County Welcomes Homestead's Vision for Harvey Woods Building

Tuesday, 23 October 2012 11:26

A major transformation will be taking place to Woodstock's former Harvey Woods Building. As you heard first on Heart FM Monday afternoon, Homestead Christian Care has purchased the property. They have plans to renovate the former socks and underwear factory into 50 affordable housing apartments. As you can imagine, a building that has sat vacant for over 2-decades is in need of major restorations. Homestead Director of Development Graham Cubitt says they're dealing with a brick shell. "There's nothing inside. All the equipment is gone, all the interior partitions are gone. There's no electrical or mechanical systems. So there's quite a lot of work to restore the building and make it usable." But Cubitt says it's an "incredible structure" with a rich industrial history that they want to celebrate. He indicated he would like to see Homestead keep the signature brick smokestack structure at the back of the property. Oxford County's Social Housing Director Paul Beaton sees it as more than restoring an old building, it will also help dozens of people in Oxford County. "The need for the supportive aspect, not only the affordable aspect...there's a serious need for that type of housing in Oxford County." Homestead will be working with Beaton and his staff at the County to arrange funding and a business plan before council and the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing. Beaton says, "We hope to put the proposal before both groups sometime this year." Construction is not expected to begin anytime soon, aside from fixing broken windows, and shoring up a leaky roof. Homestead Christian Care is a not-for-profit group that is known for developing old buildings into affordable apartments for people coping with mental illness, or physical disabilities that limits their income. They have a 27-unit development on Blossom Park in Woodstock, and are forced to turn away 10 referrals every month. Homestead also told Heart FM they're working on a fundraising campaign to help with the cost of renovating the Harvey Woods building. Further details will be announced in the coming months.