The landmark Canadian Nurses Association headquarters near the Rideau Canal is proposed for redevelopment under a revised concept, bringing a new intensification project to the Golden Triangle neighbourhood.

The CNA wants to build nine storeys of condo suites on its land at 50 The Driveway and stitch the new mid-rise building into the facade of the existing 55-year-old office structure.

The application is another example of infill development coming to an established community in close proximity to an LRT station, though when it comes to the Golden Triangle, it’s not an area that has experienced a high number of redevelopment proposals requiring city planning approvals.

The mostly low-rise community is sandwiched between Elgin Street and the Rideau Canal, south of city hall. The Corktown Bridge provides access to uOttawa Station on the Confederation Line, and when it comes to the CNA property, it falls within the key 600-metre radius often cited for good transit-orientated developments. The CNA development application says it’s a 522-metre walk to the LRT station.

To build the project, the CNA will need city council’s permission to amend the property zoning and the official plan to allow mid-rise development on the land.

In recent weeks, the CNA, along with its design firm, Hobin Architecture, and planning consultant J.L. Richards and Associates, have filed a new concept for the complex that proposes to increase the number of units and pay homage to the existing building’s most distinctive architectural feature.

According to an application resubmission in December, the project calls for 87 condo units, 11 more than the previous submission last July, with the average size of a unit set at 1,150 square feet, compared to the previous iteration’s 1,550 square feet.

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