From 111 Duluth to 111 Roy:
Coming to the decision to move

When Santropol Roulant celebrated our 10th birthday in 2005, it was a big moment for our community. As we toasted ten years of delivering delicious meals and building friendships between the generations, our staff and board began reflecting on how to build on our learning to respond to the changing needs in our community over the long-term. We realized that in order to continue building a well-nourished community over the next 10, 15, 20 years or more we need to achieve stability in the physical space in which we do our work.

We began the ‘Securing our Future’ project, an initiative to acquire more decision-making autonomy with regards to our space and growth, while maintaining the flexibility, creativity, and spontaneity that make Santropol Roulant feel so alive.

Over the next two years, we met with members, partners and organizations that had been through similar processes to ensure that we made sound decisions that reflected the interests of our community and that would lead to a successful initiative with minimal disruption to our core operations. In conversations with over 300 people, we heard resounding support for Santropol Roulant to continue doing what we do, and to grow without compromising the values at the heart of our work. We developed a vision for the project and 11 criteria to help us decide on the best long-term home for Santropol Roulant

We knew that Santropol Roulant needs a space that gives our core programs room to breathe, that is open and inclusive, and that reflects our commitment to delivering on our mission in the most sustainable manner possible.

Our decision-making criteria included:

Location
Space
Capital Cost
Operating Cost
Environmental Impact of renovations
Ongoing environmental footprint
Disruption (to staff, meals-on-wheels service, neighbours…)
Limited mobility accessibility
Health and well-being of occupants
Alignment with our mission and culture
Do-ability within our time frame and budget

Knowing it was important for our members that we remain in the Plateau, we visited buildings in the area, and took an in-depth look at our existing space to see whether it was possible and desirable to make an investment there. Extensive planning and consultation led us to the decision to purchase 111 Roy St E as our long-term home. We made an offer to purchase in July and became owners on August 25, 2008.