| About Us |
 Heartwood Place was established in 2001 by a group of local volunteers, led by Mary Bales, who were concerned about the increasing need for affordable housing in our community. From high vacancy rates and low rents in the mid-90’s to a changing economy and lack of government funding, the year 2000 saw remarkable changes in the cost of rental housing, high increases in occupancy rates at local shelters and families who were sharing housing with others under dire circumstances. The number of individuals, couples and families on the regional waiting list for affordable housing continued to grow. In addition to the pressure being felt in the housing sector, the founders were concerned about the increasing need for social service programs and the amount of funds which they required. They all firmly believed that the first step, the basic need, was a “safe, affordable and adequate” place to call home. Without an address, without a kitchen with decent appliances, without a safe place to sleep, how could anyone think about returning to school, getting a job, improving their health, overcoming their dependencies? Our name brings together the qualities of "the heart" with the strength of "wood". It also has a special meaning, in that "heartwood" is the centre part of the trunk, the strongest part, which provides stability and durability to the tree. We all know that everyone needs a "Place", a place where they belong, a place to feel safe, secure and nourished. We also know that personal growth starts at home and without an address, a place to call home, there's not much hope for improvement or positive change. And no one challenges the old adage, "Home Is Where the Heart Is". Our trademark, designed by local artist Terry Black, portrays a large, flourishing tree surrounded by green grass, with a stream and tall trees in the background. This image represents strength, serenity and growth, a statement of what develops in a positive environment and nurturing setting.  Since receiving its incorporation and status as a charitable organization in 2001, Heartwood Place has made great strides forward, but not without some challenges and hard work. An offer to purchase the former Duthler Textiles Store at 19 Gaukel Street in downtown Kitchener was the first major step. Shortly after that plans commenced to renovate and extend the former commercial/industrial building to provide 33 new affordable apartments. This project was completed in the fall of 2003 and on its second anniversary, Heartwood Place staff and volunteers welcomed tenants into their new apartments. There were several reasons for the remarkable success of the first project. One key component was the outstanding support from the Region of Waterloo with its grant of $495,000; another was the $450,000 received from CMHC through its RRAP program for retrofitting former commercial/ industrial buildings into residential use. Other key factors were outstanding support from Clarica (now Sunlife Financial) of $300,000 and over $450,000 from other local foundations, businesses, and private donors. Funding the balance was a challenge until we were able to convince the TD Bank that, although a recently established charitable organization, Heartwood Place should be granted a first mortgage at a reasonable rate. We started off with a conditional approval of $800,000 at 8% interest and through diligence and sound financial proposals, were able to secure $1.6 million at 5%! The bank finally accepted our cash-flow model which was based on making the project a stand-alone, financially viable operation, based on sound management, low vacancy rates and few bad debts.  For the broad base of community support and the wide range of partnerships established, Heartwood Place received one of the coveted National Housing Awards for Best Practices in the fall of 2004. Being in Ottawa with the other 14 winners and participating in round table discussions was a very important learning experience for us. During our “Housing Tour” in the spring of 2005, volunteers, staff, board members and representatives from other affordable housing providers visited several of the successful projects in Toronto. Discussions with their tenants, staff and volunteers gave us many new ideas to consider in our future developments. “Heartwood Place on Gaukel” was just the right size and the ideal way for our organization to learn about the intricacies of tenant/landlord policies, property management, government guidelines, and most importantly, the strong support which tenants require to make important improvements in their lives. We needed to understand the essential components necessary to help our tenants make positive changes and to make our vision a reality. We have succeeded in our goal: “that lives of individuals and families will improve and communities of hope will emerge as we provide safe, affordable and adequate housing”.Creating the appropriate approach to management has taken hard work and strong commitment. We have realized that encouragement, guidance and developing a sense of responsibility and ownership were all essential as the residents participated and interacted with each other and with us. Keith Faulconbridge, our property manager, provides a strong, supportive, caring but firm approach which has proven to be most valuable. He now has several tenants participating in management of the building, including