The Upside (March 2025)
Let's focus on good things happening in and around Waterloo Region
Housing:
Waterloo is again finding innovative ways to support the creation of more affordable housing. Their most recent plan has the city purchasing a former Anglican church (St. Columba at 250 Lincoln Rd) and transforming it into housing. While the entire redevelopment likely won’t meet the definition of affordable, Council hopes to achieve at least 30% of the units being affordable. Additionally, they plan to allow arts and culture groups to utilize the space until redevelopment begins.
It is expected that the lot size could house between 12-30 units under current zoning regulations. More homes could possibly be created if Council were to allow a change to the existing zoning.
A city report states: “This land acquisition is an excellent investment for the city, with the potential to help bring a moderate number of affordable housing units to a well-established and well-located neighbourhood.”
The Region of Waterloo is closer to having more affordable housing in Cambridge after approving development of 30 Lauris Ave (formerly Alison Park Public School) in 2023. The Region is currently accepting proposals for the site with the requirement that at least 30 per cent of units be offered at affordable rent for 40 years.
“The request for proposals will give higher scores to projects that provide more than the minimum affordable units and more two-and three-bedroom units and the region hopes 40 per cent of units will be affordable.”
Cambridge’s new affordable housing projects don’t end there, thanks to Indwell’s ongoing redevelopment of the former Grand River Hotel at 1102 King St. E. The $18-million supportive affordable housing project will feature a three-storey and five-storey addition at the rear, plus a two-storey addition on the side to complete the 45-residential-unit building.
“Expanding the building to 26,178 square feet allows for the housing units, as well as community space for tenants, office space for staff and commercial space on the ground floor.”
Rents are expected to be $570-580 per month. (More of this please!) Click to learn more about Indwell’s Heritage Flats.
After several delays, and almost two years of planning, the emergency shelter for women and gender-diverse people in Cambridge opened last month. The shelter will operate 24/7 and will provide mental health and addiction support, transition and housing support, and medical care will be on-site one day a week.
“In all, 20 beds are placed in six rooms in the basement of Grace Bible Church, along with a dining area, sitting area, medical room, laundry room and kitchen. Four rooms have three beds and two rooms have four.
Operated by YWCA Cambridge, CEO Kim Decker said the most important thing is that the women will finally have a safe and supportive place, rather than sleeping outside.”
And no need to leave Kitchener off this list of affordable housing news since Council recently decided that the new proposed fire station (450 King St. E) will include at least 150 affordable housing units in partnership with Kitchener Housing Inc.
“The city plans to use a construction model called integrated project delivery, which aims to increase efficiency and reduce costs by bringing key participants together early in the process.”
It is entirely probable that I spend too much time looking at housing proposals and developments, but if I didn’t, I might have missed this beauty. While this was recently built in Toronto, it seems to me the perfect addition to most any neighbourhood in Waterloo Region.
“This project pairs offsite modular and tilt-up construction methods to minimize construction time and maximize the cost-effectiveness of this 3-storey permanently affordable supportive housing project funded by CMHC.” And the project was built in just 17 days!
“We can actually make the neighbourhood a better place, and more beautiful,” says operations manager, Ms. Adams. “I know a lot of people are alarmed: ‘Oh non-profit, affordable housing, what’s going to happen to the neighbourhood!’ If you were to look at our projects, we put a lot of thought into aesthetics to make them an asset to the neighbourhood.”
Arts and Culture:
The City of Waterloo invites artists and neighbours to work together to create and deliver collaborative community art. Through the Artists in Neighbourhoods program, eligible applicants can apply for up to $5,000 per project.
Projects could include ideas such as a community-based performance performed by neighbours; a mural, sculpture, exhibition, or display; a publication of a collaborative piece such as a novel, poetry collection, cookbook, or other artistic media shared within the neighbourhood; or your own unique idea.
The deadline to apply is March 31st.
Pamela Rojas is one of my favourite local artists. For me, her art brings joy and whimsy to the space it occupies. Much of her work involves community collaboration in some way. Perhaps you have seen her latest installation at the Waterloo Public Library. Take a few moments to watch this video about Pamela and her work.
Also, check out this profile of Pamela and follow her Instagram.
“My experience tells me that art can be a vivid experience for different groups of people and it creates community bridges." -Pamela Rojas
Kitchener’s new Studio 27 at 27 Roy St, features a gallery and workshop space and is home to Holly’s Neighbourhood Cafe.
“Studio 27’s mission is to create more opportunities for artists to showcase their art. Instead of charging artists fees for gallery or workshop space, Studio 27 uses a commission-based payment system. Artist’s hosting workshops pay a 20 per cent commission, and artists displaying in the gallery pay a commission on pieces sold.”
This sounds like the perfect place to visit the next time you’re headed to KPL’s Central Branch or Centre in the Square!
Innovations:
Researchers at the University of Waterloo have developed a program which will detect hate speech on social media platforms. Liam Hebert, an author of the study, says, “Training a model to understand the contextual connections in a discussion, including considering the images and other multimedia elements within them, is a very hard problem…There’s a huge need to detect hate speech on a large scale to build spaces where everyone is respected and safe.”
Another team from the University of Waterloo has developed an energy-efficient device that uses evaporation to turn sea water into fresh water.
“Using a portable, solar-powered design that takes inspiration from trees, the team has developed a system that can easily be deployed in communities around the world facing fresh water shortages.”
