The height of controversy surrounds plan to demolish 441 Echo Drive apartments

A proposed seven-storey development across from the Flora Footbridge sparks debate over planning rules, affordable housing and fit within the neighbourhood.

 

 

JOHN DANCE

Developer JB Holdings proposes to demolish its 441 Echo Drive 16-unit low-rise apartment building just to the north of the Flora Footbridge and replace it with a new seven-storey apartment building.   

   The proposed planning amendments to allow the much bigger building caught existing residents and neighbours by surprise and many are strongly opposed. Most residents learned of the proposal only when the required rezoning sign was erected in late May and, at this

writing, they still hadn’t received notice of the proposal even though those living on McGillivray Street to the rear of 441 Echo had received notice.

   The developer specifically proposes a 52-unit, six-storey, 19.5-metre-tall building with an enclosed seventh floor amenity area. The development would have three floors of parking accommodating 54 vehicles compared to the existing 11 spaces in the parking lot just to the north of the existing building. Four “grade-related” units with front patios are proposed along the Echo frontage.

 

Required Amendments

   Specifically, the developer proposes an Official Plan amendment that provides “relief on height, massing, and scale,” and rezoning to allow a mid-rise apartment building with a height of 19.5 metres rather than 14.5 metres.

   The City’s newly-approved zoning bylaw allows just four storeys at the 441 Echo location so that the developer must convince a variety of parties – including City councillors – that a 50 percent increased height is warranted.  The timing for JB Holdings’ needed amendments comes just after several years were spent consulting on what were appropriate neighbourhood building heights to foster increased housing stock.

   “The baseline maximum height for buildings in N4B is 14.5 metres and

JB Holdings proposes to build a 19.5-metre building,” McGillivray Street resident

Don Stephenson notes. “What was the purpose of the months-long public consultation on the new Zoning Bylaw if the City is open to consider applications that ignore it?”

   Secondly, several years ago, the City created the Rideau Canal Special District that controls heights and appearance of structures along the core section of the Rideau Canal, including Old Ottawa East.

  Specifically, the special district requires that “Development will respect the existing patterns of building footprints, height, massing, scale, setback and landscape character within the associated streetscape. The associated streetscape will be determined by the existing low-rise properties on one, or if applicable, both sides of the same street, on the same block as the subject property.”

   In terms of the “existing pattern,” Echo Drive between Hawthorne and Bank 

Street has no buildings above four storeys and most are between two and three so in that sense the proposal would not respect the “existing patterns.”

 

Developer’s Rationale

   A key aspect of the developer’s case is that the addition of a net 36 new units to the community helping to address the City’s chronic need for more housing. While no specific information is available on the affordability of the new units compared to current rents at 441 Echo, the new units will have underground parking and modern amenities so the sense of residents is that the new units will be more expensive than the existing ones.

   The argument that additional expensive new housing complete with underground parking is justification for increases in development density has been promoted by many, including Premier Doug Ford, but as one resident noted, “While it seems to be profitable for some, by itself it isn’t having much impact on overall housing affordability. While there is a shortage of affordable housing, this building will not be providing that.”

   JB Holdings “planning rationale”, prepared by Fotenn Planning + Design, outlines the various features of the proposed new building that, in the planner’s view, mitigate the visual impact of the larger building. For instance, “The project is well screened by existing trees as well as the foot of the pedestrian bridge… so there will not be a significant visual impact on the canal.’

   In fact, in front of the 441 Echo property there are just two medium-sized deciduous trees and one small coniferous tree on the median between Echo Drive and Colonel By Drive so that the “screening” is seasonal and modest.  Also, there are several coniferous trees between the Canal pathway and Colonel By but, viewed from the north, the proposed seven-storey development will loom above the trees from all directions.

Specific architectural features to make the new building compatible with its setting and lessening the appearance of greater height are, according to the project documentation, “a series of projections and step-backs in the building face.”

“On the lower levels, a brick framework projects out from the face of the building. This creates articulation and, coupled with the recessed balconies, creates a highly varied building elevation that will offer contrasting shadowing over the course of the day,” the provided information says.

The proposed Echo Drive face of the building is set-back at the fourth floor and again at the sixth. Above the sixth floor is a “rooftop amenity space [that] has also been designed to minimize its impact and ensure that it does not read as a seventh storey.”

 

Residents’ Concerns

The loss of affordable rental units is of primary concern for many existing residents of 441 Echo Drive. Some of them have lived in the building for decades.

The loss of trees is also a concern of a number of neighbours. Margaret Vant Erve, who lives immediately to the south on Echo Drive, is concerned about the extent to which her property will be crowded and the likely loss of two large walnut trees on her property very near the lot line. She notes, “One only needs to look at the renderings to see that the proposed underground parking would eliminate them.”

The developer’s plan shows that 16 new trees will be planted but in order to construct the new building the medium-sized Norway maples bordering Echo Drive will be removed.

Some neighbours are also concerned about additional traffic on Echo Drive which is dead-ended at Clegg Street. However, no parking is allowed on Echo, and the developer proposes to close the lot’s extension to McGillivray so that neighbours there will be affected by neither additional parking nor traffic.

 

Next Steps

The target date for consideration of the applications by the City’s planning and housing committee had been September 2, 2026, with a deadline for comments of June 19. However, following a meeting between JB Holdings and Councillor Shawn Menard, the developer agreed to a “three month pause” on the application until September “…so the tenants can work on an agreement/offer that is acceptable when the project proceeds for compensation.  And also (to) allow more time for the community to review the details of the project.”

In an email response to questions from the tenants, JB Holdings’ President, John Bassi, wrote: “I agreed to pause it until September and then I made it specifically clear that we will proceed again in September.”

Prior to announcing the three month pause, there had been an earlier communication regarding timing of the project from JB Holdings’ property manager Mike Sinclair to the residents of the apartment unit:

“We would like to clarify that JB Holdings does not currently have a timeline for the redevelopment of this property, nor do we plan to move forward in the near future. As part of the process, the city requires a comprehensive review, which can be lengthy as it exercises the necessary due diligence.” The clarification seems to have provided little comfort to residents, who have launched a petition in opposition to the proposed development.

A “community information session” was to have been held at a yet-to-be-determined time, with either the applicant’s team or Councillor Menard tabbed to organize the session. In addition, the OOE Community Association planning committee is continuing to assess the proposal.

 Councillor Menard negotiated some benefits for those affected by JB Holdings’ “Mia” apartment development on Hawthorne Avenue and has proposed to do the same here should the application be approved.