Odayanhaway in the News!
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All In A Day
Representatives from FirstU and OAHS were interviewed on CBC's All In A Day, on June 9! Click HERE to listen to the interview! 
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CBC Online
News of our "Little Village" was also picked up by CBC Online, on June 12! Click HERE to read the CBC Article 
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Other Press
CUC eNews Article on FirstU's historic vote Cahdco Statement from Taarshi Raghaven OAHS Statement by Sarah McBain 
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First Unitarian Ottawa and Partners Unveil Plans for ‘Odayanhaway’:
A Little Village of Sustainable and Affordable Housing
~Sarah McBain
A Little Village of Sustainable and Affordable Housing
~Sarah McBain
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The First Unitarian Congregation of Ottawa (FirstU) and its partners Cahdco, Ontario Aboriginal Housing Services (OAHS), and Theia Partners are thrilled to announce their upcoming housing development project located on Cleary Avenue, unofficially titled “Odayanhaway”, a word in Ojibwe meaning “Little Village”.
The master plan of the project involves two new buildings and programs to help provide much-needed affordable housing to the Ottawa community with themes of reconciliation, prosperity, and sustainability. The first building will be approximately 50 units of affordable housing and will be owned and operated by OAHS. The second building, a planned 16-storey mixed market/affordable rental building, will be jointly owned by FirstU and Theia Partners, a real estate development company rooted in strong values of inclusion, affordability, and sustainability. Overall, the project will provide over 200 families with a beautiful place to call home. |
Project partners standing on the proposed grounds for new affordable housing on the campus of First Unitarian Congregation of Ottawa. From left to right: Rev Eric Meter (Minister, FirstU), Rodney Wilts (Theia Partners), Brent Nicolle (Board president, FirstU), Cathy Connor (Director of Housing Development, OAHS), Justin Marchand (CEO, OAHS)
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Both new buildings will be close to existing greenspace along the Ottawa River, as well as a new light-rail transit (LRT) station currently under construction. The project’s transformation of underutilized parking spaces, the site’s convenient access to new public transit, integration with existing gardens, and expected energy-efficiency design choices help to fulfill the project’s environmental sustainability goal.
Much momentum from the project was kick-started in 2021 with FirstU’s Campus Planning Committee meeting with Cahdco to discuss how to build more affordable housing on their six-acre property. The desire for this project came from FirstU seeing the opportunity to transform their campus on Cleary and achieve their goals of meeting community needs and preserving the green space and environment.
Early on, Graeme Hussey, President of Cahdco, provided explanatory workshops on affordable housing and introduced FirstU’s Board of Directors to Theia Partners and OAHS.
“Cahdco listened to FirstU to understand their values & priorities, which included creating affordable housing, reconciliation and addressing climate change,” Hussey recalls. “OAHS & Theia are the ideal partners to help realize this vision.”
With OAHS’s roots in the Ottawa Indigenous community and significant asset base throughout Ontario, FirstU felt confident in the partnership to not only provide affordable housing solutions to the development project, but through the two organizations' parallel values.
“Ontario Aboriginal Housing Services is proud to partner with FirstU, Cahdco, and Theia Partners on this significant housing development in Ottawa,” says Cora McGuire-Cyrette, Board Chair of OAHS. “We are pleased with their willingness to collaborate with Ontario Aboriginal Housing Services on housing that is designed, developed, and delivered by and for Indigenous people. This partnership showcases how organizations can come together to make a real difference in the lives of Indigenous people in urgent need of housing. We hope that this project will serve as a model for future partnerships and collaborations, and we are excited to see the positive impact it will have on the community."
Much momentum from the project was kick-started in 2021 with FirstU’s Campus Planning Committee meeting with Cahdco to discuss how to build more affordable housing on their six-acre property. The desire for this project came from FirstU seeing the opportunity to transform their campus on Cleary and achieve their goals of meeting community needs and preserving the green space and environment.
Early on, Graeme Hussey, President of Cahdco, provided explanatory workshops on affordable housing and introduced FirstU’s Board of Directors to Theia Partners and OAHS.
“Cahdco listened to FirstU to understand their values & priorities, which included creating affordable housing, reconciliation and addressing climate change,” Hussey recalls. “OAHS & Theia are the ideal partners to help realize this vision.”
With OAHS’s roots in the Ottawa Indigenous community and significant asset base throughout Ontario, FirstU felt confident in the partnership to not only provide affordable housing solutions to the development project, but through the two organizations' parallel values.
