On the 9th of February 1922, the precursor to the National Capital Commission - the Ottawa Improvement Commission - and Robert H. Cowley entered into an agreement. The Commission granted Cowley the parcels of land adjacent to what is now Island Park Drive, subject to a number of restrictive covenants governing how those lots would develop. The covenants prohibited commercial traffic, largely gave the Commission design control over buildings, forced services to the rear of the lots and prescribed laneways.