Regan Girard, Communications Officer, Centretown Citizens Ottawa Corporation

Centretown Citizens Ottawa Corporation (CCOC) started in 1974 with determined volunteers, a community-centered goal, and $500. Now, almost 51 years later, CCOC has celebrated some remarkable milestones – 1700 homes, 100 employees, over 100,000 completed work orders since switching to Yardi in 2018, and half a century of creating, maintaining, and promoting housing for low- and moderate-income people. With roots planted in community, sustainability, and resilience, CCOC is committed to carrying these principles into the next 50 years.

CCOC’s long-term success stems from the dedication of volunteers, community members, and tenants who have shaped our governance and values from the beginning. Our mixed-income model that combines market and subsidized rents promotes diverse communities with residents from a variety of backgrounds, challenges systemic barriers, and allows households to continue to choose to live in the urban core. For decades, CCOC has also partnered with expert organizations in the non-profit housing sector, who provide a network of support for our tenants who need it.

In 1975, CCOC bought our first building. Now, CCOC’s diverse portfolio contains over 50 properties, providing homes for nearly 3,000 people. Between duplexes, triplexes, rowhouses, and high-rise apartment buildings across Ottawa, CCOC offers affordable and accessible housing to fit a wide variety of lifestyles. With the help of Cahdco, CCOC’s non-profit development consulting organization, CCOC has gained a deep and specialized knowledge of housing development and acquisition. Over the years, CCOC has taken creative risks, acquiring unique properties – including a biker bar and a former church – and converted them to affordable housing!

With five decades of change and challenges behind us and exciting things ahead, it’s crucial to remember where we started – with community. CCOC deeply values tenant feedback, and is in the process of a governance renewal that will serve us as we continue to grow. Our membership is open to all Ottawa residents, where they can have a say in decisions that affect housing in their urban neighbourhoods. CCOC’s Board of Directors requires at least three CCOC tenants to be Board Members, including them in decision making and incorporating tenant perspective. Building community and engagement continues to be at the core of CCOC’s values – with events, activities, and celebrations like our 50^th anniversary and our annual Plant Days.

As the CCOC team looks ahead at the next 50 years, we are already achieving milestones set in our 2023-2028 Strategic Plan – and we’re proud of the progress made so far. The ’23-’28 Strategic Plan has four focus areas: tenant experience, financial sustainability, organizational capacity, and strategic growth. CCOC recently developed our first communications strategy to help foster a positive, cohesive tenant experience, by aligning our communications styles and methods with our mission and values to portray a consistent, trustworthy corporate image. This process even included updating our brand with new standards, like a refreshed logo and colour palette! When it comes to CCOC’s organizational capacity, we have been working on diversity, accessibility, and inclusion initiatives which inform our organizational practices. These core values are a part of every decision made at CCOC, and we are committed to actively making meaningful change.

CCOC has continually been making strides to prioritize sustainability. From being the first multi-residential landlord in Ottawa to offer recycling to tenants, to receiving funding to repair 1,200 of our units into more sustainable and energy-efficient housing, CCOC strives to create climate resilience and a sustainable environment – both environmentally and financially.

CCOC’s financial sustainability is key to continuing to protect housing from market forces over the long term. One exciting new way we are hoping to achieve this is through community investments. CCOC is exploring offering community bonds, where community members can invest in affordable housing and in their community, providing us with the start-up money to get projects in the ground and keep doing what we do best: create affordable, liveable housing.

To keep evolving, CCOC’s goal is to continue promoting our mission – by building and acquiring more housing. “We’ve gone through several rapid growth phases in our history,” Sarah Button, CCOC’s Executive Director, states. “We’re about to have another.” CCOC’s plan? To break ground on another 200 units of affordable housing by the end of 2026. The progress is already well underway, with a groundbreaking ceremony for a new redevelopment celebrated in November 2024.

It’s incredible to look at where we started and see where we are now – thanks to the tireless hard work of individuals and organizations committed to solving the housing crisis, CCOC has become an established housing provider making a difference. Our journey is full of individual and collective stories of how we fought for and claimed space in our city for liveable, affordable, diverse, accessible, and inclusive communities. As we acknowledge and honour our history in the last 50 years, we can’t wait to see the change we make in the next 50.