NCC reveals preferred bidder for LeBreton Flats 'library parcel'
The National Capital Commission has revealed its preferred bidder for the next step in the redevelopment of LeBreton Flats.
Dream LeBreton, a group led by Dream real estate company, which is overseeing the nearby Zibi development, has won the chance to redevelop the so-called ‘library parcel’ of land west of downtown.
The 1.1-hectare space at 655 Albert Street is immediately west of Ottawa’s planned central library and is the first step in redeveloping LeBreton Flats under the NCC’s new master plan for the land, which has sat empty for decades.
“This team has gone beyond our expectations in their innovative, thorough, and highly integrated proposal,” Katie Paris, the NCC’s director of the LeBreton Flats redevelopment project, told the commission’s board of directors on Thursday.
“Dream’s Library parcel development plan is very exciting as a first phase of developing LeBreton.”
The Dream proposal includes 601 residential units for the site in two towers of 30 and 35 storeys, each with a separate four-storey terrace podium. The housing will range from studios to three-bedroom units.
Forty-one percent of the units—247 of them—will be affordable housing, exceeding the 30 per cent minimum the NCC set in its request for proposal. And 31 per cent will meet or exceed accessibility standards and be barrier-free.
Multifaith Housing Initiative, a non-profit affordable housing developer, will own 130 of the units. The proposal also includes an Algonquin Nation benefits plan.
The Dream LeBreton design team is led by KPMB Architects and Perkins & Will, supported by Two Row Architect and Purpose Building, with PFS Studio as the landscape architect, EllisDon as the construction manager and Innovation Seven as the Indigenous engagement consultant.
The Dream LeBreton proposal beat out two other groups, one led by Windmill Developments and the other by Trinity Development Group.
The NCC is using a phased approach to redevelop LeBreton Flats after a joint bid from Ottawa Senators owner Eugene Melnyk and Trinity Developments fell apart amid legal acrimony.
In October, the NCC launched a request for expressions of interest for two parcels of land farther west, which the commission hopes will feature major attractions.
Paris said the NCC would be open to a possible NHL arena on that site. Those proponents are being asked to submit ideas by the end of next month.
The new central library, a joint project between the Ottawa Public Library and Library and Archives Canada, is set to open in mid-2026. A city report in October revealed the project was $131 million over budget due to rising construction costs.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Bodies found by U.S. authorities searching for missing B.C. kayakers
United States authorities who have been searching for a pair of missing kayakers from British Columbia since the weekend have recovered two bodies in the nearby San Juan Islands of Washington state.
Amid concerns over 'collateral damage' Trudeau, Freeland defend capital gains tax change
Facing pushback from physicians and businesspeople over the coming increase to the capital gains inclusion rate, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his deputy Chrystia Freeland are standing by their plan to target Canada's highest earners.
'It's discriminatory': Individuals refused entry to Ontario legislature for wearing keffiyeh
Individuals being barred from entering Ontario’s legislature while wearing a keffiyeh say the garment is part of their cultural identity— and the only ones making it political are the politicians banning it.
Tom Mulcair: Park littered with trash after 'pilot project' is perfect symbol of Trudeau governance
Former NDP leader Tom Mulcair says that what's happening now in a trash-littered federal park in Quebec is a perfect metaphor for how the Trudeau government runs things.
Saskatchewan households will continue to receive carbon tax rebate: Trudeau
Households in Saskatchewan will continue to receive Canada Carbon Rebate payments, despite the province refusing to remit the federal carbon price on natural gas, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Tuesday.
'It's just so hard to let it go': Umar Zameer still haunted by death of Toronto police officer
“It's just so hard to let it go. I mean, everyone is telling me, ‘you have to move on,’ but I know someone is not here [anymore]. So I don't know how I will move on." That’s what Umar Zameer, the man recently acquitted in the death of a Toronto police officer, told CTV News Toronto in a sit-down interview on Tuesday.
Senate expenses climbed to $7.2 million in 2023, up nearly 30%
Senators in Canada claimed $7.2 million in expenses in 2023, a nearly 30 per cent increase over the previous year.
Canucks goalie Thatcher Demko won't play in Game 2
The Vancouver Canucks will be without all-star goalie Thatcher Demko when they face the Nashville Predators in Game 2 of their first-round playoff series.
Pedestrian, baby injured after stroller struck and dragged by vehicle in Squamish, B.C.
Police say a baby and a pedestrian suffered non-life-threatening injuries after a vehicle struck a baby stroller and dragged it for two blocks before stopping in Squamish, B.C.