CCOC - Centretown Citizens Ottawa Corporation

Our office will be closed Monday, September 2, and will reopen at 9:00am on Tuesday, September 3.

Enjoy the long weekend, neighbours! 🏠☀️

Are you as shocked as we are that our 50th anniversary celebration was a MONTH ago today?! 😱🎉🥳🫶🏼

We’re still so grateful for everyone who showed up, celebrated 50 years of CCOC with us, and demonstrated how wonderful community is, along with , .life.andre, and all of our tagged event sponsors and community leaders! 🏠🥰

If you want to relive the day through photos like we are, visit our Facebook for all the photos captured by throughout the day! 📸

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Yesterday, CCOC staff, members, family, and friends joined together in the last few summer days to proudly march in Ottawa’s annual Pride Parade! ☀️🏳️‍🌈🥳

With thousands of other participants and some beautiful weather, we celebrated, acknowledged, and honoured our local 2SLGBTQIA+ community. As we proudly are an inclusive landlord and organization, it was important for us to come out, show our support, and get proud!

Thank you to everyone who showed up to march and celebrate - it was a fantastic day 🌈

***rs

“I’d been on the CCOC list for about six years by then…So, I thought well, that’s not going to work. So, I’m in Regina, and I get my pack of mail. And in it was the letter from CCOC that they’re building a new building. They hope to have it ready for occupancy by October 1992. If I was interested, I would have to give a $100 deposit and come down and see it, you see nothing but a hole in the ground. But my daughter and I decided, well, we’ll go back to Ottawa. When I got here, you know, you put the hard hat on and they give you all the designs. So, I picked my place, and gave him $100. And this is…you know, in all the places I’ve lived and rented, this has been the only really home that I have ever had.”

- Evelyn Hadican, long-term CCOC tenant and yoga instructor 🧘🏻‍♀️

In 1994, CCOC began recognizing people who make important contributions to the organization by awarding Lifetime Membership. Lifetime Members range from founders and supportive politicians, to past Presidents and other Board Members, to long-time staff and volunteers.

With the symbolic honour of Lifetime Membership, folks are given a Lifetime Member pin. There have been different iterations of the pin over the years. Pictured are two of the older versions of the pin, as well as the current version! 🧷

Follow along with us on our social media this year to learn more about CCOC’s first 50 years!

Some beautiful CCOC community garden flowers - right before a rainy weekend! August showers still bring flowers ☔️🪻🌧️🌷

The 50th anniversary festivities haven’t ended yet! Our exclusive t-shirts and anniversary book celebrate 50 years of CCOC, and are still available for purchase at the front desk of our CCOC office! 🙌🏼👕🎉

Swipe to read more about , the designer of our 50th anniversary merch 🥳

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“Both of us were on the Rental Committee for over 20 years. And again, we just decided [in 2021] to retire. We had done our job. But the people who live in this house, generally are our friends, and when we moved here in 1980, there was a woman with two children upstairs on the second floor - we watched them grow up. And not too many years after, a young couple moved into the third floor, and we have made good friends with them. And every year - well, not every year - but probably for over 20 years, we have a Hanukkah party here to which all former tenants are invited. We have had kids who were studying at McGill get on the bus to come from Montreal to come to our Hanukkah party. That’s the kind of relationship we have with former tenants.”

- David and Toby Brooks, some of our longest-term tenants and wonderful party hosts. 🥳
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August is Pride Month in Ottawa! 🌈

Pride is more than just a parade - it is a protest against the institutionalized oppression against q***r identities. CCOC has a long-standing reputation of being an inclusive landlord and organization, and we cannot wait to show our support to the local 2SLGBTQIA+ community at this year’s Pride Parade on Sunday, August 25! 🏳️‍🌈🥳

Come walk with your family and friends! If you catch us at the parade, come say hi! 🎉

Our office will be closed on Monday, August 5th. We will reopen on Tuesday, August 6th at 9am. Happy long weekend!

On July 31st in 1974, CCOC was officially incorporated as the Centre Town Citizens (Ottawa) Corporation. Happy Birthday CCOC!

Though things have changed and our team has grown from 1 employee at our inception to over 100 employees today, we continue to fight for affordable housing, much the same as 50 years ago. Pictured here is CCOC's staff team in their 50th edition t-shirts!

Follow along with us on our social media this year to learn more about CCOC's first 50 years!

