A prominent not-for-profit organization is taking the next step towards building a mixed-use complex in the ByWard Market that would include a drop-in centre, soup kitchen and 48 supportive housing units for chronically homeless residents.
The Shepherds of Good Hope recently filed an application at City Hall for an eight-storey building at 216 Murray St., a half-block west of a homeless shelter the organization operates near the corner of Murray Street and King Edward Avenue. The site is currently occupied by a one-storey, 3,500-square-foot commercial building.
The federal government is providing $10.8 million in funding for the development under the Rapid Housing program, a $1-billion initiative launched last year that aims to build nearly 5,000 new affordable housing units in marginalized communities across the country.
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For Ginger Bertrand, some of her earliest childhood memories in Ottawa are centred around healthcare. “I grew up across the street from what was originally the General Hospital,” she explains,
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Zaahra Mehsen was three years into a biology degree at a local university when she realized she wanted to take a different path. “I realized that it’s not my thing,”
In order to be eligible for the program, the project must be completed by the end of 2021. The Shepherds of Good Hope says panelized construction will be used to ensure construction is finished on time.
The organization says it has consulted with representatives of Aboriginal communities and hired Two Row Architecture, which specializes in Indigenous projects, to help incorporate Indigenous themes into the design and “pay homage to the rich Indigenous and Inuit history in the Ottawa area.”
No parking is proposed for the development. The Shepherds of Good Hope is seeking zoning amendments to permit a mid-rise apartment on the property as well as a proposed health and resource centre. The proposed zoning would prohibit the operation of a shelter on the property.
