Booth St, intensificatioin

Cornerstone Opens

Cornerstone is a sheltered housing building on Booth Street near Somerset. They had their official opening and tours on Wednesday. If you couldn’t be there, here are some shots of what’s outside and inside the building.

I am really pleased with the exterior façade of the building. Streets like Booth are perched on the verge of going downhill (witness Cousin Eddy’s garage empty lots/burned out house,  just down the street) or gentrifying (witness Z6 condos, Cornerstone, and a new condo going up at the corner of Booth/Somerset). A quality exterior, superior landscaping, eyes on the street, diversity of people, make for a better neighborhood.

Inside, there are common spaces:

 
there is a central kitchen, chef, and dining room
the resident computer room allows them to read WestSideAction every day, but only six at a time

There are 40 apartments in the building. Some are for seniors. All units have HUGE windows which make the rooms seem even bigger. The blinds are not installed yet; there will be a filtering roller blind and blackout roller blind.

each room has a kitchenette
each studio apartment has a sitting area, table and chairs, kitchenette, and sleeping nook; plus a really big bathroom. Lots of built-in furniture is cleverly arranged to maximize privacy.
 

 

funky modern sliding barn door to each bathroom
There is a single large shared balcony for each floor, facing the rear garden. The landscapers were still mulching and preparing to build the privacy and security fence. This area used to be the loading docks to the former Desjardins IGA / Loeb on Booth

 Cornerstone is a great physical and social asset for the west side neighborhood.

5 thoughts on “Cornerstone Opens”

  1. I’m glad to see I am not the only person who thinks a sliding barn door to the bathroom is a great idea!

      1. pocket doors get hidden inside the walls, these doors just slide back and forth on the outside, no hiding 🙂

  2. I was also there, though I had to duck out before the official ceremonies (and before the food was served!).

    I agree it’s an excellent space. Something not mentioned is how the place is designed with accessibility in mind:
    – The stairwells, while mostly functional (and plain) have windows, wide steps and railings the whole way
    – The hallways have handrails
    – Every unit is designed to be accessible, including…
    – The aforementioned washroom barn doors have large handles sticking out on both sides so you don’t need fine motor skills to push them open/closed
    – The showers are open to the ground and have benches inside
    – The sinks are open underneath for those who use wheelchairs

    I think it’s great to have a brand new facility being custom-built for supportive housing, instead of having to retrofit (or make do with) an old, disheveled building. Anthony Leaning did a great job as architect!

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