Townhouses For Sale in Mer Bleue / Bradley Estates / Anderson Park, Ottawa

Trailsedge, and the phase still on the drawing board

Trailsedge makes up a large part of what comes up for sale here, a mix of rows and detached homes built in successive phases. Richcraft has applied to extend the community onto about 82 hectares of vacant land on Innes Road, west of Mer Bleue Road and between Innes and Brian Coburn Boulevard.

The proposal calls for up to roughly 2,000 homes. Townhouses are the biggest single category, alongside more than a hundred back-to-backs, a few hundred detached homes, a medium-density block and two high-density blocks planned near a future Cumberland bus rapid transit corridor. It also includes three parks and keeps a rock barren and nearby natural areas. If approved, it would become Trailsedge's fifth phase.

For buyers, that means more construction nearby for years, and more resale competition from newer homes later. It also means new parks and, eventually, better transit planned for the area.

Back-to-backs come to the east end

Back-to-back towns share a rear wall as well as side walls, so there's no backyard and natural light comes mostly from the front, plus the side on end units. They're common in the GTA but newer to Orléans.

If you're weighing one against a conventional row:

• Walk through at midday and in the evening to judge light.
• Ask where garbage, recycling and green bins are stored without a backyard.
• Check whether parking is a garage, a driveway pad, or both.
• Find out whether the unit is freehold or part of a condominium, and what any monthly fee covers.

Back-to-backs suit buyers who'd rather not maintain a yard. Families who want a fenced patch of grass usually end up in a standard row.

The Greenbelt as a permanent neighbour

This corner of Orléans backs onto federal Greenbelt land, and the Mer Bleue Conservation Area, one of the National Capital Commission's best-known natural sites, is close by. Greenbelt land is protected from suburban development, so homes at this edge can count on open space next door in a way that homes facing farm fields elsewhere in the east end cannot.

Trails, birdwatching and winter walks are a short drive away rather than a weekend trip. It also means the neighbourhood can't grow in that direction. New supply comes from infill phases like Trailsedge's proposed expansion rather than from fields beyond the fence.

Getting downtown from south Orléans

Innes Road is the main east–west route, and the big commercial zone at Innes and Tenth Line covers most shopping. Downtown commuters currently use OC Transpo buses or drive. The Line 1 east extension, with stations at Place d'Orléans and a Trim terminus with park-and-ride, is the change to watch; OC Transpo hasn't yet confirmed an opening date. The Cumberland transit corridor named in Richcraft's application is a longer-term plan.