Developer Richcraft is proposing to add more than 2,000 new homes to Orléans, with plans for a mixed-density neighbourhood that would include parks, employment lands and future transit connections.
The City of Ottawa has received a zoning bylaw amendment and draft plan of subdivision application from Richcraft for about 82 hectares of vacant land at 3672, 3730 and 3828 Innes Rd. If approved, the development would become the next phase of the builder’s Trailsedge community, located west of Mer Bleue Road between Innes Road and Brian Coburn Boulevard.
The proposed subdivision would add up to 2,040 homes through a mix of housing types. Plans initially call for 340 detached homes, 529 townhouses and 114 back-to-back townhouses, along with a medium-density residential block containing about 200 units.
Two additional high-density residential blocks, planned near the future Cumberland Bus Rapid Transit corridor, could accommodate another 859 homes. Those buildings would require separate site plan approvals before construction.
The proposal is intended to implement the city’s East Urban Community Phase 3 Community Design Plan, which identifies the area as a priority for future residential growth.
In addition to housing, Richcraft is proposing three municipal parks, open space, future employment lands and a network of new streets that it says are designed to improve connections throughout the community.
The parks would include a central parkette, a neighbourhood park bordering Innes Park Woods and a rock barren (a large area of exposed limestone bedrock south and east of the woods) and a larger community park with recreational amenities. The proposal would also extend Fern Casey Street, Frank Bender Street and Vanguard Drive.
Planning documents say environmentally significant features, including the rock barren and adjacent natural areas that provide wildlife habitat, would be preserved as part of the development. Higher-density housing would be concentrated closer to future transit routes, while detached homes would be located primarily within the interior of the subdivision.
If approved, the project would become Phase 5 of Richcraft’s Trailsedge community. The file is currently open for comments.
