A lot to be proud of - Winnipeg Free Press - By: Temur Durrani

Posted: 4:00 AM CDT Monday, Aug. 16, 2021

Jubilee Fund invests in non-profit effort to transform neglected inner city lot into affordable seniors housing complex

Catherine Collins couldn't wrap her head around it. For years, a vacant lot sat idly by where she lived — home only to a dump of garbage, drug users and stray cars looking for free parking. "It wasn't like anything positive was happening there," Collins told the Free Press about the Harriet Street property in Winnipeg, sandwiched between McDermot and Notre Dame Avenues. "In this prime inner-city location, where affordable housing was so desperately needed, I just absolutely could not look away."

That was in early 2020, well before Collins had even formed her not-for-profit corporation, which would eventually buy out the empty lot. But in the months ahead, she faced challenge after challenge - to first raise enough funds to acquire the property, then create architectural plans approved by the city, all while juggling the task of putting together a board of directors for her newly created organization.

"It was a lot of things to be doing smack dab in the middle of the pandemic," Collins said. "COVID-19 was actually making things extremely difficult for us, because all the people I'd call up for fundraising were shy about getting involved in such a big project during a massive health crisis."

She approached churches, social welfare groups, local politicians and even knocked door to door for help. "No one exactly supported us, and even when they did, there was the crucial side of meeting city plans that would frighten everyone," Collins said. Just over a year later, Harriet Street Seniors Housing Inc. is celebrating the completion of an agreement which provides the non-profit with a mammoth $550,000 loan to secure that property.

Now, where over 22,000 square feet of empty space collected dust, will be a 48-unit building on three stories. Affordable prices will be up for studio, one- and two-bedroom apartments — all of which are created to be accessible for senior residents. "55 Harriet Street can finally be a safe space for Winnipeg seniors," Collins said. "And it's all thanks to the Jubilee Fund."

Launched in 2000, the Jubilee Fund is Manitoba's only charitable investment fund. It aims to raise awareness of the interrelated issues of poverty reduction, financial assets, and access to credit - while providing loan guarantees, direct loans, and bridge financing to nonprofits working to reduce poverty. The loan to Harriet Street Seniors Housing represents the largest ever provided by the Jubilee Fund in its decades-long history.

"It was like a no-brainer," Peter Cantelon, Jubilee Fund's executive director, said in an interview. "The sheer passion and vision that this project had definitely won us over and we knew we had to support it." Cantelon said it wouldn't have been possible without their own donors, including the provincial government and the Winnipeg Foundation, to greenlight something like this. "It's almost four times the funding compared to the previous such project we've financed," he said. "But we couldn't be more over the moon about it. I mean, this is something at the heart of the city that will not only improve the area, but also the lives of those living there."

The project has received many letters of support from the City of Winnipeg, local MPs, and MLAs, along with community and neighbourhood organizations. "This community driven project's goal of providing low-income residences for independent seniors of all ethnicities and religious affiliations would represent a much-needed investment in our housing stock," wrote Winnipeg Centre MP Leah Gazan in a letter dated Sept. 18, 2020.

"This building will also serve to revitalize our neighborhood by replacing some of the area's housing that has been lost from age and neglect," wrote city councilor Vivian Santos on March 5, 2021. Construction for the building will now begin in earnest, and is expected to wrap up by late 2022, if all goes as planned.

An "urban character" has been described for the space, by the building's developers. It's expected to focus on privacy and consider natural light, with six-foot-high wood fencing to separate from adjacent properties. There will be parking spaces off-site, across the street.

"Of course, this loan still isn't a birthday gift. We do have to return it - so that's top of mind, too," Collins said. "At the end of the day, this is something were proud of and the rest is a work in progress."

https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/business/2021/08/16/a-lot-to-be-proud-of