“Ontario Aboriginal Housing Services is proud to partner with FirstU, Cahdco, and Theia Partners on this significant housing development in Ottawa,” says Cora McGuire-Cyrette, Board Chair of OAHS. “We are pleased with their willingness to collaborate with Ontario Aboriginal Housing Services on housing that is designed, developed, and delivered by and for Indigenous people. This partnership showcases how organizations can come together to make a real difference in the lives of Indigenous people in urgent need of housing. We hope that this project will serve as a model for future partnerships and collaborations, and we are excited to see the positive impact it will have on the community."
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Rodney Wilts, Partner of Theia Partners, is just as enthusiastic. “We are ecstatic to be working with such incredible partners on an amazing development,” Wilts exclaims. “Affordable housing, reconciliation and climate change are some of the most pressing issues of today and this project makes a tangible response on all three. We think it is a great model for other Churches and non-profits.”
Over the past year, there has been much consultation with the Congregation and its campus partners on how best to transform the campus. The campus partners include a seniors’ residence, a daycare centre, and a Jewish reconstructionist synagogue, all of whom rent space from FirstU. Consultation included a design workshop, and several town hall meetings for the development partners to present options and hear concerns. Relationships strengthened and by March 27, 2023, members of the Congregation voted in favour of proceeding with the housing project of affordable and market-rental housing on its campus. |
“The Congregation’s decision to proceed with the project is a significant milestone for FirstU,” says Brent Nicolle, president of the Board of the Congregation. “It simultaneously advances toward four goals: providing affordable housing, making a tangible step toward Indigenous reconciliation, building an environmentally responsible choice for our planet, and aiming for future financial stability to the Congregation. I am enormously pleased to see FirstU living its values with this project.”
The development partners recognize that there is much consultation with the neighbourhood and the city ahead, and that building a village requires community engagement. Coming together is the key to major developments like this, and the shared values of all project partners including innovation, sustainability, respect, and reconciliation make this collaboration a strong and exciting example of what can be accomplished in a community like Ottawa or anywhere across Canada.
The development partners recognize that there is much consultation with the neighbourhood and the city ahead, and that building a village requires community engagement. Coming together is the key to major developments like this, and the shared values of all project partners including innovation, sustainability, respect, and reconciliation make this collaboration a strong and exciting example of what can be accomplished in a community like Ottawa or anywhere across Canada.
For more information, please contact:
Brent Nicolle, Board President, First Unitarian Congregation of Ottawa
C: 613-261-2736
O: 613-725-1066
E: president@firstunitarianottawa.ca
About First Unitarian Congregation of Ottawa
First Unitarian Congregation of Ottawa (FirstU) has occupied its current location at 30 Cleary Avenue
since 1967, where it shares a six-acre campus with a seniors' residence and a daycare. As a Unitarian-Universalist congregation, we strive to find concrete ways to live our Eight Principles, which include recognizing the inherent worth and dignity of everyone, seeking a responsible search for truth and meaning, and respecting the interdependent web of all life. You can find out more at www.firstunitarianottawa.ca.
About Cahdco
Cahdco is a non-profit real estate development corporation and related to Centretown Citizens Ottawa Corporation (CCOC). Cahdco develops affordable housing in Ottawa and Eastern Ontario area and combines the experience and resources of CCOC with a team of development, construction, and project management experts. In 2023, Cahdco launched the Toolbox+, a national coaching and mentoring program to increase affordable housing development capacity.
About Ontario Aboriginal Housing Services
Founded in 1994, Ontario Aboriginal Housing Services provides safe and affordable housing to urban and rural First Nation, Inuit, and Métis people in Ontario. Our vision is to lead the design, development, and delivery of a sustainable and culturally-appropriate continuum of housing. We are governed by representatives from three Indigenous organizations in Ontario – the Ontario Federation of Indigenous Friendship Centres, Ontario Native Women’s Association, and the Métis Nation of Ontario. Learn more at ontarioaboriginalhousing.ca.
About Theia Partners
Theia Partners is a values-based development company with expertise in socially and environmentally sustainable real estate and renewables-based energy projects. Theia is best known for its groundbreaking work at Zibi, the first endorsed One Planet Community in Canada, a 4 million square foot redevelopment with a mix of affordable and market housing, powered by a zero carbon district energy system.
Brent Nicolle, Board President, First Unitarian Congregation of Ottawa
C: 613-261-2736
O: 613-725-1066
E: president@firstunitarianottawa.ca
About First Unitarian Congregation of Ottawa
First Unitarian Congregation of Ottawa (FirstU) has occupied its current location at 30 Cleary Avenue
since 1967, where it shares a six-acre campus with a seniors' residence and a daycare. As a Unitarian-Universalist congregation, we strive to find concrete ways to live our Eight Principles, which include recognizing the inherent worth and dignity of everyone, seeking a responsible search for truth and meaning, and respecting the interdependent web of all life. You can find out more at www.firstunitarianottawa.ca.
