389 Church St.

This 96,000 SF, 120 unit apartment building was deeply retrofitted from a former shared living accommodation consisting of sleeping rooms clustered around shared washrooms and kitchens in order to create new self-contained bright and modern one and two bedroom apartments, including accessible units. The building was constructed in the 1970s and had many failing and outdated systems, including the building envelope, electrical resistance heating and no provision for cooling. As a result, entirely new high-efficiency building mechanical and electrical systems were installed, building envelope repairs and upgrades performed, including full window replacement plus high-tech carbon fibre reinforced polymer stripping employed throughout to both improve existing structure and to reinforce it in order to accommodate all new mechanical and plumbing risers.

The building, redeveloped by Toronto Community Housing, is leased to and managed by YWCA Toronto. Timelines for funding, in part through the Home for Good program, stipulated as-of-right development, which led to the project proceeding under construction management, with a C of Application for an additional elevator occurring during construction. On February 4, 2021, Toronto Mayor John Tory officially opened this permanent, affordable and supportive rental housing building. The building provides a safe, inclusive and supportive community for Indigenous and non-Indigenous women, gender diverse people, and youth and senior women who have experienced or who are at risk of experiencing homelessness.

For more information, please see:

https://www.ywcatoronto.org