Housing — denser, taller and cheaper — will be the the hallmark of a revamped Tunney’s Pasture in a plan unveiled by the National Capital Commission at its January board meeting.

The NCC’s federal land use and transaction approval (FLUTA) plan will lead to a “full transformation” of the Tunney’s Pasture property, NCC chairperson Maryse Gaudreault said when the board approved the plan on Jan. 23.

It calls for less office space in keeping with the federal government plan to cut its footprint in the city by 50 per cent, and between 7,000 and 9,000 new housing units, with 1,400 to 1,800 of them to be considered “affordable” under the city’s official plan.

That’s a steep jump from the 3,400 to 3,700 housing units envisioned the last time the NCC’s did a land use plan in 2014. And it’s a staggering reduction in the number of public servants who work at Tunney’s Pasture.

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