A city committee has tasked city staff to review a proposal for a five-building, 1,500 resident development in Orléans Town Centre that features 136 visitor parking spaces and no residential spaces. On Wednesday, the planning and housing committee approved a motion from Stittsville Coun. Glen Gower to refer the project to city staff for additional review. Orléans East-Cumberland Coun. Matthew Luloff spoke in support of the motion, noting concerns over the lack of parking spaces and impacts to the area’s traffic. “I was prepared to bring forward a motion today to reject the application as submitted because I do not believe that the proposal is ready to move forward in its current form,” Luloff said. “However, the applicant is now asking for an opportunity to go back to the table and work with city staff to reevaluate the proposal. I think that we should give them that opportunity.” Forum Asset Management submitted a zoning bylaw amendment for the development, which features four high-rise buildings and one mid-rise building, ranging from nine storeys to 40 storeys, at 530 Brisebois Crescent and part of 265 Centrum Boulevard. The area is located near the Shenkman Arts Centre, close to Highway 174 and the future O-Train East Extension. The area would also feature a three-storey community centre that will be dedicated to the city as publish lands. Luloff says the development has the capacity to “fundamentally change the landscape” of Orléans Town Centre and the nearby community. “My primary concern is whether a development of this scale in the current context of Orleans, can function without any identified resident parking,” he said. “I’ve also not been able to identify another approved development of comparable scale and density in a suburban community like Orleans with zero resident parking.” The application submitted by Forum Asset Management and SvN Architects says the project would be a “high-density, mixed-use community” built near the future Orléans Town Centre LRT station. “The development promotes a compact, pedestrian-oriented built form that enhances connectivity to transit, local amenities, and surrounding neighbourhoods.” At Wednesday’s committee meeting, Luloff said the plan was reliant on a station that is not yet operational. “The application also relies, in part, on a potential future Orleans Town Center LRT station that has not yet been built, designed, or funded,” he said. “We need to make sure that the proposal works with the infrastructure that we have today, while appropriately planning for what may come in the future.” The construction plan would see the 30-storey building and the nine-storey building built first, while the community centre construction will depend on “various external factors.” With files from CTV’s Josh Pringle and Peter Szperling
