New community hub coming to Riverside South as population booms
City plans to build a 40,000-square-foot community centre and library
Emma Weller · CBC News
Posted: Mar 25, 2026 10:25 AM EDT | Last Updated: 10 hours ago
Standing in the Rideauview Community Centre, Sandra Stone reminisced about the days when she worked for the city supporting its design. Her children later played in its music room once it was built.
Decades later, it's déjà vu.
Stone stood in its gym in Riverside South Tuesday night to look over the plans for a new community hub in her area.
"It's really nice to see how this has evolved," Stone said.
"There's a lot of memories with this and I think there's an opportunity to make new memories."
The city is building a community centre and Ottawa Public Library branch near Line 2's Limebank station.
The new facility will be a nearly 40,000-square-foot single-storey building with multi-purpose rooms, a fitness studio and a gym. Outside will have sports fields and courts, a splash pad, a playground and paths.
The city held a public information session on Tuesday before entering the design stage of the project. Nearly 200 people showed up.
"The population of the area has grown significantly. It's one of the fastest-growing communities," Riverside South-Findlay Creek Coun. Steve Desroches said.
"We're doing our part to meet the housing crisis, but I know residents want to have services and infrastructure locally so they're not having to commute to other parts of the city for basic services … such as a library."
The latest data from the city shows the current population of Riverside South, which is south of the international airport and Greenbelt, is just shy of 24,000 people.
On Tuesday night, city staff said they expect to see three times that amount of people in the area by 2049.
"Our facilities haven't been upgraded for several years, so we're starting to bust out [of the] seams at the schools, at churches, at the library, the community centre," Stone said.
Amidst the excitement among many residents on Tuesday, several still had concerns about the plan's parking, accessibility and outdoor shade.
"I am worried that people who are going to go to the train station, since there is no parking there, they're going to try and park at the facility," said Chantal Stone, Sandra's daughter.
City staff stated multiple times during the meeting that all suggestions were being noted and will be considered.
The city is hoping to have another public consultation this summer.
From there, it's looking to complete the facility's design by the summer of 2027, and then build it over two years.
"We will be substantially complete in 2029. That's the goal, and then we would be looking to train staff, get them oriented with the new facility and then open the doors to the public," Kevin Voelker, senior project manager with the city, told CBC News.
The city is also planning to build a recreation complex along Earl Armstrong Road near Bowesville station on Line 2.
The proposed facility includes two rinks, a pool, an indoor walking track, more outdoor sport fields and approximately 500 parking spaces.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/ri...ity-centre-park-plans-schedule-9.7141117
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