“Nobody is better than the City of St. Thomas at being able to make a vision, make it clear, get behind it with an initial investment and then go after and bring along the province and the federal government.”
High praise indeed, and from an individual at home partnering with the city.
Jeff Neven is the CEO of Indwell, a Christian charity dedicated to providing affordable housing and community support, which now owns or operates two housing projects in St. Thomas. Railway City Lofts on Talbot Street above the transit centre and The Station, located on Queen Street.
And on Monday of this week, it was announced that a new supportive housing project is coming to St. Thomas, thanks to that partnership.
The former Balaclava Street Public School will be transformed into 78 units of supportive housing, equipped with essential supports to assist residents.
This will include 36 units within the existing school structure and an additional 42 units in a new extension.
St. Thomas Mayor Joe Preston emphasized the significance of the initiative, highlighting its role in addressing the city’s urgent housing needs.
“Indwell is very excited, and we’re very excited. This is going to bring us so close to zero homelessness in our community.
“It does take a while to build these types of things, so we’ve got a little way to go, but what is exciting is to know we are this far ahead on that aim.”
Preston noted, “The need for supportive housing has never been more urgent, and this partnership with Indwell is an essential part of the solution.”
He added that preserving a heritage building was also a critical consideration.
“And the saving of a heritage property like Balaclava school was also quite important to us.
“When the school board declared it as surplus and, of course, it first had to be offered to the city, and we said ‘Yes.’
“And then we tried to figure out if we can make something like this work.”
Neven referred to the former school as “stunning.”
“And so we’re just so excited that we are able to be a part of the story of preserving it, of giving it new life, and you know, so many old buildings end up falling down because they don’t have new life and a new use for them and this building will be animated with people making it home and it will be totally renovated.
“It will be beautiful, and it will be well-maintained.”
“At Indwell, we believe in building more than housing – we build communities where people can find hope, health, and a sense of belonging.”
The school opened in 1899 and was closed by the Thames Valley District School Board in 2011.
It reopened two years later as the Balaclava St. Centre for Adult, Alternative and Continuing Education. Most recently, it has sat vacant.
Many of the projects Indwell undertakes involve adaptive reuse of existing structures.
“Half of our projects are actually adaptive reuse, so we haven’t done a school yet. We did a former textile factory in Woodstock. We have currently two historic hospital buildings in London that are under adaptive reuse, and some more institutional buildings. We’ve done a long-term care home and some former commercial buildings, so half of our buildings have been adaptive reuse.
“We love taking heritage-style buildings and preserving them, and giving them new life and new use, and we really think it’s a metaphor for life as well.
Neven continued, “At Indwell, we believe in building more than housing – we build communities where people can find hope, health, and a sense of belonging.”
He added that the hope is to transition individuals through the original projects onto the Balaclava Street undertaking as they become more independent.
“Yeah, we certainly would hope that some folks from The Station would be able to move to this, you know, working along with people’s goals and such.
“And that would free up more units there for people coming out of Railway City Lofts.
“And that would free up more spots for folks coming directly out of homelessness.”
Neven continued, “Every door we open together creates a permanent solution to homelessness.
“So many people love living in St. Thomas, and our tenants are the same. Living downtown in St. Thomas is walkable. It’s a beautiful place to live. It’s accessible to so many amenities that our tenants are looking for.
“So, I’d love to live in this building. I won’t, but our tenants will, and I’m really excited about that for them.”
“So, St. Thomas is a leader, not only in southwestern Ontario, but across the country, that other municipalities are looking to and saying, how are you doing this, and what can we learn from it?”
He stressed Indwell is working closely with the city to clear the way to begin the renovations and expansion of the heritage building.
“Obviously, the first step is to get access to the property, but our timeline is quite aggressive, and we will be working with the city to get those building permits in place as quickly as we can. Typically, once building permits are in place, it’s 18 to 24 months to opening.”
Neven pointed out that St. Thomas is now recognized as a leader in the city’s efforts to end homelessness.
“Kudos to the elected officials as well as city hall who have done that, who continue to take that approach so that St. Thomas is well supported with supportive housing and affordable housing.
“And, you know, St. Thomas really is a leader in the country in the reduction of homelessness in a time where every other city has massive increases, tenfold increases.
“We’ve seen that working together with Indwell and the other partners in our sector, it’s really something special that we have here in St. Thomas, that everyone’s working in the same direction, starting with the question of what do we have, how can we contribute, what can we do to be a part of the solution, and then inviting all levels of government to participate in that.
“And, you know, I think that’s what our provincial and federal partners are looking for, is who has solutions and how can they come and join a good thing, and that’s what we’re finding right here in St. Thomas.
“So, St. Thomas is a leader, not only in southwestern Ontario, but across the country, that other municipalities are looking to and saying, how are you doing this, and what can we learn from it?
“So, kudos to everyone working together, and I can’t say enough about our partners in the social service sector as well, we’re all working together for the same objectives, and well done.”
