1495 Heron Road

The property is in Alta Vista Ward and is close to amenities, transit, parkland, and greenspace areas. The site is bound to the south by Heron Road, to the west by St. Patrick High School, and to the east by single-family residential dwellings. Its exterior includes ample surface parking spaces and two tennis courts.

The site was originally designed and developed by the Sisters of the Congregation of Notre Dame in the 1960s, and then purchased by the Government of Canada in 1973 to be used as the Federal Study Centre. In 2020, Canada Lands Company purchased the site and, with the help of the community, will create a master plan to guide how it will be redeveloped.  

Engaging with the community to create A Place to Connect!

Guiding principles

Engagement with the community and stakeholders on the future of this site started online in March 2021. The feedback received from the first phase of the engagement can be viewed here, although the website is now closed for comments. 

This initial online engagement saw 450 respondents identify five key themes for the site: (1) community amenities, (2) heritage conservation, (3) low- and mid-rise residential development, (4) affordability, and (5) sustainability and open space. 

These key themes are now considered the guiding principles for the redevelopment. 

Redevelopment concepts

Engagement continued on February 10, 2022, with a virtual workshop to shape how the site can be redeveloped to become a mixed-use community that will connect history with the future, greenspace with urban living, and surrounding neighbourhoods with one another. 

At this workshop, more than 150 participants shared comments on four options - or draft “concepts” - to reintegrate this site into the community through a new mix of housing, retail, open space, and amenities, in line with the redevelopment’s guiding principles.

Click here to watch a video of the workshop presentation. 

Final concept
On April 13, 2022, the public was invited to take part in a 2-hour webinar on the draft preferred concept. An online questionnaire was also available to gather feedback on this draft preferred concept. 

Click here to watch a video of the workshop presentation.

The formal Rezoning and Plan of Subdivision applications were submitted to the City of Ottawa in April 2023.