About Cahdco
Cahdco is a non-profit real estate development corporation and related to Centretown Citizens Ottawa Corporation (CCOC). Cahdco develops affordable housing in Ottawa and Eastern Ontario area and combines the experience and resources of CCOC with a team of development, construction, and project management experts. In 2023, Cahdco launched the Toolbox+, a national coaching and mentoring program to increase affordable housing development capacity.
About Ontario Aboriginal Housing Services
Founded in 1994, Ontario Aboriginal Housing Services provides safe and affordable housing to urban and rural First Nation, Inuit, and Métis people in Ontario. Our vision is to lead the design, development, and delivery of a sustainable and culturally-appropriate continuum of housing. We are governed by representatives from three Indigenous organizations in Ontario – the Ontario Federation of Indigenous Friendship Centres, Ontario Native Women’s Association, and the Métis Nation of Ontario. Learn more at ontarioaboriginalhousing.ca.
About Theia Partners
Theia Partners is a values-based development company with expertise in socially and environmentally sustainable real estate and renewables-based energy projects. Theia is best known for its groundbreaking work at Zibi, the first endorsed One Planet Community in Canada, a 4 million square foot redevelopment with a mix of affordable and market housing, powered by a zero carbon district energy system.
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Neighbourhood Town Hall
On Thursday, May 18, the First Unitarian Congregation of Ottawa (FirstU) welcomed nearby residents to an online Neighbourhood Town Hall, where we at FirstU - joined by representatives from Theia (developer), Figurr (architect), and OAHS (indigenous housing) - presented our Affordable Housing plans, answered questions, and heard concerns from our neighbours. If you missed the Town Hall, you can watch it here (right) to see what questions came up and how they were answered. |
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Firstu votes to proceed with affordable housing plan!
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Dear congregants and friends of FirstU,
At a Special Congregational Meeting on Monday evening, March 27th, 2023, members of FirstU voted in favour of proceeding with developing affordable and market-rental housing on its campus. The results were overwhelmingly supportive: 95% in favour of the overall Master Concept Plan, 93% in favour of Affordable/Market housing, and 97% in favour of Indigenous housing. This decision is transformative. It will eventually see the creation of two new buildings on our campus, and provide over 200 families with integrated rental |
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accommodation at various levels of affordability, from market rates to deep affordability. Campus residents and visitors will benefit from a new LRT station. New amenities will be added to our campus, and our beloved meditation gardens will remain intact for all to enjoy.
This decision was not easy. For some, the coming transformation is very difficult to imagine, and we listened to each others' concerns respectfully.
This decision is significant. It brings us closer to four goals: providing affordable housing, making a tangible step toward Indigenous reconciliation, creating an environmentally sensitive place to live, and aiming for the future financial stability of the Congregation.
Thank you to everyone who made this achievement possible. I am proud to see us live our values like this.
Brent Nicolle
President, FirstU Board
president@firstunitarianottawa.ca
This decision was not easy. For some, the coming transformation is very difficult to imagine, and we listened to each others' concerns respectfully.
This decision is significant. It brings us closer to four goals: providing affordable housing, making a tangible step toward Indigenous reconciliation, creating an environmentally sensitive place to live, and aiming for the future financial stability of the Congregation.
Thank you to everyone who made this achievement possible. I am proud to see us live our values like this.
Brent Nicolle
President, FirstU Board
president@firstunitarianottawa.ca
why ONTARIO ABORIGINAL HOUSING SERVICES (OAHS)
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In June the Campus Planning Committee (CPC) initiated an onsite due diligence process with representatives of the Ontario Aboriginal Housing Services (OAHS) to determine if OAHS met FirstU’s detailed criteria for an affordable housing partner. The criteria were established by the CPC and supported by the FirstU Board.
Based on input from our affordable housing consultants (Cahdco), we had earlier identified OAHS as being a candidate organization that met our initial objectives. Other local potential partners had been considered, but screened out by Cahdco as not being in a position to participate in the FirstU project for a variety of reasons, including other commitments, lack of funding, and not having the necessary experience with buildings of the scale FirstU is contemplating. OAHS was represented by their Executive Director and four senior staff for a series of meetings lasting much of the afternoon and evening. The CPC and various Board members spent 2 hours interviewing OAHS on the specific due diligence questions. |
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Following that, the OAHS group was introduced to other leaders and staff of FirstU, as well as to our campus partners. This group had an opportunity to hear about OAHS’ experience in affordable housing and their plans for building housing at FirstU, as well as being able to query OAHS in a variety of areas. OAHS then took a tour of River Parkway Childcare Centre and Unitarian House, meeting with staff and others at each location and fielding questions. To complete the day, members of the Board and CPC attended a dinner with the OAHS representatives.
