Councillor moves to reverse city's approval for Tewin development
The 445-hectare development would provide housing for up to 45,000 people
Arthur White-Crummey · CBC News
Posted: Oct 01, 2025 12:53 PM EDT | Last Updated: 2 hours ago
An Ottawa city councillor is taking steps to stop the massive Tewin housing development that council approved four years ago in southeast Ottawa.
Coun. Theresa Kavanagh first floated the idea in the spring, but held off to wait for the results of a byelection in Osgoode ward, where the planned community is located.
Council approved the 445-hectare development in 2021 during a debate about expanding Ottawa's urban boundary. The project, on lands owned by Algonquins of Ontario Realty Corp. and Taggart Group, would provide housing for up to 45,000 people.
While presenting her motion on Wednesday, Kavanagh argued that the cost of providing water and wastewater services to Tewin is simply too high, with a price tag in the hundreds of millions of dollars.
"Tewin's just way out there, and that is a problem," she said. "We're talking about water mains and infrastructure going out in a place where there's no connection to anything. That is very, very expensive, not including the transit system that we would need."
The cost had been estimated at $313 million up to 2046, but that rises to $591 million over a longer timeline. Though the developers have argued that Tewin will pay for itself and much of that sum would be covered by development charges, they've also said they'll only pay for infrastructure that directly benefits the project.
Kavanagh said the city already has enough development lands elsewhere to accommodate expected growth.
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https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/co...approval-for-tewin-development-1.7648110
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