Groupe Mach plans to redevelop a vacant former federal building in Ottawa as a multi-residential rental high-rise, the Ottawa Business Journal reported.

Mach will likely demolish the existing building, which previously served as a Department of National Defence office property, Vincent Chiara, Mach’s president, told the OBJ. Montreal-based Mach purchased the 1970s-era building in 2021 from Cominar REIT for $40 million.

Many developers are contemplating, or have already begun, conversions of Ottawa office properties to rental housing. But Mach’s project at O’Connor and Slater streets would involve construction of an entirely new building.

“A lot of those existing buildings don’t convert easily, and the costs of conversion are usually higher than building from scratch,” Chiara told OBJ.

Office-to-residential conversions are gaining momentum in Ottawa, says a new Avison Young report. The OBJ previously reported that two federal office buildings are sitting vacant in the nation’s capital.

The federal government plans to repurpose more of its Ottawa office buildings into residential properties.

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