Major Milestone Brings Village Commons One Step Closer to a Stronger, More Connected Calgary
Construction at Village Commons has wrapped up and we have now completely moved in – an exciting development that bring us one step closer to realizing the vision of a new community hub at Calgary Housing Company’s East Village Place.
Village Commons is a new hub located in the heart of the rapidly developing East Village. It will be home to a wide range of services to nurture creativity, cooking and connection with flexible spaces for community meetings, wellness classes, financial planning, empowerment, counselling and more. Exciting and innovative features include a new art studio, family counselling centre, and an industrial-sized state of the art community kitchen. The space is also equipped with video and streaming capabilities to ensure programs and events continue to be accessible online.
With construction completed, carya has now moved our operations on-site and we are continuing to offer virtual programming however the grand opening and community use of Village Commons will have to wait until public health and safety rules allow us to gather together.
Village Commons is the result of significant consultation and cooperation. In 2016 CHC purchased the property to preserve more than 160 affordable homes. Work began immediately to explore options for redeveloping the former Golden Age Club site to offer a space that would serve the residents of East Village Place and the broader community. In 2017, carya came on board as the partner with which this vision would be developed.
“Partnering with carya was the ideal solution,” says CHC President Sarah Woodgate. “This is an agency that has been supporting Calgarians for over 100 years and has both a history in this community and a vision for how to deliver that support for the future.”
“Our vision for Village Commons has always been a space where all Calgarians can come together and feel like they belong,” says Theresa Watson, CEO of carya. “While we can’t gather in this space just yet, we are thrilled it is now complete and ready for us to come together when it is safe to do so.”
To complete the partnership, CMLC was signed on as the project manager to lead the construction. As a driving force behind the overall East Village Master Plan, CMLC brought the expertise and vision to help realize this important community-focused project. In just 11 months and during the COVID-19 pandemic, the team completed the design and construction of the project under budget which allowed the team to open the scope to additional add-ons.
“East Village is the place where Calgary’s future continues to unfold and we see that with opening of Village Commons which invites current residents and supports the evolving needs of the neighborhood,” says Kate Thompson, CMLC President and CEO.
Capital Funding for the project was provided by the City of Calgary, the Government of Alberta (Community Facility Enhancement Program), Calgary Foundation and many generous private donors. Village Commons programming is supported by FCSS, United Way, New Horizons for Seniors, and the Society for Healthy Childhood Development.
More information about the programs and services that will be offered at the Village Commons can be found at: https://carya.wpenginepowered.com/about-carya/village-commons/
You can learn more about CMLC and its work in East Village at: https://www.calgarymlc.ca/east-village-projects-page#projects-area-featured
For more information about Calgary Housing Company and affordable housing options, visit: https://calgaryhousingcompany.org/