304–308 Donald St | 11m | 3f | Proposed

[rocketphish]

Upscale Homes is proposing a development at 304–308 Donald Street consisting of a 3-storey wood-framed 31-dwelling unit low-rise apartment building. 8 parking spaces are being provided for residents, and 2 parking spaces are being provided for visitors, accessed from Edith Avenue and located in the rear yard.

Unit breakdown:
13 bachelor
10 1-bedroom
8 2-bedroom

Architect: Rosaline J. Hill Architect


Development application:
https://devapps.ottawa.ca/en/applica...4-0088/details

Location:








Siteplan:




Renderings:

[DogsWithJobs]

Quite a few of these have been built in the area. I'm fine with the added density but I wish Donald could get more than just pure residential infill.

My understanding was that minor corridors would be mixed zoning right?

[dougvdh]

Originally Posted by DogsWithJobs

Quite a few of these have been built in the area. I'm fine with the added density but I wish Donald could get more than just pure residential infill.

My understanding was that minor corridors would be mixed zoning right?

By the looks of it, this building is being done as a Part 9 building under the Ontario Building Code. This means it can only be 3 storeys tall (with a basement level 1.5m out of the ground.) Putting ground floor retail into it, without changing the building classification, would mean putting the ground floor at grade level. The result would effectively be the loss of two floors of residential units for a few retail units that would likely command far less rent on a square foot basis (if there's a market for it at all) and introduce more pressures for parking. On that basis, I can understand the decision to not make it mixed use.

[J.OT13]

Donald had some retail even when the area was built up in the 50s and 60s. They seem to be more open to mix use (instead of full segregation) mid-century that they have been the last 50 years.

I'd like Donald to be designated a minor main street corridor (if that's even a thing) to allow a bit more height, and yes, more retail.