City of Ottawa administrators are advising councillors to approve the purchase of a suburban leased administrative complex at a huge discount.

The city has an option to acquire 6.9 acres of land and the complex for just $12.2 million, including $2.2 million in closing costs, from Arnon Corporation when the lease expires in February 2026.

The property has an estimated value of $84 million to $92 million, according to a city administrators’ report that contains the purchase recommendation.

The complex, named the Mary Pitt Centre, is located at 100 Constellation Drive in the Nepean district near Algonquin College. Many city departments have employees based there, and the property contains the Ottawa Public Health immunization clinic and a provincial courthouse.

“The Mary Pitt Centre, is the largest administrative centre in the city portfolio and integral to the city’s accommodation strategy,” states the report.

The city obtained the purchase option when it assumed the lease from now-defunct Canadian telecommunications giant Nortel Networks in 2003. But city does not have a lease-renewal option, and there is no guarantee that a new lease can be negotiated with Ottawa-base Arnon, administrators warn.

“Not having a right to renew carries significant operational and financial risks as it would be disruptive and costly to relocate out of the Mary Pitt Centre into alternate city facilities and private-sector office accommodation,” states the administrators’ report.

College ward Coun. Laine Johnson supports the purchase recommendation. She told CBC that the property offers several development opportunities that could include rental housing offered at market and below-market rates.

“[It could be] a true mixed community for housing,” Johnson told CBC.

The administrators’ report was to be presented to council’s finance and corporate services committee on Tuesday. City council is slated to vote on the purchase recommendation next week.

The city must notify Arnon whether it will exercise the purchase option by February 2025.

Pictured: Mary Pitt Centre in Ottawa’s Nepean district.

Photo: Arnon Corporation

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