Community News and Supports:
This story starts with an unfortunate situation, but ends with the community rallying together. Last year, the building that’s home to Old Goat Books in Uptown Waterloo, had a fire, causing smoke damage to thousands of books. It was discovered that the books could be saved through a restoration process. That process though came with a hefty price tag. A GoFundMe was set up to help cover the costs and the community has already helped raise over $22,000.
Additionally, Old Goat Books has found a temporary home at 35 King St. N. in the old Post Office, while the original building is restored after the fire.
Old Goat Books owner, Erica Nikolaus, “admits all the love has been overwhelming, with people rallying around her during such a hard time. Books, she said, are empathy generators, and it shows.”
The federal government has finalized Bill C-22, the Canada Disability Benefit (CDB) which means the program could be rolled out later this year.
The passed bill falls short of what some, including Kitchener Centre MP, Mike Morrice, were pushing for, however, executive director of Extend-A-Family in Kitchener, Allan Mills calls it a gamechanger. “Every bit helps and even just the recognition that this is needed at a national level and for the country to set the goal of a person with a disability should not, by default, be living in poverty,” Mills said.
The benefit will see a federal investment of $6.1 billion over six years to serve an estimated 600,000 Canadians with disabilities.
The Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) hopes to soon produce 60,000 cans of meat annually for people in need with the opening a new 10,000-square-foot cannery in New Hamburg. The MCC has provided canned meat for people caught in conflict and disaster since 1947.
“Our goal is to contribute locally as well as our global work and think about how we might be a local partner in trying to address the growing impact of food insecurity in our own community,” says MCC executive director Michelle Brenneman.
The Food Bank of Waterloo Region wrapped up their Great Food Sort Challenge at the end of January which raised enough food and funds to provide 168,555 meals for folks in Waterloo Region.
“Over the three days, 300 people joined forces to sort through 67,704 pounds of non-perishable food (166 watermelon bins), and together, the teams, representing 25 local businesses, raised $56,067. Since 2014, the event has raised more than 944,000 meals for people in need in Waterloo region.”
One Million Neighbours Waterloo Region, which aims to find the common ground between the community groups and non-profits who are working to make our communities a better place, has been busy hosting local roundtables on various topics. Their latest update states, “From climate change to newcomer support, from early childhood learning to addictions, from housing to food security, we’ve worked together to see these topics not as separate silos but as an interconnected whole.”
Click to learn more about this important initiative.
While I’ll be the first to say that simply reducing speed limits, without also changing road design features, is less than ideal, it’s clear that it can still have a positive effect. Since reducing speeds on city streets, Waterloo has seen drivers slow down an average of 5kms/hr. Staff expected the average reduction would be 1-3kms/hr. And the news gets even better as, “Waterloo has also found that on streets where posted speeds were reduced in 2023, drivers have not sped back up.”
“Work planned this spring will complete a three-year rollout of reduced speed limits, with the installation of 90 more signs in two more city wards. About 60 per cent of Waterloo streets will be posted at 40 km/h by completion.”
Kitchener Public Library’s sixth branch opened yesterday at 100 Rosenberg Way. “The new Southwest Library is a net-zero, energy efficient building and has achieved the Zero Carbon Building designation from the Canada Green Building Council. Southwest is one of the first libraries with this designation in Canada and first municipal building in Waterloo Region.”
“The facility was designed in consultation with Six Nations of the Grand River and Mississaugas of the Credit, the Indigenous Rights Holders for the land. That collaboration has resulted in the Four Directions learning gardens, which represent the four components of the Indigenous medicine wheel. The building also contains space for ceremony and gathering.”
I can’t wait to visit this new location!
While technically this next announcement may fit best under Citified’s ‘Council Round-Up’, I think it also counts as very good news! Matt Rodrigues has been appointed as our newest Regional Councillor (representing Kitchener) after former Councillor Rob Deutschmann stepped down to run for the Liberals in the recent provincial election.
I helped out on Matt’s campaign when he ran in 2022 because I felt that his perspectives and experiences would bring a much-needed voice to council. Matt outlines some of those here:
“As an urban planner, I understand what it takes to build a community that leaves no one behind. I’m a renter, I use transit, and I understand many of the barriers to accessing regional services. As a gay man and part of the LGTBQ2S+ community, representation at council is important to me and I will bring my personal experience to all decisions.”
Matt finished just behind Rob in that election and that was the main reason Regional Council decided that Matt should be appointed (as opposed to running a byelection or opening up an ‘appointment by application’ process).
Upcoming Events:
Reep offers free webinars to help residents create beautiful and functional landscapes that reduce community flood risk, protect our local water quality, and support biodiversity. Upcoming webinars include:
Gardening in Your Boulevard | March 26th at 7:00-8:00pm
A Guide to Naturalize Your Yard | April 2nd at 7:00-8:00pm
Easy, Affordable Changes for a Sustainable Landscape | April 9th at 7:00-8:00pm
You may also be eligible for a free, on-site consultation to learn more about making your property Rain Smart! Reep will help you plan projects like rain barrels, rain gardens, permeable paving, tree planting & naturalized landscaping, so you’re ready for the next big rain! More info: Rain Smart Neighbourhoods – Reep Green Solutions
March 25th, 5:30pm: The next SDG Talk focuses on SDG 6: Clean Water and Sanitation, exploring solutions for sustainable water management, access to clean water, and the role of communities in water conservation. This year’s theme, Community of Difference Makers, spotlights individuals and organizations advancing environmental stewardship, community building, and social entrepreneurship.
Hopefully, this post is a small reminder of the many good things happening locally. Thanks for reading!
Some good news on housing and shelter, hopefully it keeps on coming! Nice to have a good news newsletter!!!
Thanks so much for good news, Melissa!!