Refuge Youth Outreach Centre & Apartments

Exactly a year ago, Invizij had the privilege of attending a very special ground-breaking ceremony. Held on National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, the event invited us to celebrate the strength and resilience of indigenous communities, while marking a significant milestone for our 204 Gage Ave North project—a development that is bringing 40 units of affordable housing with integrated healthcare services for indigenous individuals experiencing homelessness.

Progress on 204 Gage continues, and we are excited to see the vision for this important project with @sacajaweahousing, @defaveriteam and Flourish Development Consulting come to life! The window surround accent in photo 1 shows some of the earthy tones that will make up the building`s colour palette, which is inspired by the four sacred medicines; tobacco, cedar, sage and sweetgrass. We love how drawings of the design (photo 3) feature organic textures, deep greens, and calming hues.

We are truly honoured to be a part of this Indigenous-led supportive housing project in Hamilton! ...

September 30 marks the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. As a firm, we recognize the importance of continuing to learn about the painful legacy of the residential school system, honouring its victims and survivors, and participating in the ongoing work of reconciliation alongside our Indigenous clients, partners, collaborators and artists. We are so grateful for their wisdom, vision and creativity!

It is a joy to see the beautiful murals of Metis artist, @christi_belcourt , on the exterior of @indwell.ca `s Ottawa Street Apartments. Christi’s intricate nature designs are inspired by historical Métis and First Nations beadwork, and appear in her 2014 piece, Wisdom of the Universe, created for the Art Gallery of Ontario.

We also had the opportunity to include Christi’s artwork in Phase 1 of Ottawa Street Apartments, where her Revolution of Love print enlivens the streetscape. The first phase delivered 12 studio apartments and provided a new home for The Cannon, a beloved local café - transforming the former Queens Hotel at the corner of Ottawa Street and Cannon in Hamilton. The second phase adds 38 new units to the site, helping to meet an urgent need for affordable housing in the vibrant Crown Point East neighbourhood.

A big thank you to Flourish’s Dave Pavao for these photos! ...

Honoured and grateful! 🏆
We are thrilled to announce that two of our projects were recognized tonight at the Hamilton Municipal Heritage Awards:
🏛️ St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church (Ancaster) – Award for Accessibility in a Heritage Building
In 2018, we completed a new, fully accessible entrance that respects and preserves the historic integrity of this community landmark.
🏭 Steven Street Factory Conversion (Nih dawin’naa) – Award for Adaptive Reuse
Transforming an old industrial factory building into a thriving community hub, now home to 15 tenants thanks to the vision of Sacajawea Non-Profit Housing.

A huge thank you to our key project partners:
Megan Hobson (Heritage Consultant)
Landwise (Planning)
Smoke Architecture (associate architect for Nih dawin’naa)
Schulthuis Construction (builder for both projects)
& everyone else who played a hand in bringing these visions to life!

Most importantly, thank you to our incredible clients—Sacajawea and the congregation at St. Andrew’s—for their steadfast commitment to preserving Hamilton’s architectural heritage. Special thanks as well to the Municipal Heritage Committee for organizing these annual awards and continually advocating for the preservation of our city’s built history.
#HamiltonHeritage #AdaptiveReuse #Accessibility #HeritageArchitecture #HamiltonOnt BuiltHeritage ...

Out of the ground and onto the next phase! 🏗️

Our most site-challenged project to date is rapidly coming together. Addressing poor bearing capacity and steep sloped topography on a tight urban infill footprint required an impressive deep foundation strategy—combining helical piles, controlled modulus columns (CMCs), and complex shoring.

Next up: blindside waterproofing and foundation pours as the building emerges above grade!

A massive shoutout to our incredible project team and partners making this engineering feat happen:
Construction Manager: Schilthuis Construction
Shoring & Ground Improvement: HCM Contractors Structural Engineering: Kalos Engineering Inc.
Planning: @landwise.team & the City of Hamilton Owner / Client: Sacajawea Non-Profit Housing Inc.

We are immensely proud to be the architects behind this 31-room student learners housing community.
Thank you to our neighbours in Kirkendall and along Jackson Street for their patience and support throughout the deep foundation phase. Urban infill brings unique challenges compared to greenfield developments, but maximizing existing municipal infrastructure—including proximity to the future Hamilton LRT—makes it entirely worth it.

📍 Located right across from Jackson Park—stop by and check out the construction progress! ...

Back in the Spring we got to see a significant project on the Hamilton mountain begin to take shape—@vicparkch`s Stonechurch Apartments! Pictured here is the corner of Stone Church East and Redmond, where a new 107-unit, eight-storey residential building will help to address the growing demand for affordable housing in our city. Working alongside Flourish Development Group and @zehrgroup Construction Inc, we are transforming the site of one block of eight existing townhomes into a mix of studio, one- and two-bedroom apartments, tailored for small families and seniors who wish to age in place.

The building is designed with a focus on energy efficiency, meeting Passive House US (PHIUS) standards for both the building envelope and mechanical systems.

📸: Dave Povao ...

We were very pleased to see two of our @indwell.ca projects --The Station Apartments and Balaclava Crossing, featured in another Hamilton Spectator article last week! Teviah Moro`s piece focuses on St. Thomas’s effective strategy to reduce homelessness through supportive housing, and what Hamilton can learn from the city`s efforts to reach “functional zero” homelessness by 2027.

It`s encouraging to know that The Station Apartments has been a key part of this good work. In line with St. Thomas’ Compassionate Community plan, the project created 45 new supportive apartments one block from the downtown core. The new building is four storeys and includes shell space for a future single-bay firehall.

Our Balaclava Crossing project is converting a former elementary school into permanent housing for tenants with support needs. The heritage red brick building will be retrofitted to include 36 units, while a new 4-storey addition will provide 42 additional units along with ground-floor common spaces and offices. ...