BOUNDARIES

Transitway, Pleasant Park Road, Alta Vista Drive, Smyth Road, green space east of Lynda Lane Park, Walkley Road, Heron Road, Bank Street (OREB 3604, 3605, 3606, 3607, 3608, 3609)

If you like mid-centurymodern bungalows and split-levels, Alta Vista is a treasure trove. Most of the area’s houses were built in the 1950s and 1960s by a mix of developers and individual homeowners. The result is a pleasing mélange of housing styles on big lots shaded by mature trees — all within a short drive of hospitals, the Rideau River, shopping, and downtown.

So why here, why now? Many of the original owners are selling, and prices are starting to rise as shoppers with deep pockets buy properties for the land value alone and replace existing houses with McMansions.

Also, the neighbourhood is about to undergo an extensive construction project on its northern edge to connect the Transitway to the Ottawa Hospital campus. In the short term, the construction chaos may dissuade some potential buyers from checking out the neighbourhood, decreasing competition. In the long term, the improved Transitway access may make the area even more desirable. But in the very long term, this project may be the first step in the long-planned, highly controversial use of the Alta Vista Transportation Corridor for additional roads, rail, or Transitway routes. Stay tuned.

Price range early 2015: $164,000 to $2,000,000.