a “prime candidate” for downtown revitalization, the towers could be converted to low-cost and family housing, along with townhomes, cafes and shops, a new municipal park and additional greenspace, the report said.
the jackson building at 122 bank st., another federal property identified for offloading, could be converted to a housing co-op with “revenue generating functions” like retail space, the report said. additionally, the ottawa public library at metcalfe and laurier is set to be vacated within the next five years and could then be transformed into a “space for quality artistic and cultural events that draw people,” it added.
troster says it’ll take more to turn the tides for downtown ottawa, though.
“if the feds want to be part of visionary partnership, to create a really wonderful spaces for people steps from parliament, we don’t just need disposal of federal land and building, we also need a partnership to be able to develop them,” she said.
sueling ching, president and ceo of the ottawa board of trade, said an action plan following the report would be released within the first few months of 2024.
the board of trade, an economic development and business advocacy group, identified ottawa’s downtown as its top priority for 2023 and called on every level of government and local businesses to do the same.
ottawa board of trade president and ceo sueling ching says the downtown core is “so critically important to the economic growth and community prosperity of our whole region and, of course, as the nation’s capital, for the whole country.”
julie oliver
/
postmedia