City of Ottawa committee approves reduction in red tape and fees for office-to-housing conversions

Downtown on Wednesday, Nov. 1 2023 (James O'Grady/CTV News).

The city of Ottawa is making moves to provide developers with incentives to create more housing in the downtown.

"We have about 80,000 to 100,000 less people that are not coming in and out of the downtown core on a daily basis anymore. A lot of people are working from home," said Ariel Troster, Ward 14 councillor.

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With more people working from home, it means more office space is sitting vacant.

On Wednesday, the city's planning and housing committee approved recommendations to cut red tape and potentially tens of thousands of dollars in fees to make conversions easier.

It also approved a two-year pilot project in Somerset Ward, cutting cash-lieu-of-parkland fees by 2 per cent, a cost intended to go towards park space.

"We are trying to figure out that sweet spot as a committee and council. What is going to stimulate the kind of growth we want to see without simply lining the pockets of developers?" Troster said.

Developers like CLV Development, which is currently converting 360 Laurier Ave. W. into 139 apartments.

It says inflation and the cost of building materials is standing in the way of creating more housing.

"We have a lot of barriers and a lot of challenges, and a lot of costs that are making it more difficult to put housing into the market," said Josie Tavares, development planner with CLV Developments.

Ottawa has an overall office vacancy rate of 13.6 per cent, according to the Q3 2023 Ottawa Office Figures by CBRE. That includes a 14.2 per cent vacancy downtown.

According to the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC), Ottawa's residential vacancy rate sits at 2.1 per cent.

But the city says its incentives won't go as far as other cities like Calgary, which provides millions of dollars for conversions.

"We're not going to go down the path of Calgary, but a very modest forgoing of some revenues struck this committee as a prudent thing to do," said committee chair Coun. Jeff Leiper.

All of city council will vote on the office conversion recommendations at the next meeting on Nov. 8.