By ANAÏS VOSKI, OTTAWA CITIZEN – Published on: May 31, 2015
Interest was high in the much-anticipated Zibi condo project, as hundreds of people lined up to attend the sales launch on Saturday.
And within hours of the unveiling, more than a dozen apartments were sold in the first six-storey building called “O.”
The name of the 65-unit building is, in part, a play on the French word for water, eau, as the first building has prime views of the Ottawa River, Parliament Hill, Chaudière Falls and downtown Ottawa.
Condos in the unit ranged in price from $190,000 to about $750,000, depending on amenities, and buyers should be able to move in by the spring of 2017.
The Zibi project is the Windmill Development Group and Dream Unlimited Corp.’s large-scale sustainable development and redevelopment project on the dilapidated site of the former Domtar property, between Ottawa and Gatineau.
The name “Zibi” – the Algonquin word for river – is recognition of the Algonquin presence in the region and their inclusion in the project. Just last week, Windmill vowed to provide jobs and collaborate with the local Algonquin people.
“Being included in this project and event is a great opportunity. I’m happy to be a part of something that will take these old buildings and make them into something beautiful,” said Marie-Cecile Nottaway, owner of Wawatay Catering.
“We’ve been told that we’re the only private sector developer to ever approach the local native communities, and we recognize what a critical component that is,” said Windmill partner Rodney Wilts.
Wilts added that Zibi aims to be one the world’s greenest communities, with almost one-quarter of the mixed-use residential and commercial site as green space, including bike paths and parks.
