Development to transit: Orléans Councillor Matthew Luloff talks about what’s shaping his community

Like many parts of the city, Ottawa’s east end is growing at a rapid rate. But unlike suburbs to the west, communities like Orléans don’t seem to get much media attention. So what is going on in the neighbourhood that’s home to over 140,000 people? We sat down with Orléans East-Cumberland city councillor Matthew Luloff to find out. 

Answers have been edited for length and clarity. 

Roads and infrastructure

Lookout: I’ve received countless emails from Lookout readers who have commented on the sheer amount of construction happening in the east end throughout the summer. Has this year been worse than most?

Luloff: The east end is coming of age now. There are some areas, like Queenswood Heights and Cumberland Village, that haven't quite received the amount of attention that perhaps they should have over the years. Lately, we’ve seen a lot of repaving and water main work through the neighbourhood with the finishing of Tompkins Avenue last summer. Now crews are working on Cambrian Heights, beginning with Moffatt. We have a new crossing near Cumberland Village at Cameron. We are one of the fastest-growing communities in the country. 

Lookout: East end councillors have often been quoted as saying they often get the short end of the stick compared to the western parts of the city. As we head into the 2026 budget, which is going to be another difficult one, what’s on your wish list?

Luloff: The east end is slightly less populous than the West and South End put together. So I think that there is a level of understanding, but that can only go so far. 

We're growing very quickly right now, and we need to ensure that our infrastructure is keeping pace with development. At the top of my wish list is the continuation of what we've been doing for the last seven years, doing road and pathway and pedestrian facility renewal. I want to see our ageing recreation infrastructure replaced and renewed.

We're going to have to work with other orders of government to continue to build the pedestrian bridge over the 174 connecting the north to the south, near Petrie Island and Trim Road. The longer that we wait to make these investments, the more the construction costs go up. Construction inflation is real. 

Regular inflation is real. And the more major projects that the city has going on at the same time — things like the LeBreton Flats redevelopment, the new public library, the work that's being done by the federal government on Centre Block, the new power station, Lansdowne 2.0 — these major construction projects lead to a shortage of labour for other projects. 

Transit and light rail

Lookout: It looks like Stage 2 light rail is finally on track to start running through Orléans by the end of this year. How do you expect that to change the public transit experience for commuters? 

Luloff: It's been a busy summer of renewal with the finishing stations, starting some of the testing on the tracks. The stage two construction team has been working on the final pavements of our ramps on the highway and the highway itself. 

The community is cut off from the rest of the city currently. We were quite well served by the transit way. Having that under construction for six years has been very challenging. It's forced a lot of people off of public transit, which is not what we want. That’s led to a lot of traffic snarls. East-end residents are hopeful having a light rail connection will allow people to move quickly and frequently east to west in our city. 

We are desperate for a fix because it's been very difficult. Not only did we lose the transit way, but at the same time, the 174 has been locked in construction gridlock for half a decade at this point. And you have to remember, too, that during the pandemic, a lot of people took the opportunity because of work from home to purchase homes outside of the city's limits — despite the fact that they still worked downtown. And so that pushed a lot of people into Rockland and much further east. 

Increased development

Lookout: Is the addition of light rail paving a path for new transit-oriented development in your ward?

Luloff: We are certainly seeing a lot of interest a stone's throw away from Trim Station. We have the continuation of the Brigil project. They are now finishing Tower four, and we'll begin construction on Tower 5A and 5B, which will add much-needed density around the transit hub. We are also seeing applications along Jean d’Arc. 

We're seeing an 18-storey building at the corner of Duford Drive and St. Joseph Boulevard, which is just across from the mall that has underground parking. There are also low-rise and medium-density apartments in the area behind St. Joseph. 

We've worked on the Orleans Economic Court Corridor Study, which became the Orléans Secondary Plan, which really allows for more density along the rail corridor to allow for that transit-oriented development to happen. We have the Harmonized Orleans Community Improvement Plan that provides property tax relief, a relief for those who are building in and around the transit corridor. We have grants and an affordable housing CIP as well. We don't just want to see density for the sake of density around this corridor, but meaningful density that ensures that we're also creating a level of affordability. 

We want people to be able to remain in the community after they age out of their homes. Many of these people are seniors who helped build our community. We don't want them to have to downsize to another area of the city. We need to see more one, two, and three-bedroom apartments. One developer is going to begin shortly building a larger retirement lifestyle building on Centrum Boulevard, where you'll have two medium-sized towers with amenities on a ground floor space. 

Lansdowne 2.0

• Background: In November, city council will vote on the highly controversial Lansdowne 2.0 project that includes reduced seating in both the new arena and north-side stands. Greenspace would be lost, and the area would be under construction for over a decade. Opponents against the project say the money can be spent better on other city projects. Only four councillors need to change their votes for the file to fail, but the Ontario government recently confirmed it would put some money into the project if it passes. More details will be announced in weeks, including the updated full cost of the project. 

Lookout: Earlier in your remarks, you mentioned Lansdowne 2.0. You were one of the many city councillors who supported the plan during a vote in 2024. When the matter goes before council on Nov. 7, I’m wondering if you are still planning to support it?

Luloff: We own that stadium and that arena, and they are not serviceable at this time. They cannot attract the events that are befitting a G7 Capital. We can’t bid on big-ticket events right now because we don't have the sports facilities to host them. 

The last time that we had the curling championships here in Ottawa, they had to deploy volunteers into the ceiling to squeeze water away from the cracks so that water wouldn't land on the ice. That’s some third-world stuff. Ottawa deserves a mid-level municipal sports facility that we can be proud of.

Barrhaven West Coun. David Hill and I and others have talked about the possibility of hosting something like the Invictus Games here in Ottawa one day. We are also the city with the most veterans in the country. There's no better place to do that than in a multisport facility that's close to Carleton University and the RA Centre which could supplement that

We could either divest ourselves of it and sell it to somebody else, or we can make improvements to it that we desperately need. We had the Renegades before, we had the Rough Riders before that. We don't want to lose these teams because the facilities that they're using are crumbling. 

But maybe in the future we should ask ourselves if the municipal government should be involved in a major sports facility like this. That's a decent question and a debate that should probably happen at council. 

Lookout: You raise some very interesting points and ideas there, but how do you anticipate attracting big events like the Invictus Games if you’re removing about 3,000 seats from the North-side stands and around 4,300 seats from the arena?

Luloff: This is something that I raised in the beginning. I would have liked to have seen it be bigger. The PWHL team is breaking attendance records. But I also understand that there are budgetary restrictions and space restrictions as well. We can't have everything that we want. 

The lighter side

Lookout: For someone like me who doesn’t know Orléans that well, what would you say makes it such a great place to live? And are there any local spots you’d recommend people check out?

Luloff: I grew up here. It's the people and the culture. We've got a large Francophone population that enriches our culture. We've got a great Caribbean community. We've got a large number of Ukrainians, Asians, and people from Southwest Asia. 

We're not all big-box retailers and restaurants. We have great family-owned businesses like Black Walnut Bakery, Corner Bar & Grill, Bite Burger House, and Cucina da Vito. These are truly local gems, and I cannot think of a better place to grow up and raise your kids. 

If you're looking for other places to visit, there are natural gems like the Mer Bleue Bog, the Bill Holland Trail at Petrie Island and the Cumberland Village Heritage Museum. I recommend you visit at Christmas because it’s just full of light and spirit.