YMCA and Indwell announce sale of East End YMCA property
YMCA of Southwestern Ontario and Indwell announced today that the Y’s property on Hamilton Road, the former site of the Bob Hayward YMCA, has been sold to Indwell to establish approximately 100 units of supportive housing across two developments.
The project represents a fitting adaptive reuse of the site to support London’s most marginalized populations, said Andrew Lockie, CEO of YMCA of Southwestern Ontario. “The sale of this property to Indwell is part of our ongoing commitment to support the well-being of Londoners of all backgrounds, and we are both confident and excited about the positive impact Indwell will make as a respected expert in this work,” said Lockie.
The new development, part of an overall redevelopment of the Fairmont neighbourhood, will continue to support community well-being, including maintaining the property’s gymnasium for community use. A construction start is planned for 2027.
Indwell’s purchase of the property represents a continuation of their Hope and Homes for All vision, which began in London in 2019 following a 50-year history of providing supportive housing in eight communities across Ontario, including four developments in London.
Indwell’s Executive Director, Natasha Thuemler shared she was excited about bringing this project to life in collaboration with community partners.
“There is significant need in London for all types of housing, and we continue to see the pressure the health and homelessness crisis places on the entire community. This housing project represents renewed hope for people seeking health, wellness, and belonging and ensures an exciting reanimation of the property,” said Thuemler. “We are looking forward to engaging with neighbouring individuals, families and businesses to hear their feedback and insights, and any hopes they have for community use of the gymnasium space.”
Supportive housing helps strengthen overall community wellbeing by supporting individual health and wellness, creating more space and flow in the housing system and helping to alleviate stress on the community’s health and emergency systems. Indwell offers permanent housing with onsite professional staff, including nurses, addiction support, housing coordinators, and food security coordinators, to support tenants in their health and wellness goals.
In April, Indwell and partners celebrated the opening of its first local property retrofit, Coves Landing, a 50-unit supportive housing development enabled by Developers for Change and supported by the Health & Homelessness Fund for Change on the site of the former Elmwood Place Retirement Home. Significantly, over $3 million in funding originally given by the Fund to the Coves project was saved during construction will be redirected to kickstart this new redevelopment project.
London Community Foundation administers the Fund for Change. President and CEO, Diane Silva, celebrated both the inspirational and the practical impact of Indwell and these types of community-based collaborations.
“The gains we are seeing in supportive housing in London are an illustration of the hope and change we can create when an entire community comes together around a common goal,” said Silva. “I applaud the YMCA for acting to help address this need and look forward to an even more positive impact by Indwell across our community.”
YMCA of Southwestern Ontario will continue its focus on supporting health and well-being for nearly 200,000 people in the region, including an exciting reimagination of its downtown Centre Branch space, and continued impact through its Stoney Creek YMCA and Startech.com YMCA locations.