Ottawa's Little Italy is known for its patios, gelato shops, and tight-knit community feel — but soon it might be known for something else: a serious push toward affordable housing.
The Centretown Citizens Ottawa Corporation (CCOC), one of the city's largest non-profit housing providers, has put forward a proposal to redevelop its property on Loretta Avenue. The plan would add up to 128 new residential units to the block, a significant density increase for the area just west of downtown.
Why Little Italy, and why now
Little Italy has been one of Ottawa's fastest-growing neighbourhoods over the past decade, with new condo towers and mixed-use developments popping up along Preston Street and the surrounding blocks. But growth in market-rate housing hasn't been matched by growth in affordable options, something housing advocates in the city have flagged repeatedly as rents climb across the core.
CCOC has operated in the Ottawa housing sector for decades, managing thousands of units of affordable and non-profit housing across the city. Redeveloping its own existing property on Loretta Avenue lets the organization add significant unit count without needing to acquire new land — a increasingly important strategy as land values in central Ottawa continue to rise.
What this means for the neighbourhood
An addition of up to 128 units would be a meaningful shift for a single block in Little Italy, a neighbourhood that, despite its central location and walkability, has historically been low-rise and modest in scale compared to neighbouring Centretown or the ByWard Market.
For Ottawa renters priced out of the downtown core, projects like this represent one of the few paths toward staying in central neighbourhoods without paying market-rate rents that have become increasingly out of reach for many. The city has been under pressure to approve more affordable housing developments as part of its broader housing strategy, and non-profit-led projects like CCOC's tend to move through the approvals process with strong community and council support.
What's next
As with any redevelopment in an established Ottawa neighbourhood, the proposal will need to go through the city's planning and community consultation process before shovels hit the ground. Neighbours in Little Italy can expect further details on building height, design, and timeline as the application progresses.
For now, the proposal signals that Ottawa's affordable housing providers are looking to squeeze more density out of the sites they already own — a practical response to a housing crunch that shows no signs of easing anytime soon.
Source: Ottawa Business Journal
