1010 Somerset Community Hub

Engagement with École élémentaire publique Louise-Arbour

As part of the Plouffe Park redesign process, City staff and consultants from Fotenn recently met with students at École élémentaire publique Louise-Arbour to gather their ideas and feedback on the future of the park.

Students were invited to share what they would like to see included in the redesigned space, recognizing that they will be regular users of the park and will use it as play and green space during the school day. Their input will help inform the ongoing design process and ensure the park meets the needs of young people in the community.

Some of the key themes that emerged from the discussion included:

• More trees and green space
• A soccer field for recreational play
• A hockey rink and opportunities for winter activities

Thank you to the students and staff at École élémentaire publique Louise-Arbour for taking the time to participate and share their ideas. Community feedback continues to play an important role in shaping the future of Plouffe Park as part of the 1010 Somerset project.

Onsite demolition

In parallel with the park redesign work, demolition activities on the 1010 Somerset site have now been completed, and the sale of the school block to the Conseil des écoles publiques de l’Est de l’Ontario (CEPEO) has been finalized. These milestones represent important progress in advancing the broader redevelopment project.

The project team will continue engagement activities throughout the summer, including upcoming opportunities for community members to review emerging design concepts and provide additional feedback to help shape the future of the park lands and the new recreation and cultural facility. Further details on participation opportunities will be shared as they become available.

As part of ongoing work at 1010 Somerset Street West, tree removal will take place along the west side of Plouffe Park, beginning Thursday, March 26, Construction of the École élémentaire publique Louise-Arbour will begin following the completion of tree removal.

The tree removal is required to safely advance the next phase of the project. The scheduling of the tree removal is intended to occur before the migratory bird nesting season. All activities will be conducted in alignment with federal and municipal environmental guidelines and City of Ottawa tree protection, safety, and environmental standards. As the site is developed, new trees and vegetation will be planted to restore and enhance the future landscape.

Residents in the area may notice crews and equipment on-site throughout the day. No traffic impacts are expected.

The project team is pleased to share several important updates on the 1010 Somerset redevelopment project.

The amendment to the Official Plan and Zoning By-Law was approved by City Council on June 25, 2025.

The existing decommissioned federal building at 1010 Somerset is slated for demolition in Q1 of 2026.

City Council approved a plan to move the Centre éducatif Pinocchio, a French-language municipal childcare center, to the planned new French-language elementary school at the 1010 Somerset site. In addition, 57 net new Francophone childcare spaces will be created at this location, bringing the total number of children served to 88.

The project team is working closely with the Conseil des écoles publiques de l’Est de l’Ontario (CEPEO) on the land sale for the future Louise Arbour Public Elementary School. This process is underway and progressing well, with the land sale targeted for late 2025. The goal remains for the school to open its doors during the 2027–2028 school year.

Additionally, the project team is seeking proposals with professionals to design a community consultation process focused on the future 1-hectare public parkland and the redesign of existing Plouffe Park. This process will ensure that residents and interest-holders have meaningful opportunities to provide input and feedback and identify priorities for the park’s evolution.

The project team continues to work with various agencies to prepare the site for development.

Finally, engagement opportunities will be posted on this Engage Ottawa page. To receive updates on this project, please subscribe using the Stay Informed feature

The City of Ottawa has initiated the application processes for an Official Plan and Zoning By-law Amendments for the 930 and 1010 Somerset site.

These applications are necessary to carry out the direction provided by Committee and Council in December 2025 to facilitate the development of:

• A new City recreational and cultural facility
• New public parkland
• An elementary school
• Residential buildings
• Elements to support sustainability and greening strategies.

The process for receiving feedback on the proposed amendments has commenced and comments will be welcome up until the time when a recommendation is made to Planning and Housing Committee and City Council, anticipated in the summer of 2025.

Additional information on the Zoning By-law amendment application can be found here.

Additional information on the Official Plan amendment application can be found here.

City Council has approved the 1010 Somerset concept plan on December 11, 2024 and directed staff to proceed with the next stages of planning for the site.

To advance this project, staff will conduct detailed planning work in 2025 and 2026, to 1) create the school site 2) create a framework to examine District Energy options, 3) prepare and apply for a Zoning by-law Amendment and Official Plan Amendment 4) identify the affordable housing opportunity, and 5) complete initial site works.

Planning work for City-owned elements, including the Plant Recreation Centre expansion, park development, and a new recreation and cultural facility will require engaging architects and engineers in 2025. This is the first stage in creating a design for the new City recreation and cultural facility. This work will focus on the planned uses and will include a needs assessment, and public engagement to determine the facility’s functional design.

Staff anticipate returning to Council with a comprehensive work plan to deliver the community hub envisioned for 930 and 1010 Somerset Street no later than Q1 2027. This will include a detailed funding strategy.

The 1010 Somerset project team has compiled the response received on the proposed concept plan into two What We Learned Reports.

These reports summarize the engagement activities, the main themes of the responses received, and how the project team responded to that feedback.

Please access the reports here:

What We Learned Report, June-October 2023 (link)

What We Learned Report, May-August 2024 (link)

The 1010 Somerset project team would like to thank everyone again for taking the time to provide their feedback.

The project team would like to thank those who participated in this phase of public consultation for the 1010 Somerset community hub. Consultations for the concept plan phase is now complete.

For this phase of engagement, the project’s Engage Ottawa page received over 12,300 visits, 1260 survey responses, and hundreds of public comments and feedback.

A virtual meeting was conducted via Zoom on June 26, 2024 to allow members of the public to provide feedback.

The project team held direct meetings with key stakeholders to inform and allow the project team to receive direct feedback.

The project team also conducted drop-in sessions to receive feedback from users of the Plant recreation facility as a means of engaging with impacted residents who otherwise may not have provided feedback via Engage Ottawa, Zoom, or email.

The Staff report and final concept plan will be considered by committee and at City Council.

Future public engagement relating to the design, development of the City facilities will be conducted once Council has approved the development of a recreation project.

Please use the Stay Informed feature to receive updates regarding future phases of this project.

Thank you for your feedback.

On behalf of the project team, we are writing to provide you with an important update regarding the 1010 Somerset engagement.

The City will host a virtual consultation session to review the proposed Final Concept Plan for 1010 Somerset with the general public on Wednesday, June 26 2024. Please send any questions in advance of the session to 1010somerset@ottawa.ca (External link)

You will need to register in advance of the session. Please use this link to register.

Virtual Consultation Session

Date: Wednesday, June 26, 2024

Time: 6:30 pm to 8:00 pm

Location: Zoom (External link)

*Note that registration for each session will be limited to 100 participants. If registrations exceed this maximum, a waitlist will be held.