Ottawa Community Housing acquires 503 units in Craig Henry in largest deal in its history

Ottawa Community Housing has acquired 503 rental units from the Minto Group in the Craig Henry neighbourhood, marking the organization's largest acquisition to date. The transaction went live on OCH's website on September 17, bringing 369 townhomes and two apartment buildings into OCH's ARRIV Properties portfolio, an affordable rental housing program separate from traditional rent-geared-to-income housing.

Of the 503 homes, 491 have two or more bedrooms. The acquisition is intended to protect long-term affordability for family-sized rental housing and help bridge the gap between social housing and Ottawa's private rental market.

But the announcement caught many residents off guard. Mike Yearly, a Craig Henry townhouse resident for just over three years, said he had no advance notice. "I should have noticed. There might have been some signs that something was going on," he told the Ottawa Citizen. Residents have called for more transparency from the city, with ward councillor candidate Cole Fraser Jones saying his campaign inbox has been "exploding" with concerns from Ward 9. "You've got a $150 million purchase of 500 homes and nobody knew what was going on," Fraser Jones said in an interview.

Councillor Sean Devine, seeking re-election in Knoxdale-Merivale, acknowledged the secrecy in a written statement: "Because the transaction was still being finalized until Sept. 16, I was not at liberty to discuss it publicly before today's announcement." His office said it was aware of the proposed acquisition "for a while" and remained in contact with OCH and Minto throughout the transfer.

Under OCH ownership, existing tenants can remain in their homes and will not be required to submit income verification. The acquisition is part of Ottawa's broader efforts to preserve affordable family homes.