The Ottawa-based developer applied to the city to have land on Industrial Avenue, near Coronation Park, rezoned to allow a retirement home or apartment building. Site plan control approval is still pending.
The 1.96-acre site, which is currently empty, will house a five-storey building with 124 units, 45 underground parking spaces and 14 surface parking spaces, a description with the application states.
The plan is to put in a retirement home with the option to convert it to rental apartments later on, said Neil Maholtra, Claridge vice-president, in an interview with OBJ.
"Senior housing has been a business we have been developing in the past few years," he wrote in an e-mail, noting retirement homes provide a steady revenue stream for the builder.
In planning documents submitted to the city on behalf of Claridge, Novatech Engineering Consultants Ltd. noted that an apartment building or a retirement residence would be suitable for the site given the nature of the surrounding community.
There are an "abundance" of apartments nearby, Novatech stated, but not very many retirement homes. Claridge is building the "Oak Park" retirement residence on nearby Valour Drive, the documents noted. In Kanata, Claridge also has a retirement home, called Bridlewood Trails.
The documents also cited the easy availability of transit and retail.
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