Secluded Sandy Hill community could undergo 'biggest change' from proposed developments
Jon Willing, Ottawa Citizen
Updated: January 16, 2020
A secluded neighbourhood in Sandy Hill is being eyed for hundreds of new rental units, causing some residents to worry that the community will undergo a stark transformation, possibly involving more student housing.
Robinson Village might be Sandy Hill’s most geographically isolated residential area, sandwiched between a field, the Rideau River and the Queensway at the southernmost end of the community. The University of Ottawa’s main campus is to the northwest and the school’s Lees campus is to the south.
A local development company would construct four multi-unit buildings if it secures political approval at city hall.
“People are very concerned in the area about what’s going on,” said Wendy Duschenes, who has lived on Robinson Avenue since 1982. “People are really devoted to this neighbourhood.”
It’s another example of a Sandy Hill neighbourhood adjusting to developers jumping on opportunities in a strong market for student rental housing.
In fact, there’s citywide demand for more rental housing, period.
A report released Wednesday by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. said the city’s vacancy rate was 1.8 per cent last October. The Sandy Hill/Lowertown vacancy rate was 2.7 per cent, which was an increase from 1.2 per cent in October 2018.
When it comes to Robinson Avenue, one development application calls for a nine-storey apartment building with 190 units to be built at 36 Robinson Ave. Another application has plans for three separate six-storey apartment buildings with 46 units in each building. The three blocks of sites would be 17, 19 and 23 Robinson Ave., 27, 29 and 31 Robinson Ave. and 130, 134 and 138 Robinson Ave.
In all, the proposed developments would add 328 units to the neighbourhood, potentially doubling the number of people living in there.
Public comments received by the city express fear that the buildings will be meant for student rentals rather than long-term rentals. However, the city can’t make land-use decisions based on the demographics of people who would live at a property.
A group of investors is behind the development proposals. Dylan Desjardins, the development manager at TC United, is managing the project. Desjardins said the buildings will not be marketed to students.
“We want young professionals,” Desjardins said, adding that he can understand why residents might assume the developments are geared toward students, considering the proximity to the university.
“We’re not going to jam a bunch of students in there.”
The key, Desjardins said, is to “leverage the LRT” and attract residents who can use the rail system.
”We would like people to join our community,” Duschenes said, noting the neighbourhood has excellent access to recreation activities, like parks and the path network along the Rideau River. “This is an ideal place for families to come.”
Rideau-Vanier Coun. Mathieu Fleury has been railing against the threat of “bunkhouses” that jam several renters into single units, and what he considers over-development of properties. Fleury called the proposal for the six-storey buildings “bunkhouse 2.0.”
Residents of Robinson Village are especially sensitive about packing more cars into the neighbourhood, which only has one road connecting it to the rest of the city.
The plans for the six-storey apartment buildings call for a reduction in the minimum parking requirements of 17 spots each. Instead, each building would have three parking spots, mostly meant for visitors.
As for the proposed nine-storey building, the parking requirement would be reduced to 53 spaces from the current minimum of 81 spaces.
Fleury is concerned by the lack of resident parking spaces for the six-storey buildings, even though he supports transit-orientated development approaches that de-emphasize car transportation.
Robinson Village doesn’t have amenities, like a grocery store, that are in easy walking distance.
Fleury said it’s “unrealistic” that people living at the buildings would have zero vehicles.
If they do bring vehicles, there’s only one option left for parking: the road.
The builder can receive the city’s go-ahead to reduce the parking requirements because the development area is within 800 metres of Lees Station. The city considers communities near LRT stops prime candidates for intensification, since there’s a higher chance of people taking the train.
The city in 2014 studied the area around Lees Station, including Robinson Village, for transit-orientated development opportunities, with high-rise buildings considered as a possibility for the public works yard, if the city ever wants to ends its operations there. The city thought six storeys would be a suitable maximum height for most of the western part of the village.
When a former landowner subsequently appealed the zoning for 36 Robinson Ave. to the former Ontario Municipal Board, the city and owner crafted a settlement that ended up with the OMB allowing nine storeys on the property.
Duschenes said if the buildings are meant for students, the whole exercise of getting new residents to use the LRT system could be pointless since it might be faster to walk to the campus than the LRT station.
Because of the separated nature of the neighbourhood, there’s an awkward walking route to Lees Station, which is on the other side of the Queensway.
David Elden, a 20-year resident of Robinson Avenue, said the community is on the cusp of a major transformation because of the proposed developments.
“This will be the biggest change by far,” Elden said.
Elden, a board member of the Action Sandy Hill community association, said there has been an improvement to the types of units in the proposed developments, which he said were initially dominated by studio and one-bedroom apartments, but there’s still unease about having a nine-storey building “loom” over the neighbourhood.
While he acknowledges students have to live somewhere, Elden said there’s a fear Robinson Village will become a “monoculture” of student rentals.
“I don’t think anyone would say they’re anti-student,” Elden said, “and they genuinely aren’t.”
The planning committee is scheduled to consider the development applications on Jan. 23.
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