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Track 4/Volet 4

(CS4.4) Adapting Heritage Buildings into Supportive Housing to Meet Canada's Homelessness Crisis

Saturday, November 16, 2024
11:40 AM – 12:00 PM EST
General Admission/Adminsion générale In English/En anglais Simultaneous Interpretation Available/Interprétation simultanée disponible
Indwell is one of Canada's leading developers of permanent supportive housing with 1,200+ tenants throughout southwestern Ontario. This presentation will share Indwell's experience converting three heritage buildings into supportive housing. We will highlight decisions on feasibility, navigating heritage values, detailing materials, and outline general economics of bringing unused heritage structures back to life as homes for people rebuilding their lives. We will explore how Indwell's values of Dignity, Love, and Hope are expressed through these restoration projects that shape the physical environment for creating inclusive community for people often marginalized by poverty, illness, gender, or culture.

Learning Objectives:

  • Start imagining the future of heritage buildings as supportive and affordable housing.
  • Describe some of the key metrics for assessing heritage buildings as housing conversion projects.
  • Realize the compatibility of heritage buildings with advancing climate-action and social inclusion through adaptive-reuse projects.
  • Express hopefulness about the opportunities in their community for creating inclusive solutions to homelessness using their skills as heritage professionals.