By Joe Mancini
Published March 2022
The Working Centre is pleased to announce that it is building 19 new units of housing on the second and third floors of 58 and 44-54 Queen Street South.
This project will not only expand affordable housing downtown, but also brings together the three Queen Street South buildings that were built by Aaron Bricker between 1898 – 1920. The Working Centre purchased and revitalized 58 Queen South and 66 Queen South two decades ago. By purchasing 44-54 Queen Street South, we are able to join and integrate the second and third floors for housing. We will continue to support the vibrant storefronts on street level, including our Job Search Resource Centre, the Downtown Kitchener BIA, Black Arrow Cycles, and ABC Surplus.
This project became possible through the Rapid Housing Initiative-2 (RHI-2) which was announced in early summer 2021, with applications due in August. The Federal housing grant for this project was approved through Waterloo Regional Council and provides a $3 million grant towards the purchase of the building and renovation costs.
We saw a tremendous opportunity to use this grant to purchase a downtown building right next to our main offices and to create 19 units of single occupancy, affordable housing, preserving this beautiful block of buildings and adding to the affordable housing spaces in the downtown.
During the early months of the pandemic, we looked for ways to maximize housing in our buildings and one of the ways we identified was converting the second floor of 58 Queen South into 4 apartment units. Since the early 1990’s, the second floor has housed our bookkeeping office, Good Work News production and office space for many of the Community Tool projects. The Wright Room looked out over Queen Street and was full of computer classes, Local Democracy courses, Working Centre Board meetings, staff meetings, university courses and many other activities over the years. These spaces had originally been apartments when the building was built in 1920. 100 years later, we are excited to return them to their original purpose.
When RHI-2 was announced, we were ready to submit drawings for permit for the four 58 Queen apartments. However, at this point we realized that it was possible to design similar units on the second and third floors of 44-54 Queen South. By combining the two buildings into one RHI-2 application we could apply to build 19 units. Importantly, 44-54 Queen South was not only for sale, but the second and third floors were empty and without tenants. A quick analysis determined that the building could be purchased and the units built within a year to meet the Rapid Housing Initiative guidelines. Bernie Nimer and Dave Seton, the owners, graciously agreed to a selling price that would work with the grant.
44-54 Queen Street South has a footprint of about 4000 square feet per floor which is similar to the square footage of the housing project we competed at 256 King East. Our experience with renovating the 256 King spaces added to our confidence that this was a project that would create much needed housing and could be accomplished within the required timeframe.
We have been recognizing the growing reality of housing scarcity for the new Canadians coming into the Job Search Resource Centre on Queen Street, particularly the clear need for safe housing for immigrant and refugee women, whose marriages sometime break down as they transition into a new country. Affordable connected housing can make a difference for a young, single mother settling into a new culture, making a home after a period of trauma and dislocation.
We also see the importance of creating affordable housing for young racialized New Canadians as they work to integrate into life in Canada. We currently work with large numbers of Arabic and Tigrinya speaking job searchers. But even as the countries change over the years, the need for good quality single occupancy housing for both woman and men remains the same.
The provision of affordable housing for New Canadians, refugees and vulnerable individuals often experiencing homelessness has been integral to The Working Centre’s housing on Queen Street since we first purchased the 58 Queen building in 1995, and this project continues this tradition. Once this project is complete we will have more than doubled the amount of housing that we provide on Queen Street South. During Larry Crawford’s funeral (see page 3), a theme that ran through every story was how Larry was so central to a resource centre culture that serves more like a neighbourhood space where interwoven supports and connections grow. This new housing project will only add to that culture and help to carry on his legacy.
The quick turnaround and timeline this project requires has been possible due to the dedicated work of many people. Robert Dyck Architect has worked on many projects with The Working Centre, and Robert stepped up in a big way. Robert worked with David McLagan through the summer to produce drawings as quickly as possible. Jeff Van Gysel of Just Work Constructions worked closely with us to ensure that all the necessary pieces were in place to start constructions by February 2022. Just Work Construction did an excellent job completing the new addition at 115 Water Street North. The City of Kitchener has been supportive, offering permit fee exemptions since the project qualifies as new affordable housing, and commitments to process permits in a timely fashion to ensure the project meets its December 2022 deadline. The Region of Waterloo continues to support and help prioritize projects like this.
In November of 2021, we received good news from Trinity United when they donated $60,000 from their affordable housing fund to support this project. This grant is generated through proceeds from the sale of Trinity United Church, which was a vibrant church on Frederick Street between 1905 – 2017. There is a long-standing connection with The Working Centre’s three buildings on Queen Street, which were all built by Aaron Bricker while he was a member of Trinity Methodist Church where he was involved in the construction of the Trinity United Church in 1905.
This is an important project for The Working Centre on Queen Street South as we continue to expand our ability to offer affordable supportive housing. The three buildings of the Bricker Block will become integrated and upgraded, continuing their long history of serving the Kitchener downtown. Good Work News will continue to offer updates, as will our website, as the project develops.
