Just one building can change a neighborhood.
“It’s sort of a domino effect,” said Team Energi program manager for Niagara Peninsula Homes‘ David Young.
Since 2012 he and his team of students have been busy converting and restoring the former warehouse at 41 Victoria St. into a new home for the co-op housing and community support non-profit.
Young explained the move for the 37-year-old organization to one restored location is all about building and reinvigorating the community around it.
It’s a topic he knows all too well after leaving Keefer Developments — a Niagara company with a focus on urban renewal — to run the Team Energi program and restore the warehouse.
While the location was chosen for a variety of reasons including accessibility, Young said a critical factor was its placement in an aging neighbourhood.