Making Home at St. John’s Kitchen
This is an excerpt from the June 2022 issue of Good Work News.
By the winter of 2019, it was increasingly clear that growing homelessness was an overwhelming issue at St. John’s Kitchen. You could see it in the number of people sleeping on the floor of the Kitchen, desperate for simple places to lie down and get some rest. At the same time drug use in the washrooms was creating a new kind of chaos. Those without housing respond to dislocation by using increasingly powerful drugs.
It was at this time that David Gibson from Perimeter Development offered to bring together his longtime friend and architect, Joe Bogdan to help The Working Centre look closely at properties we owned or to consider other properties that could be used to build supportive housing. It was decided that the best option was to redesign the 97 Victoria N campus by rebuilding St. John’s Kitchen and adding 38 units of housing focused on those dealing with homelessness.
Throughout the pandemic, The Working Centre has worked closely with David Gibson and Craig Beattie from Perimeter Development and Joe Bogdan and Eli Newman from BNKC Architects to visualize and develop full plans for the 97 Victoria North campus.
This work may not have progressed except for Perimeter Development’s commitment to cover and support this pre-planning process. Their generous offer has given The Working Centre the amazing gift of having access to the best of Kitchener’s property development knowledge. It has enabled steady, developmental planning to move forward the many pieces of this relatively complicated project.
The design that we are presenting is the result of 2 years of background work. We are now moving towards site plan and building permit documents. We only have to look out the front window of St. John’s Kitchen to see the encampment of 50 tents at 100 Victoria to know how important it is to create long term housing.
For almost 20 years The Working Centre has built up the 97 Victoria N property where we have created a social economy that includes St. John’s Kitchen where 250 people a day are served meals, and access to medical supports, laundry, showers, and washrooms. Throughout the pandemic we have utilized the garage to distribute a further 200 takeout meals plus pantry goods from the Foodbank of Waterloo Region. Worth A Second Look Furniture and Housewares has consistently recycled and sold between 1500 - 2000 items per week. Since 2009, Hospitality House has provided 6 beds for homeless individuals with acute illness. The Community Dental Clinic is an important resource operating out of 82 Victoria N and before the pandemic provided excellent dental support to the homeless community.
The importance of this project cannot be overstated. In October 2021, a memorial service at St. John’s Kitchen remembered 76 people who had recently died, the vast majority from overdoses of widely available synthetic opioid drugs. Addressing homelessness means creating new housing and this project is designed to do exactly that.
A New Vision for 97 Victoria
A Housing First Approach
Housing acts as a foundation. When people have a home, they can live their lives more fully in community.
Housing First is a recovery-oriented approach that supports our community members dealing with the reality of homelessness by providing independent and permanent housing along with additional supports and services. An integrated model of common spaces and supports builds a community that generates roots and connectedness.
A New Modern Building for St. John’s Kitchen
We are pleased to announce that St. John’s Kitchen will be rebuilt in the parking lot of 97 Victoria North. For 37 years, St. John’s Kitchen has always had 2nd floor space. This has meant that workers and volunteers have diligently moved food up and down stairs to ensure the daily meal was served. The gift of this project will be to locate the Kitchen with ground floor access. The new space will feature wood beams and a glass façade creating a bright and open dining area.
The design of the new zero-carbon St. John’s Kitchen building allows for the unique creation of an internal courtyard which will serve as the new entrance for St. John’s Kitchen and the entrance for the 38 units of housing. The former Worth A Second Look space will be incorporated into the wider St. John’s Kitchen to accommodate washrooms, laundry and showers while also creating abundant space for outreach worker meeting space, medical clinics and consultation rooms, and community spaces. Two projects – Specialized Outreach Supports and the Safe Supply Project will have plenty of room for meeting and supporting those they work with. These enhanced spaces will significantly increase access to supports for those facing homelessness and addictions while also supporting the new residential units.
A Place of Safety and Dignity
97 Victoria N has long been a gathering place for those who are experiencing homelessness, are at risk of homelessness, or are street involved. St. John’s Kitchen receives over 1000 unique visitors per month, who come in to have hot, nutritious meals free of charge, and to access drop-in space, laundry, showers, washrooms and strategic problem-solving supports.
Life in congregate shelters and congregate drop-in spaces does serve basic needs in the short term. However it becomes unbearable over time as people lack privacy, rest and a place to feel secure.
We want to transform this space and create home for 38 people. Our goal is a place where residents can live safely and with dignity. The Working Centre has experience doing this in many spaces – University Ave, King Street, Charles Street, Queen Street – and now we can make this happen at 97 Victoria N.
38 Units of Supportive Housing
This project addresses the lack of supportive housing units. Every day at St. John’s Kitchen, we support those who have lost connections with family and friends while dealing with mental health and drug issues while struggling to find housing.
The new units at 97 Victoria N will be rent geared to income. These units will be eligible for supportive housing funding provided by the Region of Waterloo, targeting those most at risk for homelessness. The new housing will have 24/7 staffing supports, and connections to community and health care resources. Supportive staff will actively problem-solve and help build stability.
Green Infrastructure and Funding
The new building will integrate a sustainable design approach including:
No on-site fossil fuel consumption for the building facility
Geo-thermal energy in combination with electrical energy as the major energy sources
Geo-exchange heat pumps for space heating and domestic hot water
Heat recovery on all exhaust air systems
A high-performance building envelope including highly insulated enclosure assembly, with triple glazing in thermally broken frames, increased insulation, minimal air leakage and without thermal bridging
Extensive use of natural light for interior lighting through passive means, and daylight sensing controls for artificial light
LED based lighting to minimize electrical consumption
Reduced water consumption fixtures.
Mass timber structural system which will reduce embodied carbon
Material choices and selections to reduce embodied carbon including local materials where appropriate to reduce transportation emissions
Photo-voltaic panels installed on roof will provide additional onsite energy
The project will meet the CaGBC ZCB-Design requirements, for the maximum annual thermal energy demand intensity(TEDI) for Kitchener, in order to achieve a Net-Zero-Carbon Design certification.
We have applied to the federal government’s Green and Inclusive Community Buildings Program (CICBP) to help offset the extra costs that will result in a net-zero-carbon building. We hope to hear from this fund in the coming months.
Perimeter Development Donates $1 Million
We are pleased to announce that Perimeter Development has made a wonderful and generous contribution to the 97 Victoria N Making Home project. This donation is on top of the commitment Perimeter Development has made to shepherd and support this project from the original design to the final construction. This project is possible because of the support we have received from Perimeter Development and especially David Gibson, Craig Beattie, Hilary Abel and Nikita Thompson to coach us and guide the planning and design process. With rapid planning we have moved forward on architectural designs, environmental and site plan work, construction planning and a development of the fundraising campaign. We are so heartened by the Perimeter Development’s commitment to walk with us through this process to create this needed housing in our downtown.