HomeHousingCircumstances unclear as 'Crossroads Village' project goes on hold

Circumstances unclear as ‘Crossroads Village’ project goes on hold

While two months ago things seemed solidified, a plan to move Kingston’s community of sleeping cabins to an underused lot behind Crossroads United Church has suddenly been delayed indefinitely.

In a release from Our Livable Solutions (OLS), the not-for-profit says without detail of what exactly happened that the funding arrangement has fallen through.

The group says they’re now pivoting and seeking alternative funding arrangements, aiming to have ‘Crossroads Village’ in place for the winter.

“Unfortunately, the arrangement for operating funds has fallen through, preventing physical development of the site to proceed in step with the wind down of operations at Centre 70,” the statement reads.

“OLS continues to seek community support to operate this vital initiative, and hopes to reopen its doors before winter.”

OLS had established a partnership with Agora Developments, who pledged to donate $10,000 from every garden suite and renovation that they sold in order to fund the Crossroads Village and other housing projects, estimating that would account for roughly $10 million in donations to Crossroads Village and other local programs on an annual basis.

In a delegation to Kingston City Council on July 9 representing Agora and vying for city support, Joel Thompson said Agora Developments wanted to help the project as it could be a sustainable, supportive community.

“At Agora, we envision a world where every individual, especially the most vulnerable and homeless populations, have the opportunity to thrive,” Thompson said.

“We aim to be a catalyst for positive change, inspiring compassion, collaboration, and collective action.”

A similar sentiment is reflected on the ‘Philanthropy’ section of Agora’s website.

In their own statement, Agora also did not provide further details on what broke down between the two partners and said the lease agreement between Crossroads and OLS was the issue.

Agora says that they’ve been involved in work to advance the project since it’s approval at council in July.

“We are deeply disappointed that a final lease could not be negotiated with Crossroads United Church and Our Liveable Solutions,” Agora’s statement reads.

“We have worked closely with OLS and the City of Kingston… The City had committed to providing the necessary capital for construction, and we were poised to launch our own fundraising efforts for the beautification of the site. We had also connected with numerous public and private organizations, ready to mobilize capital and operational support once a lease was secured.”

The City of Kingston, who committed up to $350,000 for capital development funds, released a statement of their own sharing their disappointment, and implying they too are unaware of what went wrong in the negotiations.

They added that there has been misinformation circulated from OLS regarding the city’s role in the project falling through.

“While the City cannot speculate to the cause of the end of the agreement, we are committed to ensure people living in the sleeping cabins are supported during this stressful and uncertain time,” the statement reads.

“We are also disheartened to hear misinformation circulated by OLS placing blame on the City for not financially supporting the cabin program… The approved wind-down plan has the City stepping back from direct involvement and funding of the initiative, allowing OLS the opportunity to seek a location and other non-municipal funding sources to ensure the continued operation, and housing of the cabin residents.”

The city’s statement also states readiness to provide $500,000 to capital costs, not $350,000, and that they’re still committed to supporting the project should OLS secure necessary funding.

OLS’ operating budget to run the cabins was expected to be in the neighbourhood of $500,000 per year, with the majority of costs covering salary for two staff members expected to be on-site at all times.

Chrystal Wilson, Executive Director of OLS, says a lease has been signed with Crossroads United Church and everything is ready to go on this project, but that a problem had arisen with those who offered operating funds, and the partnership is no longer working out.

Wilson says they’ve been able to raise roughly $130,000 but need an additional $370,000 to cover operational costs that include 24/7 staffing, something she says is integral to the cabin community.

“That’s the difference between us and other agencies is we’re providing staffing 24/7, and it’s two staff,” Wilson said.

“We mitigate risks… if something starts getting escalated they can talk them down, or just even walk them away or whatever, or somebody’s just having a bad day.”

She says ideas like Crossroads Village are especially necessary as the list of unhoused in the community grows, and the City of Kingston looks towards winding down shelters like that at Adelaide Street as other plans take shape.

With a solution for Crossroads Village appearing unlikely to be straightened out before September 30, the cabins are expected to be put back in city storage.

Owen Fullerton, Local Journalism Initiative Reporterhttp://ygknews.ca
Born and raised in Whitby, Ontario, Owen has been living in Kingston for about three years after starting the band Willy Nilly. Prior to that he worked at CKLB radio in Yellowknife and completed studies in Niagara College's Broadcasting program.
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