Former DND building being demolished in downtown Ottawa for new high-rise

A former government building in the heart of downtown Ottawa is being demolished in a controlled way. CTV’s Camille Wilson reports.

What stands as one of the city’s tallest office buildings is coming down floor by floor.

Demolition is in progress of 110 O’Connor street, at the corner of Slater St. and O’Connor St.

The building dates back from the early 1970s, previously serving as an office for the Department of National Defence.

The 14-storey former government building with only the shell remaining, is set to be demolished in recent years for a residential high-rise containing up to 400 rental units.

“I think it’s exciting. It’s an opportunity to take an office building that has been vacant for quite some time,” says Kevin McHale, executive director of the Downtown BIA and Spark Street Mall Authority.

“We’re taking a site that’s been dead downtown for a very long time. Hopefully, in a few years we have it full of 400-500 people living in the downtown, visiting our businesses and making downtown Ottawa more vibrant,”

The federal government’s plan to reduce office space in downtown Ottawa by 50 per cent over ten years is off track, according to the latest auditor general report.

“We’ve been saying as the BIA for a number of years – for every building downtown, we want its potential maximized,” McHale said.

“If it’s an office building, we want it full. If it’s a building that can be converted from office to residential, we want that to happen. If it’s a brand-new apartment building, fantastic as well. As long as those buildings are maximized to their full potential, these are all great things for downtown.”

Since the pandemic, several properties are planned for conversions, adding more living space downtown in hopes of revitalizing the city.

The Ottawa Board of Trade says the future of downtown is at stake.

“Transforming former office buildings into housing, including affordable housing and mixed-use developments, supports a more vibrant, 24/7 downtown economy,” said an emailed statement from Ottawa Board of Trade president and CEO Sueling Ching.

“Housing revitalization in the core contributes to economic resilience, public safety, and business recovery, especially for small and local enterprises who have been negatively impacted by the downtown core’s adoption of hybrid work.”

Mach Group is the property management that bought over the building for $40 million in 2021. The group is one of the leading private real estate owners and developers in the country.