NEWS RELEASE
BUILDING HOPE ADVISORY GROUP
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Orillia’s Building Hope initiative is getting closer and closer to building a new home for its community services hub.
A few weeks ago, after an exhaustive request for proposal (RFP) process, the building and design team selected McKnight Charron Ltd. Architects of Barrie to design the ambitious project at its Queen Street site.
“We would have been excited to work with any of the six teams we invited to participate in the RFP process,” said Mike Unwin, chair of the project’s building and design team. “Each was qualified and, in the end, it was a very close decision but McKnight Charron offered the best combination of price, value and qualifications. They’ve done some affordable housing projects elsewhere in the county and they designed Gilda’s Club in Barrie, so they are a good fit.”
Unwin’s team scored the bidders on a sophisticated, two-stage matrix that considered each company’s team members, experience, financials and other factors. “It’s a big step forward,” Unwin said of hiring an architect.
Now, the volunteer team behind Building Hope and staff from McKnight Charron will sit down to discuss program needs, fine-tune the square footage required to meet those needs, work on a layout and, “following that, the architect will put a shape to it.”
Glenn Wagner, chair of The Lighthouse Soup Kitchen and Shelter and the Building Hope Advisory Group, said hiring an architect represents an important milestone. “It’s the next step in the process,” Wagner said. “It’s exciting to see progress is being made as we work to create this much-needed community services hub.”
Ultimately, that community services hub will include three phases: 20 supportive housing units linked to support services, a new, modern, accessible emergency shelter for men, women and families that will replace the aging building currently home to The Lighthouse on Peter Street, and, hopefully, a third phase of affordable housing units. The supportive housing component could be the first phase of the project if an agreement is reached to acquire time-sensitive funding from the Province and the County of Simcoe – a decision that is expected in later this month.
“Right now, Orillia has no emergency housing for homeless women or families, and our current 14 beds for men are full almost every night, ” said Wagner. “People that are homeless need some kind of stable housing where service-providers are able to offer assistance on site... that’s why Building Hope, this community services hub, is so vital and why we are working so hard to ensure it happens.”
For more information, contact Glenn Wagner 705-323-0124 or [email protected]
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