A community institution providing affordable childcare for over 40 years was about to lose its home. The Betsie Hyde Co-operative Early Learning Centre needed a building that could sustain its mission for decades to come, and the historic carriage house in Ottawa’s core offered exactly the right raw material.
We brought together a group of neighbourhood investors, led the visioning and renovation of the site, and structured the financing and lease agreements. Then we led the governance for a decade, giving the Co-operative and the Child, Adolescent and Family Centre of Ottawa time to build the organizational and financial capacity to operate the space independently.
In 2014, the City of Ottawa recognized the project with an Architectural Conservation Award (Honourable Mention) for adaptive reuse. The project reached its full conclusion in 2022 when the Co-operative joined forces with Andrew Fleck Children’s Services to take over the Carriage House.
