The City has received Zoning By-law Amendment and Site Plan Control applications to permit the development of a destination recreational complex with an indoor water park, family entertainment centre, 236-room hotel, and restaurant.
The 5.3-hectare, currently vacant site is located at 2775 & 2785 Palladium Drive (as well as an adjacent, unaddressed parcel on Culdaff Road). This is between the Robert Grant roundabout and the 417, across the street from the Palladium Auto Park, and adjacent to the proposed and approved apartments at 2765 Palladium and 670 Dereen Avenue (formerly known as 425 Culdaff Road). The western parking lot will be north of the Connections community. The land further north is owned by the Ontario Ministry of Transportation and is the site of a planned highway Maintenance Patrol Yard.
A notable aspect of the design shows several colourful tubular water slides that emerge from the top of the glass water park building and loop around before going back inside. This feature will be visible from Palladium Drive.
We previously held an information meeting during an earlier planning stage last year. Back then, the proposal included two six-storey hotels. The new proposal condenses the hotel into one seven-storey building.
The three development parcels, highlighted in blue.
Site plan control
The site features the indoor aquatic facility on the east side, facing Palladium Drive. The two-storey family entertainment centre and the seven-storey hotel connect at the north side, forming an inverted L-shape that frames the surface parking lot. There are proposed to be 704 surface parking spaces, with driveway access from Culdaff Road. 278 of these parking spaces are on the east side of Culdaff Road (closest to the buildings), while the remaining 418 are on the west side of the road.
The site plan also includes a staff parking zone, garbage and loading spaces, passenger pick-up/drop-off and bus lay-by areas, pedestrian walkways, a one-storey support building, bicycle parking, outdoor amenity/event areas, snow storage, and a landscaped buffer around the property.
Zoning bylaw amendments
The lots are currently zoned Mixed Industrial (IM) under Zoning By-law 2026-50 (the new zoning bylaw). Several zoning bylaw amendments are required for the development to proceed. These proposed amendments include:
- Increasing the permitted size of the restaurant (currently allowed up to 300 square meters; the proposal is for 1,011 square meters)
- Increasing the permitted size of the indoor aquatic facility and entertainment centre (currently allowed up to 3,000 square meters; the proposal is for 13,371 square meters)
- Allowing a hotel as a permitted use
- Increasing the maximum height by 4.31 meters (from 22 meters to 26.31 meters) for the hotel and 2.38 meters (from 22 to 24.38 meters) for the water slide tower.
- Allowing the waterslides to project into the side yard
- Allowing the parking lots on each side of Culdaff Road to be considered as a single lot for zoning purposes
- Reducing the landscaped buffer around the parking lot (from 5 meters to 2 meters)
- Reducing the interior landscaped area within the parking lot (from 20% to 15% of its area)
- Changing the location of the waste storage areas
Architectural rendering of the hotel
Aerial view rendering, looking south.
What’s next
This development has not been approved. City staff are reviewing the proposal to ensure it complies with applicable policies. Councillor Glen will also be reviewing the application with his team. The file also needs to go through Planning and Housing Committee and City Council for approval.
Stay informed and provide your feedback
For additional information or to provide your comments contact planner Krishon Walker at 613-580-2424, ext. 24161 or Krishon.Walker@ottawa.ca. Please quote File Nos D02-02-26-0058 & D07-12-26-0085 in the subject line. You can copy Councillor Glen at Glen.Gower@ottawa.ca.
You can also view the applicant’s supporting documentation for the proposal on the City’s Development Applications portal:
Please provide comments by August 28, 2026. Comments received after this date will be accepted and considered but may not be reflected in the staff report.