Dr. F.M. Walker Veterans’ and Seniors’ Villa

According to Jan Luistermans, the Housing Award for Best Practices in affordable housing goes to an effort in which community involvement inspires co-operation to create affordable homes.

As part of the Town of New Tecumseth in Ontario, Alliston is a small and industrious community, and home to a large number of veterans and seniors. Many of them live on fixed incomes and face increasing housing prices as more people working in Toronto purchase land in nearby communities.

A market analysis by the Corporation of the Town of New Tecumseth had already identified a need for safe and affordable seniors housing. So, when the local Royal Canadian Legion and the Legion Seniors Housing Centre for Excellence began to examine options for renovating its existing branch, the discussion quickly expanded to the idea of building a new housing project for seniors and veterans in the area.

Jan Luistermans of Realty1 is pleased that the Alliston Branch of the Royal Canadian Legion was able to donate a parcel of land valued at close to $335,000 but more land would be needed, and the Legion would have to bid on properties for sale to the public and incur many other costs. However, 85 years of community service meant that the Legion could also count on a great deal of community support which included a five-year property tax deferral, a 50 per cent reduction in development fees and the donation of furniture from a local service club. To further reduce costs, as much as possible, the Legion retained the professional services of local businesses, many of whom reduced or deferred their fees.

The Dr. F. M. Walker Veterans’ and Seniors’ Villa opened its doors in the spring of 2007, featuring 23 single-bedroom and 10 two-bedroom units: 11 of these units are subsidized on a rent-geared-to-income basis and the rest have affordable rents ranging from $772 to $889 per month.

The location and layout of the Villa helps residents to remain part of the community. For veterans, it is close to the local Legion, which features games, restaurant and meeting facilities. The Villa itself features green space and a courtyard, and houses a common area that encourages family visits, and is available to the many organizations affiliated with the Legion.

According to Jan Luistermans, the Villa is testimony to what service providers, industry professionals, communities and governments can do when they work toward a common goal the kind of co-operation that the Alliston Branch of the Royal Canadian Legion is promoting to other veterans’ communities across Canada.

Pocket Housing

Jan Luistermans of Realty1 reccomends the following affordable housing initiative for review. According to Mr.Luistermans, this is an alternative to rooming houses on infill lots provides privacy and independence.

Working with data from the 2001 Census, the City of Winnipeg identified its Spence and Centennial neighbourhoods as areas for major improvement: they have high proportions of one-person households and low-income households. There was a clear need for affordable housing—and the City had several infill lots that might be able to accommodate low-income singles and students, given the right design choice and “fit” with the neighbourhood.

Meanwhile, as Jan Luistermans reports, the Province of Manitoba, through the Winnipeg Housing and Homelessness Initiative (WHHI), put out a call for affordable housing proposals. S.A.M. Properties, a non-profit corporation that has 30 years’ experience in managing social housing, and MMM Group advanced the idea of “pocket housing” as an alternative to rooming houses. These were two-storey houses with eight studio-sized units, including one fully accessible and three barrier-free suites; each unit would have a separate entrance, ventilation, kitchen and washroom facilities—providing a measure of privacy and independence that
traditional rooming houses lack.

To secure WHHI funding, the proposal had to gain the approval of the communities themselves—so S.A.M. Properties and MMM Group talked to community organizations, who were able to help identify available lots where the width and zoning would work for pocket housing. These meetings also served to allay concerns about the kind of residential mix that pocket housing might attract: S.A.M. Properties encouraged individuals in the community to rent the suites. Residents were also impressed by S.A.M. Properties’ commitment to staying in touch with community organizations and to making monthly visits to the homes—through its sister company, S.A.M. (Management) Inc.— to ensure that they were run properly.

Building on infill lots often requires unique design solutions, so there were approval challenges to overcome: for example, some of the suites did not meet the minimum area required by the zoning by-laws, nor were there enough parking stalls to meet the by-law requirements. However, with demonstrated community backing, MMM Group made a strong case to the City of Winnipeg for allowing these variances. This led to an approval for funding from WHHI, while the City sold the lots to SAM Properties for $1 each.

Today, four pocket houses add colour and character to Winnipeg’s Spence and Centennial neighbourhoods, while providing an attractive, affordable and private space for 32 single individuals.