Posted Feb 15, 2026, 10:36 PM
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Join Date: Mar 2023
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There's a new website up for this project, including a couple new renders: https://www.320lees.com
And an article in the Mainstreeter. Emphasis my own.
Quote:
Major four-tower development breaks ground at 320 Lees Avenue
Long-planned, transit-oriented project will bring 3,000 residents, new rentals and commercial space to Sandy Hill and Old Ottawa East
The Mainstreeter | John Dance
Just across the Lees Avenue bridge over Highway 417, a major development known as 320 Lees has broken ground. In about a decade, it will house some 3,000 people and provide more commercial amenities for residents in both the southern part of Sandy Hill and northeast part of Old Ottawa East.
The fully approved development will consist of four towers – two with 32 storeys and two with 28 – surrounded by adjoining six-storey “podium” buildings and a new park on the southern part of the property.
The six-acre site is on the eastern side of Lees Avenue between the Sandy Hill Arena and Chapel Street. It was formerly the site of the Iranian cultural centre which was closed in 2013 when Iranian diplomats were expelled from Canada.
Montreal developer Place Dorée Real Estate Holdings spent almost six years getting the necessary City approvals and made a variety of changes to the design in light of review by the City, the urban design review panel, and Sandy Hill residents. One of the changes was the elimination of a fifth tower.
Phase 1
Phase 1 of the project – on the portion of the lot nearest Sandy Hill Arena – is now underway and it will have a 32-storey tower and 518 rental units, of which 15 percent will meet the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation “affordable” criteria. Occupancy will begin in 2027, with full occupancy targeted for the next year.
Kieran Waugh, Place Dorée’s vice president of development and construction, told The Mainstreeter that the development’s position between the main and Old Ottawa East campuses of the University of Ottawa will make it a desirable location for university students.
The development is a 500-metre walk from the Lees LRT station. About 12 years ago, the City proposed construction of a new pedestrian bridge over Highway 417 and this would have halved the distance, but the bridge proposal was not approved in the recently approved transportation master plan.
When completed, the entire project will have about 1,500 residential units or, to put this in perspective, twice that of the two proposed 40-storey towers in Lansdowne Park.
Transit-Oriented Development Plan
Unlike the Lansdowne Park development, 320 Lees was approved because it is what was envisaged as part of the City’s “transit-oriented development (TOD)” whereby tall residential towers are supported by nearby rapid transit.
The 2014 Lees TOD plan proposed 20-storey towers in the area, but Place Dorée was able to get increased height. City Council also approved a grant of up to $7 million for the firm to remediate the “brownfield” site so that the development could proceed. The site’s contamination stems from its lengthy use as a large railway yard for many decades.
According to The IMAGE, Sandy Hill’s community newspaper, residents sought “affordable housing, a grocery store and a development that becomes a world-class ‘15-minute neighbourhood’” and it seems they will get some of these.
“We’re exploring opportunities with a leading grocery retailer,” says Waugh. Although it doesn’t appear there is space for a larger grocery store in phase 1, there will be considerably more ground-floor commercial built in the subsequent phases. Currently, there are no large grocery stores near 320 Lees or anywhere in Old Ottawa East.
A long-standing problem in Sandy Hill is the lack of accommodation for uOttawa students and the new development will help to address this. Similarly, as Place Dorée noted in its application, “[T]he university’s master plan includes a potential student housing high-rise across the road at 1 Robinson Avenue that could accommodate up to 1,180 units with more than 4,000 beds as well as ground-floor commercial and retail space.”
In terms of traffic and parking, the first phase will have 240 parking spaces and access will be via an extension of Robinson Avenue into the development site and with a new access bordering the City lands to the north. The Robinson-Lees intersection will be signalized during the subsequent construction phases.
The project is the first transit-oriented mega project to be built in the City’s core and shows how Ottawa will become increasingly reliant on the LRT system to support urban intensification.
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https://mainstreeter.ca/major-four-t...0-lees-avenue/
Last edited by rocketphish; Feb 16, 2026 at 3:19 AM.
Reason: Resized the humongous image
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