YWCA Cause We Care House and VPL
CitySpaces acted as Project Manager and Owner Representative on behalf of the YWCA and Vancouver Public Library (VPL), providing development consulting services for the newly constructed Strathcona library and housing project.
The library branch is the first major civic building to have an Indigenous name, which is ‘nə́c̓aʔmat ct’, meaning ‘we are one’ in the Musqueam language. The library and housing development is located in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside, and is a joint initiative that features a library branch, community and family programming, and 21 units of safe, affordable housing for low-income single mothers and their children.
Library and Housing Project Features:
- A mix of two-, three- and four-bedroom apartments
- 4,500 square feet of community and family program space
- 11,000 square feet of library space - one of the largest branches in the city’s library system
- A digital media hub, with two recording studios along with equipment and software for digital storytelling and publishing
- The library and housing development is LEED gold certified
Acting as the Owner’s representative for the YWCA and the City of Vancouver, CitySpaces coordinated the selection process for the Design Team and the Construction Manager and undertook a lead role in the final stages of securing municipal funding for the library and housing project. CitySpaces continued to act as Project Managers as the project moved through the process of design development; approvals from the City of Vancouver, tendering and construction.
