Centretown / CBD is a trophy-tier Class A submarket of Ottawa with average asking rent around C$38/sqft/yr · ≈ $28.1 PSF/yr USD.

  • Federal government and trophy core.
  • Trophy tier — ~C$38/sqft/yr.
  • Active Class A leasing market with deal flow across major broker desks.

Centretown / CBD, Ottawa — Class A submarket

Federal government and trophy core. · Tier: trophy · Avg rent: C$38/sqft/yr · ≈ $28.1 PSF/yr USD

TL;DR

  • Federal government and trophy core.
  • Trophy tier — ~C$38/sqft/yr.
  • Active Class A leasing market with deal flow across major broker desks.

Overview

Centretown and the CBD along Albert Street and Slater Street anchor Ottawa's federal government and trophy core — Place de Ville, 150 Elgin, and Constitution Square define the Class A stack, anchored by Government of Canada GSA leases.

Tenant profile

Federal government, law, lobbying, consulting, professional services.

Typical specification

15–40,000 sqft floor plates available across newer Class A stock; 9'+ slab-to-slab and modern MEP common.

Transit

Parliament, Pimisi (O-Train Confederation Line).

Multi-modal transit captures the metro's principal professional catchment.

Amenities

Sparks Street pedestrian mall, National Arts Centre, ByWard Market.

Comparable buildings

  • Constitution Square
  • 150 Elgin
  • Place de Ville

Where Centretown / CBD sits in Ottawa

Centretown / CBD is one of 4 Class A submarkets we cover in Ottawa, classified as trophy tier with an average asking rent around C$38/sqft/yr · ≈ $28.1 PSF/yr USD. Compared with the broader Ottawa Class A stock, Centretown / CBD typically attracts Federal government, law, lobbying, consulting, professional services and competes most directly with the city's other trophy submarkets on building specification, transit access, and amenitisation.

Adjacent submarkets to study alongside Centretown / CBD: Kanata North (Tech Corridor), Gloucester / Ottawa East, Gatineau / Hull (Quebec Side). The full Ottawa submarket atlas is at /cities/ottawa.

Topic deep-dives for Centretown / CBD

For an institutional Class A occupier evaluating Centretown / CBD, the highest-leverage analyses to commission next are the rent benchmark, the concession-package comparable, and the ESG performance baseline. Class A Atlas covers each as a dedicated topic page for this submarket:

Related glossary

Terminology specific to Ottawa Class A leasing and to the trophy tier: Class A, Trophy asset, Effective rent, Concession package, TI allowance, Submarket tier.

Editorial provenance

Reviewed by Class A Atlas Editorial Desk — House byline · global editorial team. Last updated 2026-04-15. See our methodology and editorial standards.

Primary sources for this page

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