NEW YORK: The two hundred and seventeenth entry for the seniors housing Global Awards 2016 has been received.
A chain-link fence surrounds the vacant lot at 420 Hawks Ave., located just off Hastings Street. On one side of the Strathcona property sits the Rice Block — a 38-unit single-room occupancy hotel for women that Atira has run since 2007, while across the alley, at Pender Street, is the Ukrainian Hall.
The fate of the lot, which is currently being used by Atira as a community garden, rests on the outcome of a rezoning application filed more than a year ago.
Atira bought the land in 2009. The non-profit now hopes to construct a seven-storey building made out of shipping containers on the site, but its application continues to meet resistance within the neighbourhood, although a revised application filed last October addresses some of the negative feedback.
While the initial application envisioned 26 social housing units for women and children (20 studios and six two-bedroom units), the new proposal scales back the number of units to 21, with more family housing (14 two-bedroom units, and seven micro-dwelling units), as well as expanded amenity space at street level that’s accessible to the community.
