Sprung structures could be converted to community centres after asylum seeker use

A City of Ottawa official says the proposed Sprung structures that the city wants to use to house asylum seekers could be converted to other public uses once they are no longer needed as newcomer welcoming centres.

Kale Brown, acting director of Housing and Homelessness Services, tells CTV News Ottawa the immediate plan is to use the structures for three years as temporary housing and support services for asylum seekers, but the structures themselves have a long lifespan.

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"The structures themselves are initially rated to last at least 25 years. And with kind of minor maintenance, we anticipate they'll last up to 50 years. That does not mean that we will need to use them for the purpose of providing placement to asylum seekers during that whole entire period," he said. "Our actual funding we requested through Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada is for a total of three years."

Brown said the customizability of the structures allows them to be repurposed in a variety of ways.

"Should the asylum seeker crisis kind of go away in the city and the demand is not needed for that purpose, they're much more configurable for other things like pickleball, people have used them for community centers, libraries, because you can kind of remove all the interior fitment, given that it's a clear span structure."

The city is planning to have one such structure along Woodroffe Avenue near the Nepean Sportsplex by the end of 2025 to serve as temporary housing for asylum seekers while they wait for permanent housing. A second structure at the Eagleson Park and Ride in Kanata could also be built if the Woodroffe Avenue structure proves insufficient to meet demand. The structures are also meant to help get asylum seekers out of local community centres that are currently housing them, as those centres are not meant for long-term habitation.

There are divided opinions on the plan, with some residents opposing the structures or raising concerns about a lack of transparency and public consultation, while others are welcoming the idea, saying it will be a more supportive option for people seeking asylum in Canada.

A public information session about the structure was briefly interrupted Wednesday night when a protester stormed the stage. The man was arrested and charged with trespassing. Other residents walked out of the meeting because there was no open question period, just one-on-one questions with staff after the presentations.

Knoxdale-Merivale Coun. Sean Devine, in whose ward the Woodroffe structure would be built, told CTV News Ottawa he is considering other formats for future meetings with the public.

"I am more than willing to have the kind of town hall where I will just sit at the center of the room and residents from that community can ask me their questions, tell me their concerns, that I am more than eager to do," he said. "I'm looking to have conversations in a productive way with my constituents, and I think there's plenty of opportunity for that."

Devine added he has already reached out to some community organizations in areas in the immediate area surrounding the location to have meetings with them.

Brown says the Sprung structures are meant to be part of a much larger housing and homelessness plan for the city.

"These structures that we're looking to build are part of a larger ecosystem of a whole settlement network to get people who are claiming asylum through that settlement process all the way into long-term housing," he said. "And also, important to reiterate that beyond that, this fits into a much larger housing and homelessness system that we do through our 10-year housing and homelessness plan, which has components that serve non-newcomers. So, this connects into a much larger system where we're building permanent housing, supportive housing and all of the long-term elements of that housing continuum, as well."

Brown said the city is continuing to work with Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada to secure funding for the structure and its operation and going through the procurement process to build it.

"We've had a lot of questions around, is this a sole source contract? Not necessarily. Again, we want to make sure we meet those parameters. Staff have mentioned around the timeline urgency to get it done in cost, so that we can get out of those community centers."

A pre-construction opinion of probable costs for the engineering site works, provided by Stantec, estimating the total cost for the Woodroffe site at $3.5 million, the city said last month.

Brown said the exact costs are still being determined.

--With files from CTV News Ottawa's Katie Griffin