Wedged between Chaudière Falls and Victoria Island, the old Domtar industrial lands presents an opportunity to restore a historically-rich, but currently contaminated and abandoned industrial space into a vibrant, bustling, eco-community.
Sadly, the site has been inaccessible to the public for approximately 200 years. Initial estimates of the costs to remediate and restore the land and the waterfront is in excess of $125 million.
Our vision is to transform this derelict and fenced off property into the world’s most sustainable community, providing public access to sections of the waterfront that have been closed off for generations. It will be a new way for the residents and tourists from all over the world to experience and appreciate the natural splendor of the Ottawa River and the Chaudière Falls, as well as the culture and heritage of Ottawa’s Founding Nations: The First Nations, the French, and the English.
These industrial lands are part of a larger area considered of cultural and historical importance to the Algonquin People and many others. As such, we are fully committed to engaging with the Algonquins, ensuring their culture, heritage, and presence are integral to the development.
Windmill is recognized for being one of the most collaborative and greenest developers in the world. We believe that urban development and nature don’t have to be mutually exclusive, nor should people and their activities be separate from nature. It’s one of the reasons we have targeted the creation of North America’s first mixed-use One Planet community, one of the strictest and most rigorous sustainability frameworks that will guide the decisions we make for the site.
We are the only developer in North America to have achieved LEED Platinum on all its mixed-use projects. Dockside Green, a model sustainable community we built in Victoria, BC, was selected by the Clinton Foundation’s Clinton Climate Initiative and the U.S. Green Building Council as one of 16 projects in the world (across 6 continents) that demonstrate cities can grow in ways that are positive for the environment.
