Y.O.U. marks start of construction on Joan’s Place project, highlights $4M city contribution
Global News
When it opens, Joan's Place in London, Ont., will have affordable housing units and a wellness hub offering mental health and addictions services, among others, for young people.
Construction of an affordable housing and wellness hub has gotten underway in downtown London, Ont., with the city contributing roughly $4 million to the project from its Housing Development Corporation.
The donation makes up a sizable chunk of the roughly $10.4 million that has been raised over the last seven years by Youth Opportunities Unlimited (Y.O.U.) for its $30-million Joan’s Place project, a planned 55,000 sq. ft. facility at the corner of Richmond and York streets.
The city’s contribution was first announced in 2018, however officials have not been able to access the funds until now, according to Steve Cordes, Y.O.U.’s CEO.
“They were the first significant funder to the table, our fundraising campaign was early on. So basically, we couldn’t access that money until we were further along in the project and ready to move forward on construction,” Cordes said on Monday.
“So for us now it’s new money, even though it was approved in 2018.”
The organization held a ceremony on Monday at its headquarters, located across from the Joan’s Place site, to publicize the funding and to mark the start of construction, expected to take 24 months.
Among those on hand Monday were mayor-elect Josh Morgan, London North Centre MP Peter Fragiskatos, and other donors and supporters including the family of Joan Smith, the facility’s namesake.
“The City of London is proud to invest in this critical project for London’s most vulnerable young people,” Morgan said in a statement.
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