At Hamilton’s King William Flats, the team from Indwell helps its residents - many of whom came from an unhoused situation - prepare for their next stage after moving in, whether that’s dealing with mental health, finding work, or learning how to cook.Doublespace Photography
“I got no lock on the door
That’s no way to be
They can steal the rug from the floor
That’s okay with me …”
With all due respect to the Gershwin brothers and DuBose Heyward, their song, I Got Plenty o’ Nothing, got it wrong. Even if all one has is a rug and a few other cherished possessions, a lock on one’s door can create immeasurable peace of mind when coming from an unhoused situation.
“This brings a piece of stability,” says Ashlynn Hill, program manager with Indwell. “You have a safe place to lock your door behind you, knowing no one is going to come in; that was one of the biggest things we heard when folks moved in: ‘I have my own place, I can lock my door, and you’re not going to barge in.’ No, we’re not.”
At Hamilton’s King William Flats, 23 people, with one more to follow to make 24, have had stability since the handsome building by Montgomery Sisam Architects and NRB Modular Solutions opened in November, 2024. In addition to the lock on the doors to their 350-square-foot units, residents can access only their floor; if they want to visit a friend on a different floor, that friend has to let them in.
And when a person is able to “focus on something other than just surviving,” continues Ms. Hill, a registered social worker, it means the team at Indwell can get them ready for their next stage, whether that’s dealing with mental health, finding work, learning how to cook, or simply understanding one’s place in the world.
Pretty great for what had been an “underperforming city-owned parking lot,” according to Sean Botham of CityHousing Hamilton. Combining funding from the sale of “underutilized assets” with “a rare combination of federal, provincial, and municipal funding,” the goal, initially, had been to build a conventional, yet high-performance, mid-rise building, but a CMHC funding opportunity for rapid housing had the team look at modular.
And then, when Montgomery Sisam came on board, they realized that high-performance could be tweaked to something even better: the Passive House standard.
“This is the first Passive House project we’ve done,” says architect Enda McDonagh, a certified Passive House consultant. “Also, I think, probably one of the first, if not the first, Passive House modular project in North America.” While that’s up for debate, the project is the third multiunit building in Ontario to receive Passive House certification.
So what does that mean? Well, although in this case residents pay a geared-to-income rent and utility costs are built in, a great deal of money will be saved for operator Indwell and owner CityHousing Hamilton over the next few decades. “It’s about 90 per cent more efficient than a regular building,” continues Mr. McDonagh.
During a walkabout of the $14-million, timber-frame project with Mr. McDonagh, architect Daniel Ling, Ms. Hill and Indwell community engagement manager Teresa Howe, the one thing that struck our group was how quiet it was: “that’s because of the extra-thick walls – it’s very heavily insulated,” explains Mr. McDonagh. Which also means that, should there be a power outage in February, the building will excel at “retaining its temperature.”
Entering the lone unoccupied suite, which happens to be barrier-free, Ms. Howe points to the induction cooktop a wheelchair can slide under and the full-sized fridge (“It’s Canada; we’re not Europe,” Ms. Howe says with a smile) while Mr. McDonagh suggests we place a hand on the wall beside the window and the wall much further into the unit. They feel the same. And the triple-pane windows are such good performers that “even on the coldest days, there should be no more … [than] a four-degree change at the window.”
And speaking of windows, while the building is incredibly airy and bright, there aren’t that many: “We were very thoughtful about where we put the windows,” says Mr. Ling. “At the end, this was about 15 1/2 per cent glazing. … So that makes it really efficient.”
“We did a lot of checks on making sure the light would get as deep into the suites as possible,” adds Mr. McDonagh.
The rest of the building consists of seamed, black metal cladding and, wrapping the recessed entry, warm Douglas fir; between the windows at ground-level, there is black board-and-batten siding. Out back is a large courtyard with a sheltered patio, lighting and benches.
Back inside, our group tours the staff area. On any given day, says Ms. Hill, there are five to seven staff on duty from 8 a.m. to 11 p.m. In addition to leadership, there are “psychosocial support workers, addiction support, food security, two nursing staff members, and housing support staff.” There is also a “concierge desk” in the lobby so that, when residents come home, someone is there to greet them. One hot meal a day is provided in the kitchen, and residents can choose to eat in the shared dining room or take the meal back to their suite.
And it’s not all utilitarian, says Ms. Hill: “You’ll see when we get into the elevator there’s a breakfast program happening this weekend, they’re going to cook waffles together.”
Walking past the sturdy red brick row houses on King William Street east of Wellington Street North, crossing to stroll alongside the black countenance of 257 King William St., and walking further along to the sleek condominium, “KiWi” at No. 212, one would never suspect all of the work that’s been done to get the unhoused here to the waffle-cooking stage, which is exactly the point.
“Within three levels, you get quite a bit of density, but still something that tries to fit into the character of the neighbourhood,” finishes Mr. Ling.