Brian Cotton proudly showed off his apartment during a recent afternoon at Dogwood Suites in downtown Simcoe.
“I have never lived in a brand new place, so it’s fantastic,” said the 44-year-old Simcoe native. “I’m excited about the fact it’s geared to income so I can save some money, and with the location I can walk to the library, pharmacy or grocery store.”
Cotton was one of the first tenants to move in about three weeks ago to the building at 41 Norfolk Street that was once the Norfolk Inn.
“We opened our first program in 2016 at Hambleton Hall (on John Street) that currently has 40 apartments,” said Leah Logan, regional manager for Indwell. “The wait list is 300 people. We knew the need in this area was significant, and (the Dogwood Suites project) gave us the opportunity to make a bigger impact.”
Indwell is a Christian charity that creates affordable housing communities that support people seeking health, wellness and belonging.
Logan said Indwell was approached by the community, including the Downtown BIA and Norfolk County, to see if something could be done with the former Norfolk Inn.
“We purchased the building in 2018 and at the time there were approximately 47 people living in the building,” she said. “I was not OK with the quality of housing people were living in.”
Logan described the rooms above the tavern as having no heat, infested with bugs, and very run down.
“It was a pretty hopeless place,” she said. “We wanted to do better for the folks here.”
Indwell staff spent several months rehousing the tenants before extensive demolition could begin, followed by construction that included the addition of a third storey.
“Now this will be home to 51 individuals,” said Logan, describing the units as being a mix of one-bedroom, bachelor and barrier-free units for those with accessibility needs. All units have a kitchenette and air-conditioning, while common spaces, a community room, laundry and meeting rooms are also a feature. Program staff is on site to support and maintain everyone’s housing, and to provide community activities.
“The building is designed to a passive house standard to lower the ecological footprint, and (combined with) lots of natural light assists our tenants with lower hydro costs.”
Logan noted that a furniture donation drive by Church Out Serving has been “a blessing” to provide tenants with furniture for their units.
“Our goal is to meet the needs of deep affordability,” she said. “For us it’s looking at ensuring that everybody that has limited income has the opportunity to live in good, quality housing too. By not using all of your income on rent it allows you to enhance your quality of life by investing in yourself in other ways.”
The majority of tenants rely on either Ontario Works or Ontario Disability Support Program for income, so rents are geared based on those levels of shelter allowance.
Logan noted that tenants took part in a housing readiness program over the last few months, getting to know one another and their interests.
“It’s not just a building, it’s a community,” she said. “If you have a community that understands the ebbs and flows of mental health and addiction but will support you and give you grace in that, we see people grow in their health, wellness and belonging. We’re already seeing that happen here.”
Norfolk County invested into the project in the beginning. That, Logan said, enabled Indwell to leverage funding from the provincial and federal government, with a significant portion coming from the Rapid Housing Initiative and Social Services Relief Funding.
Construction is nearing completion on the ground floor units, and Logan said a grand opening is planned for early July.
“The contributions from the community were the first inklings of the possibility of a project like this,” she said. “It does take a village to create a new community and we can’t thank the Norfolk County community enough for coming alongside us in this journey.”