The Cooper, a 45-unit apartment tower completed last year in downtown Ottawa, was once the site of a 29,400-square-foot building constructed in the mid-1960s. However, the building's owner, SerCo Realty Group, realized the site was better suited for housing since most of the surrounding neighbourhood had already been zoned for residential use. That use also aligned with the city's push to add more residential density in the downtown area.
Located within the Centretown Heritage Conservation District, the building conversion required obtaining a heritage permit. This adaptive reuse project had a few challenges but worked with the city.
Following the redevelopment, the building's facade remained intact, while the main entrance was expanded and relocated closer to the front property line. As judged by a panel of real estate professionals familiar with the market, the project has earned the 2025 CoStar Impact multifamily development award in Ottawa.
About the project: Overall, the project was designed to bring modern, comfortable living to residents and offer carefully curated amenity spaces, the development team said. During the demolition stage, the team opened a showroom just down the street in a nearby office. The project, including land, cost $19 million.
What the judges said: "We need to see more adaptive reuse of our excess office space. We need people living downtown to help revitalize our city," said James McNeil, managing principal and broker of record with JJMcNeil Commercial Inc.
"Being able to repurpose an existing building that was being underutilized has a major impact," added Ben Zunder, vice president and sales representative of CDNGlobal.
"I think The Cooper is located in an area of town which is more challenged than the east end of Ottawa. Office conversions are going to play a much bigger part in solving Ottawa's housing issues, so I feel credit is due for the foresight and risk involved with taking on such a challenge," said Lindsay Hockey, senior vice president and sales representative of Colliers.
"This was a challenging undertaking and one that required re-zoning and creative solution engineering to execute. It provides much-needed housing providing housing in Ottawa's core positioning itself to address and contribute towards the City's goals of additional housing units and downtown revitalization," said Erin Nagy, property director of JLL.
They made it happen: Ottawa-based Serco Residential Holdings, Chmiel Architects and SerCo Realty Group, were responsible for The Cooper office to residential conversion.