Former Sault convent to be converted into affordable housing

A public-private sector partnership in the Sault will be a former convent turned into affordable housing for women with children.

A first-time partnership in the Sault aims to increase the number of affordable houses for women with children.

A private development company is purchasing a property that the local social services board had been refurbishing.

It has ambitious timelines to finish converting the former convent so it can become a safe place for women -- and women with children -- in the Sault.

West Village Developments, the company that will soon take ownership of the 13-bedroom building, is looking to revitalize an area of the city that has fallen on hard times.

“The goal is to uplift the West End,” said Claudia Daniels of West Village Developments.

“If we don’t provide the services and we don’t provide affordable housing and we don’t provide, you know, even job opportunities in the West End, we are not going to achieve that goal.”

The district’s social services board agreed to sell the building to West Village Development for just $50,000, with stipulations that they spend $350,000 on renovations and offer the rooms at an affordable rate for 20 years.

Board chair Stephanie Hopkin said the organization has spent more than $450,000 to date to purchase and renovate the facility.

“This allows us to continue building programming for the community,” Hopkin said.

Those fleeing violence

“It also helps to diversify the kind of programming that’s in the community. This is done in a different manner -- it’s specifically for women and children, including those fleeing violence.”

Another stipulation for West Village is to complete renovations within a year.

“We’ve already got the plans in place,” Daniels said.

“I expect to start as soon as we take ownership, which is at the end of this month. It’s a solid, solid building. So it’s moving kitchens, it’s updating bathrooms, it’s updating all the bedrooms. That’s where we’re going to spend the money.”

Daniels aims to have residents in by Christmas.

It can’t happen fast enough, Hopkin said, since there’s never enough space at other transitional units in the city.

“Not only is it going to help community partners like Phoenix Rising and others who serve a (female) population, they’ll be able to bring their programing supports into that unit, as well,” she said.

“Which is super exciting because I think you’re going to see a (link) between the clientele that they’re serving and the people that will be filling those spaces.”

This is the first private-sector partnership of its kind for the social services board. If the model works, officials said they will explore similar opportunities going forward.

Daniels said she hopes to continue to work with the board in the future -- and inspire other developers to do the same.