The St. Julian Multifaith Hub is a master-planned community in Ottawa, Ontario. These images reflect the early stages of envisioning a master plan for the client group.

The two-acre site is the historic home of the St. Julian of Norwich Church, a parish within the Anglican Church's Diocese of Ottawa. The Church community initiated the renewal project to replace their 1960s-built Church structure with a contemporary facility that could accommodate a broader range of community, worship, and multifaith events and programs. The Church initially secured the interest of two affordable housing partners to participate in the development: Cahdco, a developer of affordable ownership housing affiliated with Centretown Citizens' Ottawa Corporation (CCOC), and Multifaith Housing Initiative (MHI), a developer and operator of supportive affordable rental housing.

The masterplan incorporates 70 rent-geared-to-income (RGI) affordable rental units and 120 affordable ownership condominium units for Cahdco, a new home for L'Arche's Nepean services hub, a new Church and event centre with a co-working hub, cafe, and multi-program spaces accessible to community residents and partners.

The concept focuses on a singular idea: sharing and cooperation. Entitled "Stone Soup," the original masterplan concept envisioned a shared ground floor used by all three users while giving each owner access to unique amenities they could not have otherwise afforded to independently develop or operate.

SvN's initial masterplan proposal envisioned a campus to facilitate community, positive social exchanges, enhanced physical and emotional well-being, and unique opportunities to exchange ideas and services with neighbours. Working in collaboration with Ottawa-based Christopher Simmonds Architects, our early vision maximized the site's highly-visible exposure along Merivale Avenue, a busy arterial, to create two unique publicly accessible spaces: a gateway plaza fronting onto Merivale and an internal resident's garden to accommodate outdoor programming and allotment gardens. The structure of our design in the project's earlier phase seemingly folds into place, maximizing sunlight in the gardens while protecting other outdoor spaces from late fall and winter winds.

These images reflect our work from the original master plan. The project continues to evolve as the rezoning process, and other efforts between the work of Julian of Norwich Anglican Church and Multifaith Housing Initiative continue to make this unique and collaborative community space a reality.

Both non-profit organizations will continue reaching out to their neighbours and the extended community in 2023 to ensure a place for affordable housing, neighbourhood community space, and a sacred space that welcomes everyone.

For other projects, please visit the Julian of Norwich Anglican Church website for more information.