Edmond Place is ready for the community to take a tour.
Edmond Place will welcome people to look and learn about the new supportive housing unit in Parkdale at a fundraiser Wednesday.
Staff photo/ERIN HATFIELD
The community watched as the transformation of Edmond Place began just more than three years ago.
It started with workers shoring up the historic exterior of the derelict three-storey Georgian building, then re-pointing bricks on the old facade of a once grand building at the corner of Queen Street West and Dowling Avenue. Then there was landscaping, drywalling, tiling and painting.
Now all the onlookers who have witnessed the change have a chance to get inside and see what this new model of supportive housing is all about.
"This really has been a remarkable collaboration of an architect who was really willing to explore with us and was very collaborative. A contractor who really got it and was willing to be a little more flexible than just pointing to the terms of the contract," said Victor Willis, the executive director of PARC. "Just group after group who made this thing what it is."
The Parkdale Activity Recreation Centre (PARC) and Habitat Services are holding an open house and fundraiser for Edmond Place on Nov. 18 from 5:30 to 10 p.m.
Edmond Place is a new model of supportive housing for people with a history of mental health and addiction.
"I think in the past there have been some developments, certainly from a boarding home model, that haven't got quite to the standard that we have tied to set," Willis said. "We were kind of experimenting with this and who knew if it was going to work. Now, hindsight being what it is, I think it really should be the way going forward."
Recently Willis took a dozen people who were from Denmark and Sweden on a tour of the building. They came to study sustainable urban environments from the point of view of community integration and community engagement. Willis said they were really interested in the way Edmond Place reintegrates people into the community.
"It was so great to be able to walk them through it and tell them all the stories," Willis said.
The community is now invited to learn about the programs, design features and how they can help complete the project. Tickets are $10 at the door, with a cash bar, music, light refreshments, silent auctions and the opportunity to see the space before tenants move in Jan. 4, 2011.
PARC spent $350,000 on the building and have been able to raise $150,000, but $200,000 remains. The admission charge will help cover the cost.
"We expect that this will be sort of organized chaos," Willis said with a chuckle. "We have set it up so some people may choose to come after work and some might come after dinner."
All of the furnishings that PDA (Public Displays of Affection) made will be on display and a number of units will be staged to show what it will look like furnished.
"In order for us to get the units ready we are also imagining that people will need towels and maybe some sheets or bath curtains and things like that," Willis said. "So people will have an opportunity to help us out by pledging to help us purchase those things."
The average time for a project like this is seven years, but Willis said PARC was able to complete the project in three years.
"That couldn't have been done without the city. They were huge in helping us get over some hurdles. They were instrumental in helping us negotiate our mortgage," Willis said. "About a year ago, we started to look for a construction mortgage and at that point the world economy had tanked, so trying to find money that people were willing to loan was almost impossible to do."
He said the city was able to identify and develop a relationship with the Ontario Infrastructure Development Corporation, who holds the mortgage for the project.