Ottawa scraps Stittsville health hub site, proposes moving it to Carp Road
City staff say the Maple Grove Road property chosen for a west-end primary care hub is no longer the best use of the land, and are recommending a 16-acre site on Carp Road instead.
Reported. A news outlet found this. voche.me names the outlet and links its report. Read the original report on ctvnews.ca.
Ottawa city staff are recommending that a planned west-end primary care health hub move from Maple Grove Road to a 16-acre city-owned property on Carp Road, saying the original site is no longer the best use of the land. CTV News Ottawa reported the recommendation on November 2.
The finance and corporate services committee will consider the change at its meeting on November 10, 2026.
What the original plan was
Ottawa City Council chose the site at 1655 Maple Grove Road, between Huntmar Drive and Terry Fox Drive, in October 2025. The goal was to expand primary care in the Stittsville and Kanata areas, where many residents do not have a family doctor. CTV News Ottawa reported that Mayor Mark Sutcliffe said in April 2026 that the city had listed the property for sale to bring more physicians to the area.
Why staff changed their recommendation
City staff say the Maple Grove Road site is no longer considered the best use of the property, in part because of its proximity to future light rail infrastructure. Only one proposal was received after the city issued a request for proposals. CTV News Ottawa reports city staff said that bid came in well below the site's assessed value of $1.1 million per acre, which raised legal concerns. Selling municipal land below market value can create legal problems under city and provincial rules.
The proposed new site
Staff are recommending the 16-acre property at 2110 Carp Road, near the Carp Park and Ride, as the new location. The report says preliminary evaluation shows the Carp Road site has fewer financial, operational, and servicing constraints than the Maple Grove property.
A new request for proposals would involve broader outreach with hospitals and academic health partners, and would look at earlier commitments to apply for provincial funding.
The staff report also notes that finding the right land is only one part of solving the primary care shortage. A new proposal would have to show how it will recruit doctors, create capacity for patients currently without a family doctor, and measure results.
"The availability of suitable land alone does not ensure increased access to primary care," the report says, as quoted by CTV News Ottawa.
What residents in Stittsville and Kanata can do
The finance and corporate services committee meets on November 10, 2026. Residents who want to follow the discussion or submit comments can find the agenda at the City of Ottawa's meetings site at https://pub-ottawa.escribemeetings.com/.
Questions this story answers
Where was Ottawa's west-end health hub supposed to be built?
Ottawa City Council directed staff in October 2025 to pursue a health hub on city-owned land at 1655 Maple Grove Road, between Huntmar Drive and Terry Fox Drive. The goal was to bring more family doctors and primary-care physicians to the Stittsville and Kanata areas, according to CTV News Ottawa.
Why is Ottawa changing the location of the health hub?
City staff say the Maple Grove Road site is no longer considered the best use of the land, partly because of its proximity to planned light rail transit infrastructure. Staff also received only one bid after issuing a request for proposals, and that bid came in well below the site's assessed value of $1.1 million per acre, which raised legal concerns about selling municipal land below market value, according to CTV News Ottawa.
Where is the new proposed site for the health hub?
City staff are recommending a 16-acre property at 2110 Carp Road, near the Carp Park and Ride. The staff report says preliminary evaluation shows this site has fewer financial, operational, and servicing constraints than the Maple Grove Road property, according to CTV News Ottawa.
What will a new request for proposals look like?
City staff say a new procurement process would involve broader outreach with the health-care sector, including hospital and academic partners. The process would explore possible earlier commitments to pursue provincial funding. Staff note in the report that suitable land alone does not guarantee better access to primary care, according to CTV News Ottawa.
What criteria would a new health hub proposal need to meet?
The staff report says a new procurement would assess a proponent's ability to recruit and retain primary care doctors, create new capacity for patients currently without a family doctor, establish a sustainable operating model, integrate with existing regional primary care planning, and show how outcomes would be measured over time, as reported by CTV News Ottawa.
What did Mayor Mark Sutcliffe say about the original Maple Grove site?
CTV News Ottawa reports that in April 2026 Mayor Mark Sutcliffe said the city had listed the Maple Grove property for sale with the goal of bringing more family doctors and physicians to the west end. The mayor has not yet publicly responded to the recommendation to move the project to Carp Road, according to CTV News Ottawa.
When will Ottawa council decide on the new health hub location?
The recommendation to move the health hub to Carp Road goes to the finance and corporate services committee meeting on November 10, 2026. Residents and health advocates can check the City of Ottawa's meetings site at https://pub-ottawa.escribemeetings.com/ to find the agenda and details on how to attend or submit comments.
How does the primary care shortage affect Stittsville and Kanata residents?
The staff report cited by CTV News Ottawa notes that the availability of suitable land alone does not ensure more access to primary care, and that a successful health hub would need to show how it will recruit doctors and create net-new capacity for patients who do not currently have a family doctor. The Stittsville and Kanata areas have been among those in Ottawa where residents have had difficulty finding a family physician.
Sources
The pages this story draws on. Open one to check a claim yourself.
- CTV News Ottawa: City of Ottawa proposes relocating health hub site to Carp Roadctvnews.ca
- City of Ottawa finance and corporate services committee meetingspub-ottawa.escribemeetings.com
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