Options for Homes should come to Ottawa!

[1overcosc]

Options for Homes is a condo developer that I would love to see come to Ottawa.

They've built projects in Toronto and Kingston (maybe elsewhere as well, I don't know), that are extremely cheap.

They do the following to cut prices:
-Absolutely no marketing whatsoever. They just make a Facebook page, twitter account, and put up a sign in front of the construction site, and let word of mouth and social media do the trick.
-No sales centres. They'll rent a dirt cheap office space and show people floorplans in there.
-Buy land in places where its cheap. In Kingston that was the north end of downtown--in Ottawa it would likely be Vanier or Beechwood.
-Minimal amenities. Their buildings don't have pools, concierges or lounges. Just the units themselves with some parking. Cuts down on both purchase prices & condo fees.
-They're a not-for-profit corporation. They aim to just break even on each project instead of making a profit. They see themselves as a charity who gives the poor the chance to own their own housing. I heard (don't know for sure) that they actually take steps to stop investors from buying their units.

Their prices are often $50k-$100k cheaper than the typical market rates. In Kingston they were even selling some units for as low as $210 per square foot. While the units are obviously less desirable due to lack of amenities and such, they tap into the low-end of the market where lots of unmet demand is.

I'd love to see them do some projects in places like Vanier or Overbrook where land is cheap. Maybe they could even build near the Confederation Line stations along the 417 (St. Laurent, Cyrville, etc.) that are undesirable for most developers (=cheap land!) because of its proximity to the highway and industrial setting.