Overview of the Proposed Development

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In March 2025, Island Park Drive residents learned through media reports that the The Royal Ottawa Health Care Group was in discussions to grant Ottawa Community Housing a 75-year, no-cost lease on three acres of land at the Royal Ottawa Hospital campus. The proposed development—a 160-unit apartment complex—aims to provide long-term housing for individuals and their families undergoing addictions recovery. If approved, the facility could accommodate up to 300-residents and would be the first of its kind. The complex is to be named Matthew Perry House.

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Under the plan, the property ownership will be transferred to Ottawa Community Housing, at which time the Royal Ottawa will have no association with the Project. 

 

Because the zoning being transferred by the Royal is Institutional, the plan is to have two Ottawa not-for-profit organisations--Ottawa Salus Corporation, manage the project, while addictions treatment services would be delivered by Rideauwood Addictions and Family Services

 

​Funding and Accountability Concerns

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Long-term funding for this Project raises several concerns for our community, especially considering the recent Ottawa Auditor General’s Report indicating improvements by the City of Ottawa are necessary to its supportive housing strategy after finding a “disjointed” approach to the city’s distribution of funding for programs and services.

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The audit found the current strategy “places greater pressures on other front-line services like police, paramedics and hospitals.”​ See key quotes from the audit on the right, or see the full Auditor General’s Report.

 

​​Who Is (and Isn’t) Involved

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The Capital costs to construct the Matthew Perry House Project’s capital are expected to be covered through a combination of federal, provincial, and municipal housing programs. Notably, the Royal Ottawa Hospital is not a partner in the project, nor will it have any role in delivering care or programming once the property’s institutional zoning is transferred. 

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Despite lending its name to the project, the Matthew Perry Foundation Canada does not appear to provide direct funding or program oversight. The Foundation currently offers no direct, publicly accessible funding and does not disclose details about its internal programs. The facility will carry the Matthew Perry House name.

 

IPCA Board Response and Resolutions

 

On April 10, 2025, the Island Park Community Association Board of Directors passed a series of formal resolutions in response to the proposed Matthew Perry House development on the Royal Ottawa Hospital campus. The Board is calling on the project’s proponents to protect existing green space and tree canopies by locating the development on the hospital’s parking lot  closer to Carling and Meriville Road, two major traffic corridors.

 

The Association is also urging the Royal Ottawa Mental Health Centre to suspend all lease negotiations related to the project until key conditions are met.  These include completing and publicly sharing:

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(1) an independent alternative site assessment to explore placing the development on the parking lot,

(2) a full independent traffic study of Byng Avenue and Island Park Drive, and

(3) a plan for meaningful, transparent consultation with the community that fully addresses environmental, social, safety, and infrastructure concerns.

Find the IPCA resolutions below.

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The Board has committed to working cooperatively with community members and stakeholders to ensure these issues are addressed before the project proceeds.

 

A community consultation website has been created for community and proponent project updates and input.