SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE - The city's first transitional home for women will not be in the former Kitikmeot boarding home.

Lyda Fuller, executive director of the YWCA, said the city's homelessness coalition just received an architect's report on the building, which set out that even after extensive renovations to bring the building up to code and to tailor it to its planned use, the facility would not be suitable.

The former Kitikmeot boarding home had been tagged as a building to house the city's first transitional home for women. However, even after extensive renovations, the building is still not be suitable for its proposed use, according to Lyda Fuller, executive director of the YWCA. -NNSL file photo

"Even after a significant amount of renovations, totalling over $1.78 million, the (rooms) still wouldn't be considered self-contained units, because each unit shared a washroom," said Fuller. She said units must be self-contained or else new and vital money from a new Housing Corporation fund would be difficult to access.

As a result, the homelessness coalition has put together a sub-committee tasked with locating a new building.

Fuller, who is on the committee, said the group could start touring some identified facilities sometime next week.

"We're just seeing what else is on the market that is suitable," she said.

She had hoped for a fall opening of the home in the former Kitikmeot building – a 9,000 square-foot, 15-bedroom facility – but obviously that has now been pushed back.

She said, however, there is some urgency to find a facility.

"We know both the homelessness coalition funding and the potential funding from the Housing Corporation both need to be spent this fiscal year and of course, we want to get those beds online as soon as possible," she said.

Fuller said around $1 million is available through the Housing Corporation pot, although it would not be all dedicated toward the YWCA project.

Following the opening of the Bailey House – the transitional home for men on Franklin Avenue – the next priority of the city's homelessness coalition was a womens' home.

Fuller said a downtown location would be best suited for the building, and said the sub-committee is aware of many downtown buildings that may be available – some which aren't necessarily on the market yet.

"Well, there are just a number that have recently become available," she said.

"I don't believe they are officially on the market yet, but we've gotten word on it."

"A couple are apartment buildings and other kinds of housing facilities, which means they would be very interesting to us."

Currently, the coalition has about $380,000 in federal funding which has been budgeted for the project. Fuller told Yellowkniferin May that the money could be used as a down-payment on a facility, while rent paid by tenants would cover the mortgage, staffing, utilities and other costs.