New Ottawa Community Housing building to offer 4-bedroom units in Centretown

At a time when the need for more housing in Ottawa is at its highest, a groundbreaking ceremony took place Monday to build more affordable housing in Centretown.

Shovels hit the ground for a new 273-unit affordable housing building at 820 Gladstone.

It's the next phase of Mosaiq Ottawa and will feature mid-rise residential buildings and low-rise townhomes, offering a range of housing options.

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"We'll be having up to four-bedroom apartments soon, which is quite unique in Canada," says Stéphane Giguère, Ottawa Community Housing CEO. "In fact, we build up to six bedrooms as we speak right now because the needs are there."

Once this phase of Mosaiq is complete, it will provide a total of 413 affordable homes.

"We need more affordable housing of all kinds. We need more two-bedroom and three-bedroom units. We need a wide range of housing in the city. We just need more homes in general, including affordable housing," said Ottawa Mayor Mark Sutcliffe.

To help, the city is looking to amend zoning bylaws to allow taller and denser housing.

Another option is allowing four units on one lot instead of three, known as a "fourplex." But some councillors don't think it could work in some suburban neighbourhoods.

"Look out your front window and see the house beside you or across the street from you, what would that look like if it was four units on that one lot?" Asked Coun. Allan Hubley. "I believe that the feds shouldn't be determining what goes on each individual lot. They should just say you need to build 1,000 homes, figure it out and we'll give you the money if you have a plan."

Coun. Jeff Leiper says the city is in dire need of more affordable homes and all options should be on the table.

"We also have to remember that there is a waiting list for deeply affordable housing of 10,000 to 12,000 people," said Leiper. "So, it is fantastic news that we have 830 units under development right now, but no one should lose sight of the fact that the need is acute and that we're going to have to sustain an effort like this for many years to come if we're going to adequately address the housing needs of particularly the most vulnerable Ottawa residents."

This phase of Mosaiq is expected to be completed some time in 2025.