City poised to grant $665,000 to clean up former CTV Ottawa newsroom site
The city of Ottawa is poised to pay a developer nearly $665,000 to clean up the site of the former CTV Ottawa/CJOH building in the west end.
The land at 1500 Merivale Road has sat empty since 2010, when a fire destroyed the newsroom. The cause was never determined.
Claridge Homes, which owns the land, is planning to build 10 residential buildings on the site ranging from nine to 13 storeys high. The proposal will feature nearly 2,000 residential units and more than 1,100 square metres of commercial space.
The site is now contaminated. The city’s brownfield program allows the city to issue grants covering up to 50 per cent of the cost of rehabilitating contaminated lands.
The city's finance and economic development committee will vote on the grant at its June 28 meeting.
The February 2010 fire ripped through the newsroom and caused more than $2.5 million in damage. The fire marshal’s office said at the time the extent of damage to the building made it difficult to track the origin of the fire.
Claridge bought the land for $12 million in February 2021, according to an industry newsletter.
The property is nearly 60,000 square metres and has frontage on Clyde Avenue, Merivale Road and Baseline Road.
An environmental assessment shows the land is contaminated with polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, and the groundwater has volatile organic compounds.
City staff estimate the overall economic impact of the development at $350 million in direct construction value, along with $7 million a year in increase municipal and education taxes by 2034 when the project is finished.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
Toxic testing standoff: Family leaves house over air quality
A Sherwood Park family says their new house is uninhabitable. The McNaughton's say they were forced to leave the house after living there for only a week because contaminants inside made it difficult to breathe.
Decoy bear used to catch man who illegally killed a grizzly, B.C. conservation officers say
A man has been handed a lengthy hunting ban and fined thousands of dollars for illegally killing a grizzly bear, B.C. conservation officers say.
B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
OPP responds to apparent video of officer supporting anti-Trudeau government protestors
The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) says it's investigating an interaction between a uniformed officer and anti-Trudeau government protestors after a video circulated on social media.
An emergency slide falls off a Delta Air Lines plane, forcing pilots to return to JFK in New York
An emergency slide fell off a Delta Air Lines jetliner shortly after takeoff Friday from New York, and pilots who felt a vibration in the plane circled back to land safely at JFK Airport.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
Loud boom in Hamilton caused by propane tank, police say
A loud explosion was heard across Hamilton on Friday after a propane tank was accidentally destroyed and detonated at a local scrap metal yard, police say.