-storey mixed-use tower, a 28-storey residential tower, a nine-storey seniors living building and a park.
A total of 749 residential units, ranging from bachelors to three-bedrooms, would be built across the three buildings. The towers’ ground floors would have a mix of commercial spaces and live-work units.
“Together, the buildings and the accompanying parkland dedication will create a dynamic, pedestrian-friendly environment that integrates residential, commercial, and recreational uses in a unified and context-sensitive manner,” an urban design brief for the project said.
Recent investment has brought new energy to a previously tired stretch of Carling Avenue. Northeast of the proposed property are two recently constructed buildings, a 22-storey tower and an eight-storey building. A 29-storey tower has also been proposed nearby.
A few years ago, wellness and social club Altea Ottawa took over the former Canadian Tire building at 1660 Carling Ave. The location officially opened in 2024.
With proximity to Highway 417, public transit and several attractive Ottawa neighbourhoods, realtor Lorne Scott said in 2023 that the area has major upsides, allowing businesses to be near the city’s core without setting up shop downtown.
“(Nearby) Westboro and Hintonburg are super-cool and trendy areas to live in Ottawa … The Champlain Bridge to Gatineau is only 4.5 kilometres away,” said Scott, a realtor with Royal LePage Team Realty, whose office is located down the street.
“I think Carling Avenue, while still rundown or tired in some stretches, will be a hot spot for the next 20 years. Any business, regardless of the service or product they offer, should — and many will — consider Carling,” he added. “This stretch of Carling, let’s say from Bronson Avenue to Greenbank Road, will only become more and more popular as our city continues to densify or build up.”