Posted Nov 16, 2011, 9:40 PM
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Join Date: Oct 2011
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YOU is coming.
London gets a brand new YOU
Multimillion-dollar youth hub ready to open Only a few more construction days before Cornerstone building welcomes guests
ANGELA MULLINS/METRO
Stephen Szucs, of 1st Line Property Management, puts the finishing touches on the walls of the YOU Made It Café in the Cornerstone building. Youth Opportunities Unlimited is planning a grand opening of the building on Nov. 25.
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ANGELA MULLINS
METRO LONDON
Published: November 15, 2011 10:34 p.m.
Last modified: November 15, 2011 10:57 p.m.
The wrapper is about to be peeled off a four-year labour of love.
Youth Opportunities Unlimited (YOU) is planning a Nov. 25 grand opening of its Cornerstone building at Richmond and York streets.
Steve Cordes, for one, is anxious to see the building spring to life. After that, he says, the real work starts.
“The excitement will be helping to support the development of partnerships … and making sure the full vision is realized,” Cordes, the executive director of YOU, said Tuesday.
That vision — creating a hub of services and opportunities for at-risk youth — began in 2007 when YOU bought the three-storey, nearly 140-year-old building. Within weeks, volunteers were gutting the first floor, once home to three bars.
“The taps were still on. We literally had to have someone come and turn them off,” Cordes said, as workers painted interior walls and began removing a temporary wood facade that has kept much of the work out of the public eye.
The $5-million facility — funded by a variety of donors and all levels of government — has faced obstacles and delays along the way.
One of the challenges was an unexpected structural problem that was causing the walls to collapse inward, officials have said. But some of the lengthy renovation is thanks to an eye for detail, Cordes said.
Plans have been put together piece by piece to make sure the building’s 33,000 square feet are shaped into a multifaceted facility that’s convenient for everyone.
The renovation also has included a bit of heritage work, with project leaders digging up the structure’s original blueprints and using them as a guide.
Some parts of the building are already in use, including a rooftop boardroom with glass walls looking out onto the city skyline. YOU’s Youth Action Centre has also moved in.
While the grand opening is set for next week, a few features — such as the YOU Made It Café operated by youth enrolled in YOU programs — isn’t ready to welcome the public just yet.
“We’re talking just a matter of weeks, though, before that’s ready,” Cordes said.
The building also incorporates transitional housing for teens and young adults.
More about London
Nov 24th for Shoppers and 25th for this.
A bit of a one two punch for the core, eh?
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