Big changes (finally) coming to uOttawa campus

Noah Leafloor & Betsy Mann

Three new residences are coming to the University of Ottawa campus in the next six years, according to a press release published by the university on October 2 this year. At a November meeting of Action Sandy Hill’s Town and Gown Committee, members had a chance to look at preliminary plans. Patrick Munro, the ASH Town and Gown Chair, was encouraged. “My position is that this is good for downtown and for a growing city,” said Munro. “It provides a significant opportunity to improve our public realm while allowing for new housing and commercial areas to be constructed.”

Combined, the three new residences will provide around 2600 beds, taking pressure off the surrounding neighbourhoods’ rental market. The university aims to be able to guarantee a place in residence to all of its first-year students, leaving around 20% of spaces for upper-level students. Rent affordability is apparently an essential element of the planning process. The plans also foresee integrating learning and dining hubs and public spaces, as suggested by the name of the first phase of the project, the “Brooks Academic Village.”

As anyone who has walked across campus to get to the Campus LRT station knows, the current Brooks Complex has been empty and fenced off for the last five years; mold and water damage issues had made it uninhabitable. Its demolition is slated to begin in the spring of 2026, and construction of the new buildings will follow. Construction is being undertaken by a private-sector consortium, but once completed, student services will be provided directly by the university.

Farther in future, there are plans for two other residences. One would be built in the centre of the campus, on the current parking lot K which faces onto Waller Street. The other would be built on another parking lot on Stewart Street. Neither of those new builds involves demolishing current structures.

With these new developments staying on campus, the university is building vertically. Housing density and affordability have been issues for all Ottawans and especially for students and the unhoused. In an interview with IMAGE, University of Ottawa emeritus professor, Tim Aubry, expressed his assessment of the plans. “That’s a big contribution to affordable housing in the city for a population group that essentially rents as close as they can to the university,” he said. “It will liberate rental houses for those coming out of homelessness, something that has been difficult to achieve.” Since June 2022, Aubry has been the co-chair for the Canadian Housing First Network, an organization which helps communities by developing, evaluating and improving their programs to assist the unhoused find permanent housing. Munro commented on this matter too, saying, “This should hopefully reduce pressure on the local housing market while stimulating the local economy.”

What will these developments mean for our neighbourhood? Geoffery Frigon, Associate Vice-President, Facilities, is quoted in the uOttawa press release: “The goal is to create a culturally responsive and welcoming environment by respectfully integrating the unique character of the Sandy Hill neighbourhood and Indigenous perspectives into the design.” If you are interested in learning more about the plans for campus renewal, watch for announcements of Q & A sessions the university promises for later this winter.