The YW Sheriff King Home crisis shelter opened in Inglewood in 1984, and after more than 30 years in the community, YW is pleased to announce we’ll be growing our presence with a new location, a two-acre site at 1715 17 Ave SE (formerly the site of Westkey Storage).
The YW Hub Facility is a model of excellence in design based on both trauma-informed principles and holistic design strategies.
Over the last 17 months, YW has engaged with community members frequently and with open ears. In the spring of 2016, we mailed information to the Inglewood community and door knocked over 150 houses close to the future site. We advertised an open house in the Inglewood Community newsletter and heard from community members about their concerns at the event. We listened to the community there was interest in a multipurpose meeting space the community could rent, a fitness facility and concerns over childcare.
After meeting with the community at our first open house, our next steps were to find a development team and an architectural team to bring our vision to life. As experienced developers and key stakeholders in the Inglewood community, we selected Matco Development to provide leadership for the overall development process for the project. We selected Kasian Architecture who is also located in Inglewood and familiar with this unique community. With Kasian and Matco selected, we began monthly meetings with Inglewood’s Planning Committee to the project reflected what we wanted and what the community wanted to see.
In mid-October, our board of directors approved the conceptual design drawings and were very positive with lots of feedback. The Planning Committee was also positive and provided excellent points of feedback which the design team kept front of mind.
After that, it was full steam ahead, and the designs launched to our team members who were also quite positive while providing valuable feedback. The designs were taken to our current YW Mary Dover House clients who were extremely engaged, thrilled about the designs and provided valuable feedback to help the next set of women who will access our programs.
The drawings went public and launched November 9, 2016 at a wine and cheese event that was well attended. The attendees were positive and encouraged to complete an online survey. They were also invited to attend the Conversation Café as a means of providing more official and structured feedback to our teams. The launch kicked off a week of pop-up events where our Community Engagement Specialist showed the designs. Deanna Holt went across Inglewood and found herself at Spolombo’s Fine Foods & Deli, Bite and Rosso Coffee Roasters talking with community members about the designs! The designs were also displayed at the Central Library for five days with engagement opportunities through the survey.
The Conversation Café kicked off the last engagement event. Located at the Inglewood Community Hall, community members attended the event and provided positive yet constructive comments on the designs. The most common themes heard were concerns over the traffic and intersection of 9th Avenue and 17th, concerns about the shadow cast and a desire to have the building embody the look and feel of the Inglewood community.
In 2017, we launched the final detailed architectural design and we feel it reflects much of the community and stakeholder input we received. This week, we began to bring a vision to life and are excited to start the next chapter of YW.
Stay tuned to www.ywcalgary.ca/about-us/new-building-project-in-inglewood/ for updates and you can also stay up-to-date on what’s happening by subscribing our newsletter.