Preston concluded, “Together, we’re not just building housing – we’re building pathways to stability and opportunity for those who need it most.”
He added, “The redevelopment of the former Balaclava School is part of the city’s broader strategy to address housing instability and ensure that all residents have access to the resources needed for stability and well-being.
“By partnering with organizations like Indwell, the city is taking significant, long-term steps toward a more inclusive and resilient community.”
MOVING FORWARD WITH NEW ANIMAL SHELTER
In April 2022, Sara Teare wrote to city council indicating her intention to donate $1 million toward a new animal services centre.
She added the intent is to “help kick off the fundraising goals and bring this project closer to completion.”
Well, almost three years to the day, the ground was officially broken Wednesday afternoon on the long-overdue new facility.
In her letter to council Teare continued, “I know that there has been a capital amount approved in previous years to go toward that construction (of the animal centre), however, there is a fundraising aspect that needs to be kicked off to help ensure that this facility becomes a community hub, fulfilling many needs at once.”
She observed the existing shelter in the city works yard on Burwell Road, “is a small building with limited functionality, in an industrial space that is anything but calming for the animals arriving, wondering where their families have gone.”
As this corner noted at that time, woefully inadequate would be a more apt description.
Teare concluded, “I believe that the role of Animal Services is not only to provide a space for lost and surrendered animals to find shelter but also to enhance the community by being a resource that can be used by all.”
“Everything is better than what we currently have. It’s taken a long time and a lot of choices to get us to a better spot.”
A new shelter has been an agenda topic at city council meetings for at least a decade, and the new facility located on a former soccer pitch south of the Douglas J. Tarry Sports Complex is the right location, stressed Mayor Joe Preston.
“We know this was a soccer pitch here, but we built 1Password Park, and we knew that we could use this land for something better.
“We did think about housing and other things, but this is the right site and the right time for this.”
Preston agreed it has been a long and winding road to get to the new shelter site at Bill Martyn Parkway and Southdale Line.
A night-and-day improvement over the inadequate city works yard.
“Everything is better than what we currently have. It’s taken a long time and a lot of choices to get us to a better spot.
“We got our budget done early so we can go out and get things started like this.”
He stressed the shelter will be shared with neighbouring municipalities.
“We’re certainly working with Central Elgin and the other municipalities on sharing more services also.
“We think it’s only right. St. Thomas is right in the centre of the action, and we can do certain things. We have to do them anyway, so why don’t we include our neighbours and help take some of the pressure off them, also.”
In January of this year, Tonda Construction Limited of London submitted the lowest bid at just over $4 million. That’s one million dollars higher than the original tender bid of $3 million in March 2023. At that time, the project budget was just under $2 million.
The shelter is expected to open before the end of the year.
Preston added that he and members of council are open to the possibility of naming the new animal services shelter, which raises the possibility of generating revenue from selling the naming rights.
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WHOSE PROBLEM?
A follow-up to last Saturday’s item on who is responsible for cleaning up and removing the debris left behind when homeless individuals camp out at the back door of your business.
Several hours after the story was posted, the area was cleaned up, and we can only assume the work was undertaken by employees of an undetermined city department.
As it should have been.
And it should not have taken a week of back-and-forth negotiating/buck-passing on the part of individuals at city hall to overcome the inertia.
It is not the responsibility of business owners and their employees to deal with mounds of je ne sais quoi gracing their rear entrance.
Had that been dumped in full public view in a Talbot Street storefront, would it have taken a week to remove?
Not if you want to maintain the healthy downtown that is the goal of the city’s much-touted Strategic Plan.
In this case, out of sight should not imply out of mind.
The individuals responsible for the discarded items and human excrement found in the back alleys are what stand in the way of the city ever achieving net-zero homelessness.
They are on the fringe of society. Their identities do not grace homeless name lists.
Drug dependency and mental health struggles are their constant companions as they trundle to and fro with their shopping carts.
They are lone wolves who have survived a brutal winter and will again become increasingly visible with spring’s arrival.
The responsibility for dealing with these lost souls has been unfairly downloaded onto the backs of municipalities and local ratepayers.
But the onus should not fall to businesses to craft a solution.
They are already raising an alarm when a shape is slumped over in their doorway, ever vigilant for signs of fires in back alleys and under stairways and maintaining a user-friendly environment at their front door.
ELECTION SCORECARD
With the federal vote less than a month distant, we now have three candidates declared in Elgin-St. Thomas-London South.
Out of the gate quickly were Andrew Lawton of the Conservative Party of Canada and David Goodwin representing the Liberal Party.
Joining the fray this week is Stephen R. Campbell, People’s Party of Canada candidate.
He is no stranger to the area.
Earlier this year, he was the None of the Above Party candidate in the provincial election.
There is no word yet on who will represent the NDP locally.
We will have candidate profiles beginning next week.
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And a reminder, I can be heard weekday afternoons as news anchor and reporter on 94.1 myFM in St. Thomas. As always, your comments and input are appreciated.
