Transitional housing nears finish line

With bedrooms, bathrooms and kitchens taking shape on the upper levels, the John Howard Society of Brandon’s transitional housing facility on 16th Street North is expected to be open in December.

The Sun visited the site on Friday to see how construction was progressing at the facility, which broke ground in July 2024. The original opening date was estimated for June of this year, but was pushed back after construction delays.

Full kitchens were under construction on the third floor, where large suites are located with full bathrooms. Toilets and showers had been installed.

On the second floor, suites with large windows have been built with bedrooms and half bathrooms.

No furniture was on location yet, but will be coming soon as the bid to furnish the facility has been secured by a local company.

Shannon Saltarelli, the community housing and wellness co-ordinator for the City of Brandon, was on site to tour the facility and check on progress.

“I’m super excited to see this come to fruition,” she said. “This project, I feel like, is going to be the start of momentum for more types of supportive housing in our community.”

There are 24 units in the facility — 16 are sized for a bed and half-bathroom, and eight are larger with a bedroom, full bathroom and full kitchen.

Saltarelli said the creation of 24 living spaces has a lot of positive impacts for Brandon.

“We have a really big gaps in our housing continuum and this is going to fill some of them,” she said. “This is going to have a really meaningful impact in our community.”

Ross Robinson, executive director of the John Howard Society of Brandon, told the Sun that the construction has flown by since the summer of 2024. Things appear to have slowed down recently, but overall the project has come a long way since breaking ground.

“For me, it seems like it’s been lightning speed,” he said. “I believe that’s rapid.”

Special care has been built into the facility, which has added time to the project compared to a typical residential bid, he and Saltarelli said.

Wooden accents, seen woven through the facility, were added to prevent the interior from appearing institutional, Robinson said. The same was true of metal exterior on a patio, which was designed to look like wood, and the ceiling in the cultural room, which had been shaped like the Indigenous medicine wheel.

There will be three ways for people to enter the facility, Robinson said. They can include day parolees from the Correctional Service of Canada, people released from Brandon Correctional Centre and people who are selected by Brandon’s co-ordinated access process, which identifies those in the community suitable for the program.

The job posting for director of the facility closed on Friday, and in the coming weeks candidates will be shortlisted and interviewed, Robinson said. There will also be full-time staff, casual workers and a designated cook working at the facility.

The building will be secure-access, with two staff on at all hours, Robinson said. The ground level will be accessible to visitors such as family, with rooms for visits and a lounge area.

Saltarelli and Robinson said the project, as it nears completion, shows the power of partnership.

The John Howard Society of Brandon received $5 million in federal funding to support the construction of the facility, as well as $4 million from the Manitoba government. The City of Brandon has also made contributions, including providing the land and zoning it for use.

» cmcdowell@brandonsun.com