We learned a great deal about OAHS through this multi-stage process. OAHS serves 11,000 people every day (both residents of buildings they manage and non-residents), and are preparing themselves to serve as many as 90,000 more across Ontario, including both indigenous and non-indigenous residents. Their governance model and mission is rooted in community. They provide a broad variety of programs to their residents and others. Their core business is property management, and they have 2600 units currently under their management. They have expanded supportive housing programs, and regularly partner with community organizations. They have 150 colleagues/employees, of which 80% are indigenous. We learned that:
Their indigenous connections to Ottawa are impressive: they have relationships with the Inuit Children’s Centre, Wabinaw, Gignal, the Friendship Centre, Ontario Native Women’s and Minwashan. One of their most successful programs offered to residents is Homeward Bound, which focuses on helping mothers get education, employment and training so they can make a better life for their families.
From a financial perspective, OAHS has a significant asset base and a favourable ability to raise money for construction. They are driven to create as many deeply affordable units as possible (at least 10% of the units are rented at 25% of income). They also offer a support function that provides subsidies.
After the meetings, members of the CPC and the Board were asked to provide their comments about whether or not OAHS met the criteria for an affordable housing partner. The responses were unanimous in favour of entering into a relationship with OAHS. The CPC therefore made its recommendation to the Board to partner with the OAHS as our affordable housing partner. The Board subsequently accepted the recommendation. So, we are moving forward with OAHS as our affordable housing partner and several FirstU members within the Board and CPC intend to travel in the near future to Peterborough to view one of the OAHS facilities.
We learned a great deal about OAHS through this multi-stage process. OAHS serves 11,000 people every day (both residents of buildings they manage and non-residents), and are preparing themselves to serve as many as 90,000 more across Ontario, including both indigenous and non-indigenous residents. Their governance model and mission is rooted in community. They provide a broad variety of programs to their residents and others. Their core business is property management, and they have 2600 units currently under their management. They have expanded supportive housing programs, and regularly partner with community organizations. They have 150 colleagues/employees, of which 80% are indigenous. We learned that:
- OAHS welcomes people of all backgrounds to live in their buildings.
- OAHS would offer a range of affordable housing in a building on our campus from deeply affordable to "rent to income" to just below market rent.
- OAHS owns a fair number of multiple unit dwellings across Ontario and is experienced in property management.
- OAHS has experience in working with local service providers to offer supports to residents in their buildings.
- Several of OAHS' buildings have daycares located in them which is considered a support service to parents attending school or working.
- OAHS controls their own application process. This means that First U members could apply to live in their building, if they qualify as low income households.
- OAHS has connections with Ottawa area Indigenous organizations like Gignul, Odawa Friendship Centre etc.
Their indigenous connections to Ottawa are impressive: they have relationships with the Inuit Children’s Centre, Wabinaw, Gignal, the Friendship Centre, Ontario Native Women’s and Minwashan. One of their most successful programs offered to residents is Homeward Bound, which focuses on helping mothers get education, employment and training so they can make a better life for their families.
From a financial perspective, OAHS has a significant asset base and a favourable ability to raise money for construction. They are driven to create as many deeply affordable units as possible (at least 10% of the units are rented at 25% of income). They also offer a support function that provides subsidies.
After the meetings, members of the CPC and the Board were asked to provide their comments about whether or not OAHS met the criteria for an affordable housing partner. The responses were unanimous in favour of entering into a relationship with OAHS. The CPC therefore made its recommendation to the Board to partner with the OAHS as our affordable housing partner. The Board subsequently accepted the recommendation. So, we are moving forward with OAHS as our affordable housing partner and several FirstU members within the Board and CPC intend to travel in the near future to Peterborough to view one of the OAHS facilities.
Campus Development Meeting - March 27, 2021
On March 27, 2021, the Campus Planning Committee held a zoom meeting forr FirstU about how we and our partners (Unitarian House, River Parkway Children's Centre and Or Haneshamah) might move forward with developing our six acre property while achieving our goals of environmental protection, green space preservation, and providing for local community needs. Below you can watch Part One and Part Two of that meeting.
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Affordable Housing Presentations by CAHDCO
Use the buttons, below, to download PDF documents from CAHDCO - a non-profit real estate development corporation, and sister to Centretown Citizens Ottawa Corporation, that develops affordable housing and social purpose real estate and provides consulting in the Ottawa area - to learn more about developing affordable housing in Ottawa and on the FirstU Campus in particular.
