Two residential towers with 543 units proposed near Hintonburg's Corsa Italia station

Two highrises totalling 543 residential units are proposed for a site one block from the Corsa Italia LRT station in Hintonburg, part of a wave of density applications clustering around the O-Train stop.

The application covers a property currently home to a two-storey commercial building (tenants include Happy Goat Coffee and Capital Self Storage) and surface parking lot. Developer Fred Unsworth's team proposes demolishing both and building a 31-storey tower with 264 units and a 33-storey tower with 279 units plus 4,500 square feet of retail space.

Parking would be underground — 124 vehicle spots and 681 bicycle spaces — along with a public park, two additional public spaces and multi-use pathways. Current zoning limits the property to 18 storeys.

Planning documents filed by Fotenn Planning + Design argue that since the neighbourhood's secondary plan was approved, "a major paradigm shift" has occurred. "Universally, it has been accepted that cities like Ottawa must prioritize and accelerate new housing construction in the coming years to adequately address unmet housing demand," the document states, adding that "more growth must be achieved via intensification" around transit hubs.

Hintonburg is already attracting other development near Corsa Italia. CLV Group is proposing three mixed-use highrises (34 to 40 storeys, 930 total units) on a two-acre property at 951 Gladstone Ave. and 145 Loretta Ave. N., which would include office and retail space along Gladstone. A heritage building, the Standard Bread Building, would be integrated into that project. Claridge Homes is currently building a 30-storey rental tower with more than 250 units just north of Corsa Italia at Breezehill and Somerset.

The city's planning and housing committee is scheduled to consider the Breezehill/Laurel application on November 4, 2026.