- Julian of Norwich Anglican Church in Nepean will be redeveloped with 84 affordable homes
- An eight-storey building will have 57 units and a church on the ground floor
- 27 townhomes will be built on Rossland and Withrow avenues
- Ottawa’s planning and housing committee approved the rezoning on 20 June 2024
An Anglican church site in Ottawa is set to become 84 affordable homes with a new place of worship on the ground floor, Ontario Construction News reported in June 2024, after the city’s Planning and Housing Committee approved a zoning amendment.
Julian of Norwich Anglican Church stands at Merivale Road and Withrow Avenue in Nepean. The plan includes an eight-storey building with 57 residential units and new church and office space on the ground floor, 15 two- and three-bedroom townhomes on Rossland Avenue and 12 four-bedroom townhomes on Withrow Avenue. The committee approved the change on 20 June 2024, with city council expected to follow.
The project is a partnership between the Anglican Diocese of Ottawa and the non-profit Multifaith Housing Initiative, the Ottawa Business Journal reported in 2023. The church from the 1960s and its annex will be kept, while the former rectory will be demolished. The ground-floor place of worship will cover about 2,400 square feet.
Parking requirements were reduced. The planning rationale cited “the site’s proximity to various services, frequent public transit, and direction of the Official Plan to consider alternative performance standards to support the development of affordable housing.”
The Nepean project shows a church using its own land for affordable homes while keeping its place of worship. Jamaican churches with rectories and large sites could consider similar partnerships with housing charities. As in Ottawa, planners may relax parking rules for affordable housing near good transport.
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