An innovative community-building housing model is gaining steam in this city as the cooperative initiative – Glassworks – prepares to conduct a feasibility study in 2022.
Working with New Commons Development under the watchful gaze of community volunteers and Indigenous partners Glassworks will move forward its vision of community-led development this year.
Cooperative members heard from enthusiastic new board members and an Indigenous partner at their annual general meeting (AGM) held in early December 2021. The cooperative non-profit will be creative and intentional in its design processes and seek collaboration with partners and the city to seek the best solutions to meet the local need for a mix of housing options.
“It’s exciting to see what we can do here,” said new Glassworks board member Michael Johnston, an Associate at Grey Bruce Law and former Manager at the Saugeen Ojibway Nation Environment Office. His remarks were echoed by new board member Diane Austin, CEO of the Owen Sound and District Chamber of Commerce, who commented on the importance of the project “We need to move forward,” she said.
During the AGM, it was clear the Glassworks team, is “embarking on a new chapter,” according to new board member Tanya Markvant. She holds a PhD in Strategic Sustainability Planning and Culture Change. “We have the potential to create a building environment that gives back to people and the planet.”
The Glassworks Cooperative vision of affordable, sustainable, community is supported by a mission “to create net-zero, affordable, multigenerational living and an economic development project that benefits Owen Sound and Grey County.”
Glassworks President, Kelsey Carriere, who herself holds a Master of Urban & Sustainability Planning and Urban Design as well as a BSc of Environmental Science, provided a brief background of the Cooperative, which incorporated in 2018 and purchased a 46-acre property on 26th Street in 2021.
“This is such a turning point for the project,” she emphasized, adding a successful project grant from the CMHC’s Community Housing Transformation Centre is helping fund Glassworks to develop a multi-year plan, establish partnerships, evaluate the energy potential of the site and lobby for municipal approval. “They see what we’re doing here as a model for future housing.”
Indeed, there are many who agree, including Jonathon Redbird, an Indigenous thought leader who spoke to the AGM about his grandfather’s vision and philosophy of One Dish, One Spoon. “We are all one people,” he said, in his engaging storytelling manner as his young child played at his feet. “We have a duty and responsibility to care for the earth.”
As the youngest financial advisor for an investment firm in his early career, Redbird said he really learned the system is broken. He was successful but didn’t want to live in a broken world, so sought to follow his grandfather, Duke Redbird’s, philosophy of a community without hierarchy, where people live in kinship with each other and the natural world.
“I’m so grateful to find people thinking the same thoughts,” said Redbird, who is now President of the Saugeen Ojibway Nation Finance Corporation. “This is the world I want my daughter to live in. We can co-create the most beautiful place to live. This is the good work.”
Redbird has joined the Glassworks Project Steering Committee, which will guide the work ahead in 2022. He brings an Indigenous worldview to the circle Glassworks has begun with community outreach and engagement to inform the design of the project.
Also guiding Glassworks forward is New Commons Development, whose Managing Partner Derek Ballantyne attended the AGM to speak about how his company is attracted to the strength of partnerships. Ballantyne has been involved in community housing and development corporations for over 20 years.
“We really see a tangible difference in a focus on vision,” he said. “We are tools in other people’s design. We see the unique aspects to the Glassworks project.”
New Commons will assist in Glassworks strategic work this year as the cooperative plans more community engagement, design charettes and a feasibility study as it brings in more partners, informs and welcomes members and hosts events on the land.
“We saw the need for a capacity in community-driven sector for development,” he said. “Glassworks is really well aligned. This project will cause us to stretch into a more innovative model. We are interested in this deep collaborative concept in process and results.”
The Glassworks board, whose ongoing members: Jan Chamberlain, Pat Kelly, Sylvia Statham and Ron Struys look forward to working with the board additions, will hold a retreat later in January to strategize a work plan for the year to meet all the challenges ahead.
Learn more about the Glassworks Cooperative and support the vision of innovative community by going to https://glassworks.coop.
source: media release
