Federal government looking to turn these 22 Ottawa properties into housing

Converting government properties into housing The federal government is looking to convert 22 Ottawa properties into housing. How will it work? CTV's Sam Houpt reports.

The Government of Canada has added more properties onto its list of federal properties it is hoping to turn into new homes.

The Canada Public Land Bank, launched on Sunday, features 56 federal properties across Canada, including 22 in the city of Ottawa, that have been identified as being able to support housing.

The new plan is to offer most of the properties for long-term lease, not a one-time sale, to keep the lands in public hands and ensure housing built on them remains affordable.

The current list includes properties in 28 municipalities in seven provinces but will grow over time through an ongoing review of underused or vacant federal land and buildings.

The government is seeking feedback and consultations for 21 properties in Ottawa and has moved into the development phase for the site of Wateridge Village, the former home of Canadian Forces Base Rockcliffe. The government announced in November that federal properties on that site will be repurposed into 307 homes.

A new interactive map launched by the federal government includes five properties in Tunney's Pasture, two in Centretown and four in the Confederation Heights campus in Ottawa's south end that were all former government offices or commercial centres.

The current list on the new public lands mapping tool are:

Public Service and Procurement Canada was being directed to reduce its office portfolio by 50 per cent in April's federal budget as it looks to cut costs under the hybrid work model for public servants. Repurposing unused public lands is part of a strategy the government hopes will address the high costs and limited availability of housing across the country.

Over 50 per cent of the federal government's office portfolio is within the national capital region.

The federal government signed a transfer agreement with the Government of Quebec in June to develop a new 600-bed hospital at the site of the Asticou Centre in Gatineau.

The Graham Spry Building at 250 Lanark Street was also transferred to the City of Ottawa this year to repurpose the site into a temporary warming centre during the winter months.

PSPC says it has over six million sq. m. of office space, with an estimated 50 per cent of the space underused or vacant.

The 56 properties listed in the Canada Public Land Bank represent total of 305 hectares of land, according to the government. PSPC says the Canada Public Land Bank's list of sellable properties will grow regularly in the coming months, along with further details on listed properties.

"Under the new plan, we will partner with the housing sector and communities to build homes on every site suitable for housing across the federal portfolio. Wherever possible, we will do it with a novel long-term lease, not a one-time sale, to ensure every site has affordable housing and public land stays public," the government said in a news release on Sunday.

The City of Ottawa had been looking for ways to redevelop government properties. Converting office space into apartments was identified as one of the ways the city could reach its goal of 151,000 new homes by 2031.

The average rent of a one bedroom apartment in the capital in August was $2,015, which is up by 3.3 per cent since last year, and that of a two bedroom apartment is $2,506 – up by 6.3 per cent since 2023, according to Rentals.ca.

With files from The Canadian Press