L’Arche Greater Vancouver is a non-profit organization dedicated to creating homes and day programs in which people with and without developmental disabilities live and work together. Life is lived as a faith-based intentional community. L’Arche Greater Vancouver is also part of L’Arche Canada and L’Arche International. There are now 137 L’Arche communities operating in 40 different countries around the world.
Similar to other non-profit agencies, the ability to grow and continue to support the needs and interests of a community can place a strain on already limited financial resources.
The society selected CitySpaces to conduct a real estate asset inventory and development strategy. The society’s objective was to maximize the effective use and accessibility of existing facilities and examine all of the options available that could accommodate future growth.
Having identified the opportunities and challenges of the current L’Arche property portfolio, CitySpaces identified a number of real estate scenarios that can be considered. The purpose of the component ideas was to provide options that L’Arche can select, either stand-alone or in combination of one or more.
Through out the process it was essential that any development concepts generated intrinsically contributed to the ongoing sense of community and belonging that is characteristic of L’Arche’s unique vision of care giving.
Partners in this project:
For this project CitySpaces partnered with NSDA Architects and principal Larry Adams. Larry’s skills in designing and understanding non-market housing and assisted living situations was crucial in the review of Shiloah, the main programming building and its residential components. Larry’s team of architects and engineers prepared a Building and Site Assessment Report after examining the building’s envelope, mechanical and electrical systems, structural conditions, building code requirements and the potential to renovate/redevelop in order to improve the functionality and increase the residential capacity of the building.
PROJECT TEAM:
Jada Basi Andy Hiscox