If plans to convert the Parkview Motel into permanent supportive housing come to fruition, it will allow people to overcome the constant “survival mode” they live in and move toward building a better future.
That’s the goal for Gail Hoekstra, executive director of the Welcome In Drop-In Centre which is behind the proposed conversion project. The centre and current motel owners have signed a letter of intent that would see the motel change hands for $3.8 million.
“The layout is just perfect for a project like this,” Hoekstra said during a virtual town hall meeting hosted by Ward 2 councillors James Gordon and Rodrigo Goller on Thursday evening.
She noted the motel is on a bus route and there is a variety of nearby amenities such as shopping.
“We want a solution by winter. … We’re desperate," Hoekstra said.
If the deal is finalized and rezoning approved, the motel would be converted into 36 small residential units with a large, shared kitchen and common spaces for residents. A variety of support services would be offered there, with staff on site 24/7, Hoekstra explained. Landscaped outdoor spaces are also envisioned.
“This is a way of building health in a very vulnerable community,” she said. “We have very robust plans to support them.”
The motel is currently being used as a shelter for homeless people during the pandemic. It has been used for shelter overflow, families and people who don’t do well in communal environments since 1986.
About 120 questions from the community were submitted in advance of the town hall meeting, with many more posed through a live chat feature. According to Gordon, a “significant majority” of the pre-posed questions sought to clarify and expand on public knowledge of the proposal. Others raised concerns about the impact on nearby property values, violence, crime, staffing and more.
In addressing some of those concerns, Hoekstra explained motel residents will be selected by a collaboration of homelessness healthcare providers from a list of 150 long-time homeless individuals in the community. Residents will be people those healthcare workers have gotten to know well through the years and who want this sort of housing.
Not transient in nature like the drop-in centre, people would live in these units “as long as it suits that person,” Hoekstra noted, suggesting some may want to move in a year or two but they will be under no pressure to leave.
Though no formal request has been made, Drop-In Centre officials are hoping the City of Guelph will help them come up with a 30 per cent deposit needed to complete the purchase. Hoekstra explained her organization has $600,000 to put toward it, thanks to a willed donation, leaving it $540,000 shy.
Once it’s up and running, residents would be required to pay rent, which would help with maintenance and other costs.
Plans for the conversion project first came to public light last month when Hoekstra was making an unrelated affordable housing presentation to city council. In turn, council directed city staff to take a look at the project and whether taxpayer dollars could be directed toward it.
That report is expected back at council next month, offering an additional opportunity for public comment. Similarly, public consultation is part of the planning process should an application be filed to rezone the motel property from commercial to residential.
