One of the National Capital Region’s most ambitious real estate developers is ramping up plans to build more than 1,900 residential units on nearly 50 acres of land in Kanata North.
In a planning application filed with the City of Ottawa, Gatineau-based Brigil says the proposed development just northwest of the Marshes Golf Club on March Road would include five separate zones of residential development for a total of 1,908 units in buildings as tall as 15 storeys.
A document prepared by consulting firm J.L. Richards and Associates notes the property at 927 March Rd. is located “only a short commute” from the Kanata North Business Park, which is located southeast of the subject lands along March Road.
“The expansion of transit along March Road will eventually bring future residents of the site closer to live, work, play options found in this business area,” the document says.
The project is expected to feature as many as eight low-rise apartment buildings, along with four mid-rise buildings of six storeys and two 15-storey towers. There would be ground-floor commercial space in the highrise and mid-rise buildings.
A final zone would be devoted to 32 townhouses and 19 single-detached dwellings. Brigil says the mixed-use and condo blocks would be served by underground parking lots ranging from two to four levels.
The concept plan also calls for three parks covering a total of nearly 14 acres of green space. At the request of city staff, Brigil has agreed to set aside a future block for a French-language school.
The latest proposal is an updated version of a plan of subdivision Brigil originally submitted in 2020.
That proposal included a total of 1,861 residential units in buildings with lower overall heights. The plan featured two nine-storey buildings along with nine low-rise buildings of four storeys each. Brigil had intended to request an Official Plan amendment to allow for buildings of up to nine storeys on the site.
In 2022, however, the City of Ottawa adopted a new Official Plan that allows for greater density along major corridors such as March Road and eliminates rules that require a certain percentage of dwelling types on such properties, paving the way for Brigil to submit a revised plan with greater density and taller buildings.
Brigil did not provide any timelines for the project. In the most recent planning documents, the developer says it is seeking city council’s approval for the plan of subdivision and will request zoning bylaw amendments for specific elements of the proposed development “at a later date.”
Busy development pipeline
The updated application comes at a busy time for Brigil, which has become one of the region’s most prolific housing developers.
The Gatineau-based builder currently has thousands of residential units in its pipeline across the city.
Among its biggest proposals is an application to build three towers ranging from 26 to 40 storeys at a 2.8-acre property on Catherine Street between Kent and Lyon streets that would eventually be home to more than 1,000 apartments.
The developer bought the land in 2021 after the bus station shut down in the wake of the pandemic and demolished the building the following year. Brigil said a couple of months ago it hopes to break ground on the project later this year.
Meanwhile, the firm is also proposing to create what it calls a “complete neighbourhood” featuring nearly 3,200 residential units and at least 100,000 square feet of commercial space on a 26-acre plot of land at 8600 Jeanne d’Arc Blvd. N.
The project would mark the third phase of the company’s Petrie’s Landing community, an ongoing development near Trim Road. The first two phases of the development are expected to eventually include more than a dozen buildings with about 2,200 residential units and 8,000 square feet of retail and office space.
Brigil’s other projects include a 28-storey rental tower at 99 Parkdale Ave., the second phase of a two-tower project. The 240-unit highrise should be ready for occupancy this fall.
The developer also expects to start construction later this year on a pair of four-storey buildings and a 20-storey highrise at the site of a former strip mall on Ridgewood Avenue near Mooney’s Bay. That project will include a total of about 440 rental apartments.
Longer-term projects on Brigil’s docket include a three-building development on Baseline Road and a two-tower proposal for Richmond Road.
In addition, the firm is in the process of revising a plan to build a residential highrise near the Bayshore Shopping Centre.
Brigil’s original proposal called for a 30-storey building with 330 rental apartments. After consulting with nearby residents and city planning officials, the firm is now hoping to gain approval for a taller tower of up to 40 storeys that would include as many as 370 units.
All projects in the company’s development queue are currently forecast as rental complexes, but vice-president of development Jessy Desjardins told OBJ earlier this year that could change as time goes on.
“When we look at a site, depending on the market, we always have the opportunity to convert (units) to condos or rentals,” he said in a February interview. “We’re pretty open to adapting to the market. Right now, people are looking more towards rentals.”