cleaning and maintenance. One of our tenants was featured in The Record in an article entitled “From Addict to Advocate”. This person now serves as a Resident Manager, volunteers at a downtown support group and participates on the board of a downtown medical centre. The second project for our organization has proven to be a real challenge since the site in downtown Galt, across from the bus terminal, has a long history of contamination. When we first made the offer to purchase the former Cambridge Reporter Building from Torstar, we had studied the existing “Phase I Environmental Report” and were concerned about contamination in the area surrounding the ink vat which had stored ink used in the printing process for many years. Further investigation and analysis indicated that the ink was a minor concern. The entire site contained fill which had been brought in decades ago to bring the grade to an acceptable level. This fill came from foundries in the area and contained pieces of lead, broken bricks, metal bits—a real mix of items—plus testing of water samples indicated contamination in the ground water.  Months and months of addressing this contamination, under the direction of Franz Environmental Inc., has finally brought us approval from the Ministry of the Environment to proceed with development through a Record of Site Condition. Receiving this, along with a Certificate of Public Use, has been a major accomplishment! Having the RSC and CPU means that the contamination will be dealt with in a responsible manner, with respect to both the environment and to all future inhabitants of the site, without risk to their health and well-being. This approval sets a precedent for many other developers and housing providers dealing with contaminated sites in urban settings. Now that the approval from the MOE is in place, we are finalizing plans with the Jamesway Construction Group for the demolition process and construction of the new building of 66 apartments (40 one bedroom, 19 two bedroom and 7 three bedroom) in a seven storey building with an accessible Community Room and adjacent Coffee Shop on the main floor. We will be providing a broad range of programs in the Community Room, job training and employment in the Coffee Shop and new experiences in helping with property management and maintenance of the building. The estimated cost of “Heartwood Place on Ainslie” is $10.622 Million. We have received confirmation of generous funding for $4.62 Million from the Canada-Ontario Affordable Housing Program--Brownfields Initiative. Other welcomed news is confirmation from the Ministry of the Environment to develop the site through a Record of Site Condition. Our target for our fundraising campaign, PROJECT HEARTWOOD, is $1.78 Million. We have commitments of $1,061,530 to date: $300,000 from the Waterloo Regional Record, $150,000 from the Lyle S. Hallman Foundation, $100,000 from Mike and Hennie Stork, $60,000 from The Economical Insurance Group, $50,000 from Spaenaur, $30,000 from David and Cathy Sutherland and $371,530 from other donors, including our Board and Staff. Additional support from Incentive Programs at the City of Cambridge, plus reduced costs from suppliers, will result in savings of $343,000. This reduces our outstanding fundraising target to $375,470. The balance will be financed through a first mortgage at a competitive interest rate. Heartwood Place looks forward to other opportunities for providing more “safe, affordable and adequate housing”. That may occur through building more housing ourselves and may also come through new and creative partnerships with local builders and developers who bring their experiences as an enhancement to our. We may also develop a property management program by which we offer management to organizations and landlords who have built affordable housing but are not interested in providing on-going management. We know that we have established the understanding and skill set which is essential to making affordable housing a sound investment for everyone concerned: for the residents, for their neighbours and for our community in general. Building the housing is only the first—and sometimes the easiest—step. Making it a great place to live, an enhancement to the surrounding neighbourhood and to our region is the critical achievement. Only then will the “communities of hope” grow and benefit everyone. Another “community of hope” is developing at 107 Young Street in downtown Kitchener. The offices for Heartwood Place are located in a century home just three blocks from our first project and within an easy walk of many services. As our staff grows, learns to work together and enhance each others talents and gifts, a strong sense of community and well-being has emerged. Add to this committed, energetic and thoughtful board members and a wide range of other volunteers, and you will find an organization which has high standards, a great appreciation and respect for those who benefit from our efforts, and a clear reason to move forward, in spite of challenges which we face. We are very fortunate to receive strong support from all levels of government, agencies with whom we work on a regular basis and a broad range of generous and committed donors. We all believe firmly in what we are doing and we all see many wonderful changes in the lives of our residents. At the end of the day, that is what really counts! |