New details have been filed about the redevelopment of a parcel of land that once included CTV Ottawa’s former studios on Merivale Road. Claridge Homes has applied to build a nine-storey, mixed-use building along Baseline Road between Merivale Road and Clyde Avenue, which would have 264 residential units and 172 square metres of retail space on the ground floor. According to a site plan application filed on Tuesday, the proposed L-shaped building would include 160 two-bedroom units, 24 one-bedroom-plus-den units, 64 one-bedroom units, and 16 studio units. It would also have a courtyard and underground parking with spaces for 361 vehicles and 225 bicycles. This would be the second phase of the development on the vacant land. The first phase, which has already received site plan approval and is currently undergoing a building permit review, according to the developer, consists of a 10-storey mixed-use building on the Merivale side of the triangular site. The second phase would be located in the northeastern corner of the plot. Claridge bought the land in 2021 with a plan to redevelop it. City council approved a $664,805 brownfield redevelopment grant in 2022 due to contamination at the site. The developer’s initial plans were to eventually build 10 residential buildings at the site with nearly 2,000 apartments between them all. In a planning document, the developer says since the drafting of the initial master plan for the site, zoning bylaw changes have altered what could be built on the land. “Since the approval of Phase 1 of the development, the Master Plan has undergone several changes, largely resulting from the enactment of the City of Ottawa’s current Zoning Bylaw. The City’s new, and current, Zoning By-law (2026-50), establishes building heights of up to 132 metres (approximately 40 storeys) on the subject property, in recognition of the applicable Official Plan policies, poising these lands to support significant densities over the next 30 years,” the document says. “As a result, the anticipated Master Plan has evolved from the mid-rise bar blocks, to a ‘tower-in-the-park’ model, featuring high-rise residential towers of up to 40 storeys atop similar mid-rise apartment blocks, surrounding the park at the centre of the site.” The former CJOH studios at 1500 Merivale Road were destroyed by a massive fire in 2010 that caused more than $2.5 million in damage. The fire marshal’s office said at the time the extent of damage to the building made it difficult to track the origin of the fire.
