Ontario Construction News staff writer
OTTAWA — A newly established real estate firm has signaled major ambitions for Ottawa’s skyline, acquiring a strategic nearly three-acre site in the Little Italy neighbourhood for $21 million.
The Calgary-based Turn Group, which opened its doors less than a year ago, purchased the property at 299 Carling Ave. from Canada Lands Company. The deal paves the way for a 600,000-square-foot mixed-use development featuring four residential towers housing approximately 750 units.
“They had very specific requirements about affordability, which we’re going to exceed by far,” Turn Group CEO Ash Mahmoud told RENX in a recent interview. “They (the former owner) had some mass designs, which we will maintain, but with a different perspective and more mixed use.”
The project, located near the O-Train’s Trillium Line and the new Ottawa Hospital Civic Campus, will feature towers ranging from 13 to 30 storeys. According to the development plan, three of the towers will be connected by a single podium and include market rental units. The third tower is slated to include approximately 135 affordable rental units.
Arcadis has been appointed as the lead architect and consultant for the project. Jan Steingahs, living practice group manager at Arcadis, noted that the site is being designed to integrate seamlessly with an adjacent half-acre park currently being developed by Canada Lands Company.
“We’re connecting to the park with our landscape on the site so it becomes a really holistic thing and it’s not an inward-looking site,” Steingahs told RENX.
The development is also expected to serve as a community hub, with plans for a 15,000-sq. ft. grocery store, additional retail space, and medical offices. A portion of the site, including one of the four towers, is currently in the process of being sold to an undisclosed buyer for a wellness-focused residence for seniors aged 55 and up.
While zoning for the site is already in place, Turn Group still requires site plan approval and necessary permits. Soil remediation is scheduled to begin this fall, with construction tentatively slated to start in the spring or summer of 2027.
The Carling Avenue acquisition is part of a larger $1.5-billion pipeline Turn Group is building across Ottawa, Calgary, and Edmonton. The company is already active in the capital with a separate nine-storey, 131-unit rental project at 255 Richmond Rd. in Westboro.
Mahmoud, who previously served as president of Cairo Development Ltd., indicated that the company is also eyeing another nearby site in Ottawa for a mixed-use project that could be 20 per cent larger than the Carling Avenue development.
“If you have the right opportunity and the math makes sense, and you bought it at a very good price, then everyone is interested,” Mahmoud said.
