The Record · Ottawa Morning Wire

Your city hall thinks you can afford a $1.3M three-unit house.

Your City Hall says you can afford a three-unit house

Bonjour, Ottawa! Simone Okafor-Bouchard here, giving you the real deal from City Hall, because the real story is never on the Hill — it's always just off it. We've got some interesting moves this week, particularly if you’re trying to find a place to live that isn't, you know, a broom closet.

Let's talk about Ward 1, right over in the west end. According to the freshly issued building permits, someone just got the green light for a *new two-storey detached dwelling with three units* at 13 Queen Street West. We’re talking a cool $1,381,160 project. That's not a small renovation; that’s a whole new build designed for multiple families.

Here’s why this matters: * **Density on the ground:** This isn't a high-rise, but it's adding three units in a single-family neighbourhood. * **Ward 1 focus:** This area needs more housing options, and this type of infill is a direct response to that pressure. * **Cost implications:** Over a million dollars for this kind of build means they're not cutting corners.

And while we're on housing, Ward 9 also saw an interior alteration permit issued for 2770 Aquitaine Avenue, converting a guest suite into a residential suite for $48,750. Every unit counts, non? It’s not much, but it’s a sign of how people are making space. We’ll be watching to see if these smaller, multi-unit projects become a trend, or if the big apartment buildings like the one proposed for 1970 and 1980 Fowler Drive in Ward 8 are still the main game.

Simone Okafor-Bouchard, out.

The morning crew on *The MiTL Morning Wire* breaks down what this actually means for your rent. Tune in at mornings.live.

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