Construction begins on new apartment in Rockcliffe as Ottawa sees spike in housing construction

Officials broke ground on a new six-storey housing project in Rockcliffe, the latest development during a busy year for construction. CTV’s Kimberley Johnson re

The federal government is injecting $45 million in funding into a new housing project in Ottawa’s east end that will create more than 100 new rental units, including affordable apartments.

At the announcement, Ottawa-Vanier-Gloucester MP Mona Fortier said the funding is through the Apartment Construction Loan Program.

The building is set to be located on Codd’s Road at the former Canadian Forces base in Rockcliffe.

At the groundbreaking ceremony on Monday, Mayor Mark Sutcliffe said new housing in the city is a priority.

“This really represents another step forward in our goal to build more homes and to build more affordable homes,” Sutcliffe said of the project.

The building will have 121 rental units, 22 of which will be set aside for affordable housing.

Councillor Rawlson King told reporters that means renters are charged 20 per cent of their household income for an affordable unit.

“We’re hearing every day about people having challenges paying for groceries, paying to put fuel in their vehicles and housing, which is a human right, needs to be affordable,” King told CTV News Ottawa.

The building is expected to be open by the summer of 2027 and Bayview Wateridge will be developed by the Bayview Group. The six-storey building will feature parking spaces, a 24/7 fitness centre and outdoor amenities.

This new project comes as more shovels break ground on housing projects in Ottawa this year.

Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) figures show the number of housing starts in Ottawa in the first seven months of 2025 is 68 per cent higher than it was the same time last year.

The figures show there were 6,314 housing starts in Ottawa from January through July 2025, up from 3,750 during the same period last year. There were 1,164 housing starts in Ottawa in July 2025, up 13 per cent from June 2025, and up 27 per cent from July 2024.

Jason Burggraaf, the executive director of the Greater Ottawa Home Builders Association, says the city is starting to see momentum in housing construction.

“That’s really about consumer confidence, for the most part, getting out of kind of the doldrums - past Covid, past high interest rates,” Burggraaf explains.

Burggraaf says the city’s population is expected to hit 1.6 million by 2051, and new builds are critical in the housing crunch.

“What we’re seeing is a lot of townhomes,” he says. “Usually about 60 per cent of all new construction is townhomes in Ottawa, so you’re seeing a lot more of that. You’re seeing a lot more condo towns as well, and kind of smaller apartment buildings to kind of get that density.”

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