Sandy Hill, Ottawa

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Sandy Hill (French: Côte-de-Sable) is a neighbourhood in Ottawa, just east of downtown. It is bordered by the Rideau Canal to the west, the Rideau River to the east, Rideau Street and the Byward Market area to the north, and the Queensway and Nicholas Street to the south. The name comes from the hilly, sandy land, which made building tall structures difficult. The area has embassies, residences, parks, and is near the University of Ottawa. Le Cordon Bleu runs its Canadian school there.

In 2011, about 12,490 people lived in Sandy Hill.

History
- In the 19th and early 20th centuries, Sandy Hill was Ottawa’s wealthiest neighborhood. It began as the estate of Louis-Théodore Besserer, some land was donated to the University of Ottawa, and the area was subdivided. It was home to Ottawa’s lumber barons, then to senior public servants and even the Prime Minister in places like Stadacona Hall and Laurier House.
- Bridges, cars, and streetcars made the area easier to reach and wealth moved to other areas. Sandy Hill became denser and more middle class. It was largely francophone, and the 1960s Radio-Canada drama La Côte de Sable was set there.
- After World War II, population grew as federal government jobs expanded. Many mansions became embassies, and today several countries have embassies near the Rideau River, including Russia and many African nations.
- The population declined about 30% in the 1960s and 1970s due to urban planning, but today many students live in the area because it is close to the university.

Today
- Sandy Hill has a mix of wealthy areas near the embassies and more student and immigrant communities closer to the university. Housing includes boarding houses, student rentals, modest homes, and cooperative housing.
- Henderson Avenue has two housing co-ops that bring together Canadians and neighbors from Ghana, the DR Congo, Morocco, Rwanda, Burundi, Poland, and the Middle East. The co-ops helped restore heritage homes and win awards for the area’s restoration.
- The neighbourhood is split roughly evenly between English and French speakers and has residents from Somalia, Lebanon, and Haiti, among others. It is close to downtown and the Rideau Centre, with good transit and the O-Train Line 1 serving the University of Ottawa.
- Sandy Hill is often thought of in four parts: North Sandy Hill (north of Laurier Avenue, with many old 19th-century buildings); South Sandy Hill (south of Laurier, developed after World War II); Strathcona Heights (south of Mann Avenue, a dense area of low-rise subsidized housing and cooperatives redeveloped in the 1990s); and Robinson Village (below Strathcona, near the Rideau River, with low-rise houses and light industry, separated from other areas by highways).