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Our office will be closing early tomorrow on Wednesday, July 31st. Our after-hours line will be available.

We’ll be back after the office closure bright and early on Thursday, neighbours! 👋🏼😋

Sneak peek of this weekend’s 50th birthday bash 🥳

We had an incredible time with everyone and can’t wait to share all the photos of the event - stay tuned for more! 🤩📸🙌🏼

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On this day in 1995… CCOC held a protest outside 415 Gilmour, opposing the cuts made to social housing by the Harris provincial government. These cuts effectively stopped CCOC's growth in its tracks. Pictured on the first slide is former Executive Director, Catherine Boucher, denouncing Mike Harris's cuts!

In the years following these cuts, the CCOC Board adopted these king and devil puppets in their meetings. Because of these cuts, the CCOC Board had some really difficult choices to make. They were looking at not only not being able to develop new housing, but funding cuts coming from the Harris government. Catherine Boucher had a puppet show she brought to the Board of Directors with an angel puppet and a devil puppet. They represented the voices saying we have to make cuts and lay staff off and the voices saying we can't do that and have to continue being the same old CCOC. Pictured on the second slide are these puppets.

Follow along with us on our social media this year to learn more about CCOC's first 50 years!

Tomorrow is the BIG day! We’re so excited to see everyone and celebrate all of CCOC’s triumphs over the past 50 years. 🎉😍👏🏼

Bring your family, friends, and neighbours to 170 Booth Street tomorrow from 11am - 3pm for a day of community fun! Games, a free BBQ, FREE , a fantastic show by , kids’ activities, and more…including dunking our Executive Directors past & present! 🥳🏠🌭🍦🎳

A HUGE thank you to our sponsors .ottawa and Noti-Secur Inc.!

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A win for affordable housing! 🏠

Today, at one of our properties in our tenant-led gardens, the federal government & CMHC announced that through the Affordable Housing Fund (AHF), they will be contributing $41 million in funding, grants, and loans to help build and repair sustainable housing in Ottawa 👏🏼

Within this, CCOC received funding to repair 1,200 of our housing units into more sustainable and energy-efficient housing! 🤩

T-5 days until CCOC’s 50th birthday party! 🎉🤩

Join us for a free BBQ, free , cake, a dunk tank, a performance by , kids’ activities, and more! 🌭☀️🍦🥳🎂

What do you MEME? Of course we’re stoked to celebrate 50 years of CCOC next weekend! 🥳🌭🤩🎂

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Our tenant volunteers are hard at work keeping our community gardens thriving! 🪴🍅🌻

Did you know that CCOC has 14 tenant-led gardens? Most are located on building rooftops - to both utilize space and garden together with a beautiful view of Centretown 🏠

What would you prefer to grow in your garden?

The countdown is on…12 DAYS until CCOC’s 50th anniversary celebration! 🗓️

We’re looking forward to seeing everyone there 🥳

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CCOC's Facilities Management Department keeps our buildings safe, clean, and in good repair! They do a great job at coordinating repairs, pest control, and building upgrades. Thanks to our Facilities team for their hard work!

Tips and tricks to best utilize your green bin! ♻️🥑🍏🥝🍐🍈🍋‍🟩

CCOC tenants! This is your last chance to fill out the Tenant Satisfaction Survey and tell us what you think.

To enter for a chance to win a $100 gift card, complete the survey by the end of the day! We will be closing the survey for submissions at 9am on Tuesday July 2nd.

On this day in 2011… We paid off our first mortgage on 530-544 McLeod St. and hosted a mortgage burning (quite literally) to celebrate! Pictured is former CCOC President, Calinda Brown feeding the flames.

Follow along with us on our social media this year to learn more about CCOC's first 50 years!

The Development Department works to acquire or build new CCOC properties. They keep an eye on regulations and city planning to make sure CCOC continues to grow and offer new affordable housing. They also operate Cahdco, which assists other nonprofits to create affordable housing. Toolbox+ by Cahdco is a national community of practice to build knowledge & capacity to create more affordable housing and has taught & mentored more than 100 organizations across Canada since launching in 2023.

Thank you Development team!

Tips to help stay cool + save energy in the Ottawa summer heat - stay hydrated, neighbours! ☀️

On this day in 1992… CCOC hosted the official opening of 264 Lisgar St. The opening featured a performance from the Dominion Chalmers Handbell Choir.

Follow along with us on our social media this year to learn more about CCOC's first 50 years!