Ontario Construction News staff writer
A former medical facility located in downtown Windsor has been successfully turned into affordable housing, celebrating the end of a redevelopment project that created 19 residential units by repurposing an existing building.
The Grace on Ouellette Apartments at 1106 Ouellette Ave. officially opened this week after a renovation and conversion effort that changed a two-storey medical building previously owned by Hôtel-Dieu Grace Healthcare into living spaces.
Managed by Windsor Essex Community Housing Corporation (CHC), the project included a complete overhaul of the original structure to establish permanent affordable housing. Initially planned for 15 units, the project was later expanded to include 19 apartments, optimizing the building’s potential while reusing its existing framework.
The property was obtained by CHC from Hôtel-Dieu Grace Healthcare, which aided in the redevelopment through a reduced sale price of the building. This deal allowed the housing provider to allocate more funds toward necessary construction and renovation efforts for converting the facility into homes.
Renovations involved significant interior redesign to create residential layouts, updates to building systems, and enhancements required to comply with current housing standards. The finished development now offers 19 affordable housing units right in Windsor’s downtown area, with all but two units already filled.
This project also includes a social housing aspect through collaboration with the Canadian Mental Health Association Windsor-Essex County Branch. Available units will assist participants in Ontario’s Homelessness and Addiction Recovery Treatment (HART) Hubs program, merging affordable housing with access to supportive services.
Over $3.3 million in funding from federal and provincial sources backed this redevelopment, including about $1.2 million from the Canada-Ontario Community Housing Initiative and $2.1 million from the Ontario Priorities Housing Initiative.
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