Residents of Grace Gardens will finally have a place to call home, and that’s a blessing, says Sister Chistine Leyser, founder of the Welcome In Drop-In Centre which is behind the project to convert Parkview Motel into permanent supportive housing units.
“They are people in need of help. They are people who want a home. They are people who want to be cared for and loved,” she told city council on Monday ahead of a unanimous decision to approve zoning amendments needed for the project to go forward.
“We’re hoping now that the people who go there will be able to close the door and say ‘I am home. I have a place to live. I can hang up pictures. I can lay down when I want and no one is going to put me out.’”
The motel at 721 Woolwich St. – on the northeast corner of the intersection of Woolwich Street and Marilyn Drive, near Riverside Park – will be converted into 32 bachelor apartments intended to house members of the city’s homeless population.
Renovations are planned to enlarge windows, widen a hallway to improve accessibility, and provide a shared kitchen, as well as space for 24/7 support services.
Those efforts are expected to begin within the next few weeks, with the facility ready to welcome tenants in May.
“I’m really hopeful this will be a positive change for the community,” said Ward 2 councillor Rodrigo Goller. “I believe it will be a successful project.”
The Parkview Motel has been used as a shelter overflow location since the 1980s, generating a range of complaints and concerns from nearby residents – some of whom spoke out against the project at earlier points in the approvals process. None of the delegates during Monday’s meeting were in opposition to the plan.
There are currently no trained staff or support services at the motel, noted Andrea Sinclair of MHBC Planning. However, that’s about to change. At least two staff members will be on duty at all times, she said, with various support services available during the day.
“This will result in an improved condition,” she said, compared to existing complaints with the facility being used as an emergency shelter overflow location.
Drop-in Centre officials announced last week that the motel property was purchased for $3.8 million, with $1.2 million coming from the County of Wellington and Ontario’s Social Services Relief Fund, as well as $600,000 in the form of a willed donation from longtime supporter Grace Frank, after whom the facility is named.
Additional government grants will be sought, but for now the rest has been paid for through a London Community Foundation's Social Impact Fund loan, centre executive director Gail Hoekstra previously told GuelphToday.
Several members of council said this has been a “challenging file” to manage, with numerous references made to the “negativity” and “nastiness” of some neighbours with concerns.
“I choose hope, not fear. I choose compassion. I choose optimism,” said Coun. James Gordon of Ward 2. “I will be watching the situation closely … to make sure that public health and safety concerns are heard, dealt with both for current neighbours and the new neighbours this project will draw.
