Have you noticed? The built-for-rental apartment tower craze has officially taken over Westboro and Hintonburg.
It’s been gaining momentum for some time, but the confluence of several projects finishing at the same time has really put an emphasis on the plethora of rental options in the popular neighbourhoods.
In the past couple of years alone, at least six rental buildings have opened for leasing, offering almost 1,700 apartment units on a combined 157 floors. And that’s not counting several other buildings that were built and leased out in the handful of years before that.
“I think the main driver is the lifestyle these communities afford, and the amenities present in them,” says John Thomas of Azure Urban Developments, which has two buildings on the go in Westboro. “Urban living is a connection to the heart of Ottawa and (these) are 10-minute neighbourhoods. You can walk to great restaurants, groceries, the LCBO, coffee shops, the (Ottawa River) parkway, the beach and, of course, the LRT.”
Along with what the neighbourhoods have to offer and the development of the LTR (Light Rail Transit), Michael Ivanich, director of property management at Richcraft, which recently opened Parkdale Collective across from Tunney’s Pasture, points to the market itself.
“The big reason in the background is we had a shortfall just prior to COVID of 33,000 family units and we never caught up. These buildings are being built because there is a pent-up demand.”
While he believes the extreme demand has levelled off recently, there’s still more to come. Colonnade Bridgeport, for instance, broke ground this summer on RYSE, a 22-storey building on Scott Street that backs onto a previous Colonnade BridgePort project called Westboro Connection. It’s expected to be ready in 2027.
In the meantime, here’s a sampling of new-build rental apartment buildings available for leasing now:
Azure Westboro
Address: 2070 Scott St.
Developer: Azure Urban Developments
Storeys: 26
Units: 254, from studios to three bedrooms
Element
Address: 400 Kirkwood Ave.
Developer: Main + Main
Storeys: 6
Units: 252; studio to two bedrooms, including some townhomes
Parkdale Collective
Address: 159 Parkdale Ave.
Developer: Richcraft
Storeys: 31
Units: 279 units; one and two bedrooms
PostHouse by Azure
Address: 377 Winona Ave.
Developer: Azure Urban Developments
Storeys: 6
Units: 60; studio to two bedrooms
The Dale
Address: 99 Parkdale Ave.
Developer: Brigil
Storeys: 2 towers of 33 and 29 storeys
Units: 520; one to three bedrooms
The Livmore
Address: 300 McRae Ave.
Developer: GWL Life Realty Advisors
Storeys: 26
Units: 334; studio to three-bedroom flats and townhomes with two or three bedrooms
Anita Murray and Patrick Langston are the co-founders of AllThingsHome.ca, Ottawa’s go-to resource for homeowners and homebuyers.