The Biindigen Well-Being Centre is a holistic Indigenous-led mixed-use project in McQuesten neighbourhood located at 785 Britannia Ave. in Hamilton, ON (with an Indigenous population of 6%, almost double that of other areas in the city). The project will reimagine an existing school property to create the first of its kind in Ontario (and possibly Canada) and brings together Indigenous affordable housing, healthcare, daycare, and community services in one place. Designed with and for the urban Indigenous community, project partners are De dwa da dehs nye>s Aboriginal Health Centre), Niwasa Kendaaswin Teg, and Ontario Aboriginal Housing Services. Partners also include the City of Hamilton and McMaster University, with additional financial support from the Government of Canada, and the Province of Ontario. 

Adjacent to McQuesten Urban Farm, the project will complement and build on the close relationship of Niwasa Kendaaswin Teg with the farm related to their daycare, community center, and food bank programs. McMaster University’s Department of Family Medicine is contributing to the project to offer primary health services, while also offering educational opportunities rooted in Indigenous ways of knowing and being. Ontario Aboriginal Housing Services (OAHS) will be constructing 80-100 fair-market rental housing units to support the community’s shelter needs. 

Architects are mcCallumSather, David T. Fortin Architect, and Parkin Architects. SpruceLab is providing landscape architecture and urban design services, as well as engagement support. Our expertise in Indigenous and nature-based design will support meaningful Indigenous placekeeping that offers healing, biodiverse places for community, with myriad ecological services (urban cooling, stormwater management, air quality improvements, etc.). To read more about this exciting and precedent-setting project, see: Housing, Infrastructure, and Communities Canada post here.