City committee approves plan to buy former Catholic seminary with potential for housing

1245 Kilborn Pl. in Ottawa. The city's finance and corporate services committee has voted in favour of a plan to buy the property with potential to convert it into supportive housing. (Jim O'Grady/CTV News Ottawa)

A city of Ottawa committee has voted in favour of a plan to purchase a former Catholic residence and seminary for more than $18-million, with a potential plan to convert it into supportive housing.

Councillors on the finance and corporate services committee voted Tuesday afternoon on a staff recommendation to purchase the Diocesan Centre at 1245 Kilborn Place, an 8.7-acre parcel of land with a three-storey building.

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"The city acquired the land in part because there's an existing building on the site that fit the bill for a supportive housing hub," Alta Vista Ward councillor Marty Carr told CTV News Ottawa.

The Archdiocese of Ottawa-Cornwall owns the property, and the existing buildings have been vacant since December 2020.

In May, the city entered into negotiations with the listing agent to purchase the property, and a tentative deal has been reached to buy it for $18.5 million.

Staff say the purchase is a result of "a sustained and increasing need for supportive housing," with 369 people on the waitlist for supportive housing as of June 1.

"We want to end chronic homelessness, and the way to do that is to build more supportive housing; so, this looks like an opportunity to do that," Ottawa Mayor Mark Sutcliffe tells CTV News Ottawa.

"People need a home, and that's what this comes down to—an opportunity for people without housing to be able to have a place to have stability and to thrive," says Katie Berkholder Harris, Executive Director of Alliance to End Homelessness Ottawa.

But some area residents are concerned about the decision.

"I wanted to ask on behalf of the community, and everybody is of the same consensus, to delay this decision. That's all; delay the decision and give people time to digest the information," says area resident Angelo Scaffidi.

Kishanth Jeyamoorthy spoke in support of the decision.

"A lot of discourse online has occurred about the use of land and for affordable housing and a lot of negative discourse and negative conversation has been brought up about it," says Jeyamoorthy. "As someone who has lived in low-income neighbourhoods for all my life, it just rubbed me the wrong way hearing those comments, so I wanted to speak out against those comments, mainly."

Once the purchase is completed, staff will work with the ward councillor and community partners to develop a plan for community consultation and the development of the site. The city's housing services department has already initiated a building condition audit to "determine the state, next steps, and high-level financial implications of the existing improvement" and identifying repairs and renovations for the short- and long-term, according to the report.

"There will be lots of consultations on the future use of the site over the next few years. This is a multi-year project, we're just getting started," says Carr. 

--With files from CTV News Ottawa's Josh Pringle.