By Kyle Mantha
Special to the Barrie Construction Report
A local motel underwent a massive renovation earlier this year, re-emerging as Lucy’s Place, an affordable housing complex that aims to help the Barrie’s most vulnerable citizens. Named after a woman who tragically died on the streets of downtown Barrie in 2014, the complex will provide relief to those who struggle with chronic homelessness.
Lucy’s Place welcomed its first six tenants on May 6 and six more shortly after that. The units are furnished with beds, kitchenettes, fireplaces, and televisions. Meeting rooms, laundry rooms, and common areas are also located on-site. The property also holds a second house, which will be converted into units for people with second-stage addiction issues.
The $2.5 million Lucy’s Place, located near Fairview Road at 170 Essa Rd., is headed by Redwood Park Communities, a charitable organization that works to end homelessness based on their “Housing First” approach, which prioritizes providing housing and shelter to those in need.
The organization is also responsible for United House, an initiative that offers transitional housing to women and children leaving the Women and Children’s Shelter of Barrie, as well as Redwood Second Suites, a project that works with homeowners to provide affordable housing to individuals and families in need.
The BCA, through the Adopt-a-Unit campaign, partnered with Redwood Park Communities, the Government of Ontario, the County of Simcoe, the City of Barrie and the David Busby Centre to convert Barr’s Motel. The donation covers the cost to fully renovate a motel room into a furnished bachelor apartment, complete with kitchen, bathroom, new flooring, bed, linens and curtains.
To maximize the benefits received from the construction community, the BCA hosted the tender for the motel conversion on the electronic plan room ‘BestBidz’. Members viewing the plans and specifications were encouraged to provide their best pricing and to offer gifts-in-kind in the form of labour and material donations.
The BCA would like to thank the following businesses for generously contributing their time and materials to this project:
- Aube Masonry
- Barrie Trim & Moulding Inc.
- Brian’s Little Electric, Gerrit’s Engineering Ltd.
- MAK Mechanical Ltd.
- Positano Paving, Rutherford Contracting
- The Sarjeant Co. Ltd.
- Stephenson’s Rental Services
- Tatham Engineering
- United Lumber
Members’ contributions help make our community a place where we all love to live, work, and play.
