Phase One of the Kiwanis Seniors' Housing project is a 4-storey, 76-unit low income rental apartment building with an adjoining amenity space and underground parking. Each of the 550 square foot , one-bedroom units are designed to fully meet accessibility guidelines, allowing for independent living (easily adapted to accommodate residents restricted to wheelchairs) and aging in place. Thirty of the units are designated as assisted living level of care. Amenities include commercial kitchen, dining facilities, bathing room, staff room/offices, scooter storage, hair salon, library/computer room, laundry facilities and communal lounges on each floor. Overall, the building maintains ultimate flexibility for an evolving model of support and services and offers adaptability concepts on site and within the units.

The jewel of the site, the community building, animates social recreation in a park like setting. The Kiwanis site has a unique character of mature trees, beautiful gardens, and intimate pathways that provide interconnections to the various functions as well as the existing housing. While increasing the FSR, this development respects the wonderful existing qualities of the site and treats it with a renovation approach. Landscaping, grades, trees, daylight, access roads, pedestrian pathways, and programmatic requirements have come together to form a cohesive well tailored site plan. The Kiwanis site offers a richness of outdoor landscaping and green space while providing an architectural quality to seniors' living and aging in place.

The Kiwanis Seniors' Housing project was featured in the March 2008 issue of ArchitectureBC, "Kiwanis Manor", by Charlene Kovacs. Click to view ArchitectureBC's "Kiwanis Manor" article in pdf format. (PDF - 4.46 MB)