Five housing projects head to City Council on November 12 after planning committee approval

Ottawa's Planning and Housing Committee approved five housing projects on November 4, 2026, covering wards across the south, west, and centre of the city. City Council will vote on all five on Wednesday, November 12.

Together, the five projects would add more than 2,600 new homes to Ottawa's housing stock. Arab Canada News reported the total as about 2,870 units, though that figure includes a count for the St. Laurent Boulevard site that differs from what the developer's own project page describes.

Scouts Canada site, Baseline Road, Ward 16 River

The largest project covers the site of the vacant Scouts Canada headquarters at 1345 Baseline Road, west of Merivale Road, in Ward 16 River, represented by Riley Brockington.

Quebec-based developer Bertone has applied to build four towers on the 1.31-hectare property, which currently holds a two-storey building and surface parking. The towers would range from 30 to 40 storeys: a 30-storey and a 32-storey tower with four-storey podiums, and a 34-storey and a 40-storey tower sharing a six-storey podium. OBJ reported the total as 1,251 new homes, including 50 studios, 231 one-bedroom units, 457 one-bedroom-plus-den units, 483 two-bedroom units, and 30 two-bedroom-plus-den units.

The 30-storey building would be built first. A 1,109-square-metre municipal park will be part of the development, fronting Baseline Road. Arab Canada News reported that Scouts Canada will work with the City and the Anishinaabe Algonquin Nation on options for the totem pole that currently stands on the site. Ground-floor commercial space is planned in the podiums.

St. Laurent Boulevard, Ward 18 Alta Vista

The committee also recommended approval of a zoning change at 1740, 1754, and 1760 St. Laurent Boulevard, south of Industrial Road, in Ward 18 Alta Vista, represented by Marty Carr. The change allows the maximum building height to rise to 100 metres, up from 50 metres.

Arab Canada News reported the site would hold four buildings of 30, 30, 13, and 11 storeys, with 911 new homes and a city park. The developer, Groupe Heafey, describes the project as Peaks Everest on its own website and lists 672 units across the four towers. The official planning report is not publicly readable through a plain request; the number of units in the report has not been confirmed in this article.

Leitrim West of Bank Street, Ward 22 Riverside South-Findlay Creek

The committee approved an Official Plan amendment that would allow a new residential neighbourhood on land west of Bank Street and north of the future Earl Armstrong Road extension, in Ward 22 Riverside South-Findlay Creek, represented by Steve Desroches. Arab Canada News reported the plan calls for about 350 new homes and a community park. The City's own public engagement page for the site describes it as a "future neighbourhood" that went through a public comment period earlier in 2026.

Woodroffe Avenue, Ward 24 Barrhaven East

In Ward 24 Barrhaven East, the committee approved a zoning change at 3400 and 3428 Woodroffe Avenue, south of Paul Métivier Drive, to allow 16 residential buildings of four storeys or lower. The plan calls for 108 stacked townhomes, 32 back-to-back townhomes, and 20 traditional townhomes, for a total of 160 units. Three-quarters of the units are two-bedroom and one-quarter are three-bedroom.

Councillor Wilson Lo wrote in his newsletter the week before the meeting that he had planned three motions: one on monitoring water quality in nearby private wells, one on stormwater storage for the site, and one on improvements to a traffic intersection. He said he would vote in favour of the rezoning if those motions carried. Residents had raised concerns about traffic on nearby streets and the effect of the development on private wells in the Hearts Desire neighbourhood.

475 Terry Fox Drive, Ward 4 Kanata North

The fifth project covers a site at the corner of Kanata Avenue and Terry Fox Drive in Ward 4 Kanata North, represented by Cathy Curry. The zoning change allows three six-storey apartment buildings with 182 units. The unit mix includes 18 studios, 68 one-bedroom, 65 two-bedroom, and 31 three-bedroom homes. About 35 percent of the units are designed to be accessible. The KanataNorth Business Improvement Area reported the project earlier in the application process.

What comes next

All five files go to full City Council on November 12 for a final vote. If Council approves the recommendations, the developers can then proceed with the next stages of building permits and construction.

Ottawa has pledged to enable 151,000 new homes by 2031 as part of a commitment to the Province of Ontario. The City reported earlier in 2026 that it had approved more than 74,000 units through mid-year. These five projects, together with others the committee has recommended in recent months, form part of the City's response to that target.

Residents who want to attend or send written comments to the November 12 Council meeting can find the meeting schedule at the City's meetings site at pub-ottawa.escribemeetings.com. Those who want to track how their councillors vote on housing and other decisions can follow their pages in the Ottawa promise tracker.