Njeukam is one of several residents of a low-rise block of flats on Nepean Street set to be demolished so developers Glenview Homes and Taggart Management can use the land for a surface car park for a new 27-storey mixed-use tower. The plan for the tower, which would be built on an existing adjacent parking lot, has met with opposition from both the building’s residents and community members. On Thursday, the city’s planning commission voted to approve the new tower, but to postpone the demolition request until they could discuss it further. “This is a temporary relief,” said Njeukam, who moved into the two-bedroom apartment with his family in early 2020, at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. “This is an affordable building. We’re paying $1,200 a month. And if they tear it down, we could be paying a lot more in a few years.” Nepean Street resident Lionel Njeukam, bottom right, addresses Ottawa’s planning commission on July 7, 2022, about a proposal to demolish the low-rise building he lives in. (City of Ottawa/YouTube)
Problem “just postponed”
The developers’ plans offer similar rent in two nearby buildings for the next five years, a package Njeukam acknowledged is “generous.” And while some residents have signed up, Njeukam told CBC Radio All In A Day it doesn’t really address the core issue of the affordable housing deficit. “The problem is just postponing. Five years from now, when they stop matching the price below the … average market rates, what are we going to do? We’re going to have to pay $800 to $1,000 more in rent,” he said. he said. “Right now we can’t afford it. I’m not sure in five years we’ll be able to afford it.” The new development will include 25 units that meet the definition of affordable housing, but Njeukam said he doesn’t think they will be truly affordable for many low-income families. All in one day10:17 The fate of 142 Nepean Street will hang in the balance a little longer We speak to a resident who has been waiting to hear today whether or not his house will be demolished
No parking, no tower: developer
Glenview Homes President Mark Shabinsky told the planning commission Thursday that the decision before them was clear. “The tower won’t go ahead if we don’t have control of the parking next to us. It’s not a threat, it’s just a commercial reality we’re dealing with,” he said. “And while our hope and our efforts to date have been that this development will move forward — because we believe it’s a win for everyone involved — at the end of the day, if it doesn’t move forward, we’re satisfied with the status quo. “ Somerset Coun. Catherine McKenney said putting a 27-storey tower over an existing car park was a good way to create density, but demolishing Nepean Street’s affordable low-rise housing to build a new block didn’t make sense. “If we continue down this road, people are going to stay in their cars. We’re going to need parking lots,” McKenney said. “People will need to park their cars there, because that’s where they’ll have to live.” The planning commission will discuss the possible demolition again at its next meeting in August.
