This article reflects my personal opinion and the ideas of some other residents in the Grand Avalon community.

Take a moment to simply imagine… how a building with offices and/or retail spaces could revitalize our neighbourhood. Before continuing to read, please note that these are all preliminary ideas. All the ideas listed below are suggestions only. For example, five stories is a suggestion; nothing is set in stone. Four stories would be a starting point for increasing density in a gentle and strategic way.

The most important thing to remember is that if we choose to build something other than just residences in this location, we have a fantastic opportunity to make our neighbourhood much more vibrant and quickly improve our quality of life.

Last fall, while trying to write an article about mixed-use buildings with retail space on the ground floor and offices, I came across a sad reality.

I couldn’t write my article within the boundaries of the Greater Avalon Community Association, because there aren’t any. None. I had to go to our neighbors, the Bradley Estates Community Association, to find a mixed-use building.

While chatting over a glass of wine, once again, the idea arose of what could be built in our neighborhood to make it more vibrant.

This discussion led me to think about the lot across from François-Dupuis, on the north side of Brian-Coburn. This lot is currently vacant. I believe it belongs to a company that once wanted to build a commercial building there, but the project never materialized. I think now would be the perfect time to plan the construction of a mixed-use building on this site.

Before explaining this idea in more detail, a bit of background is needed. The neighbourhood business inventory was completed in 2025. As an association, we already have a good idea of what exists in our area. Fifty-five businesses, counting only those with commercial buildings, are within our boundaries. There are sixteen restaurants, fifteen service providers (hairdressers, dentists, etc.), and eight stores in the Greater Avalon Community Association’s territory. So, there’s already a good variety of businesses. However, some things are missing: a bakery, a local café, a sushi place (okay, that’s a personal preference!), and several others. With this inventory, we can logically discuss or plan what’s missing to make our neighbourhood complete, where residents could get around actively and leave the car behind as much as possible.

Before explaining this idea in more detail, some background information is necessary. The census of businesses in the neighbourhood was conducted in 2025. As an association, we already have an excellent understanding of what makes up our neighbourhood. Fifty-five businesses, counting only those with commercial buildings, are located within our area. Sixteen restaurants, fifteen services (hairdressers, dentists, etc.), and eight stores are situated within the territory of the Greater Avalon Community Association. There is already a good variety of businesses. Among the missing elements are: a bakery, a local café, a sushi restaurant (admittedly, that’s a matter of personal taste!), and several others. Therefore, with this inventory, we can logically discuss and plan what is needed to create a complete neighbourhood where residents can actively move around and leave their cars at home as much as possible.

So, ready to return to this potential future building? It might include a bakery and a local café on the ground floor. I must say that in our discussions, we had several ideas (spa, café, microbrewery, etc.), in short, there was no longer any space to work. (…) But by bringing back a serious and practical approach, office spaces would be a good idea because it kills two birds with one stone. We could have jobs close to residences, thus reducing traffic. If it’s the residents of the neighborhood who work there, within a radius of one to three kilometers, we don’t create any parking problems, there’s no need to waste too much space on parking, and no additional traffic. In fact, we would create pedestrian traffic, which is simply useful and makes the neighborhood more vibrant.

Just imagine what daily life could be like with this missing element in the mosaic of what our neighborhood could be: ambition and vision. With a delicious coffee to accompany this croissant, one can almost dream of being in one of those European neighborhoods (with a lot of imagination), or, more realistically, a small village where ties are tightly woven, where people can greet each other in the morning while having their coffee (or their smoothie, as they prefer!).

A quick search using the City’s interactive map reveals that the site is zoned for Minor Corridor 2. Among the various possibilities, office buildings, including a ground-floor café, would be a good fit. Ideally, I envision a government office building, given the high proportion of civil servants in the area. It could also simply be a shared workspace. The goal is for local residents to work there and benefit from it. This would kill two birds with one stone. It could reduce traffic (if some civil servants no longer needed to drive to the nearest shared workspace at Place d’Orléans), or it could simply provide office space for local residents to use for office work.

By creating minimal parking for this building, we avoid wasting space and generate almost no additional traffic. On the contrary, we could revitalize a sleepy neighbourhood. A radius of one to three kilometers is easily accessible by active transportation. By placing the office building in the heart of a residential area, we ensure a pool of workers who can easily get there.

The landscaping would also be carefully planned. We know that we will soon lose 165 different plant species with the creation of a new neighbourhood behind the Francois-Dupuis Community Centre (E1 – South Orleans – Wall Road – Future Neighbourhood | Engage Ottawa). We could plan to include several strategic species to compensate for the loss of biodiversity.

So, ready to walk or bike to work, grab your coffee and croissant, and chat as you pass each other on the street?

– Geneviève Mollema