Work begins on YK wellness and recovery centre

Work has begun on the site of a new wellness and recovery centre in downtown Yellowknife.

The new permanent facility, which will be built on 51 Street, will replace the city’s current sobering centre and temporary day shelter.

Work on the vacant lot has begun in recent weeks as advocates say Yellowknife’s shelter system is in crisis. Shelter operators say they are facing overcrowding while the CBC recently reported more than 50 people are sleeping outside across the city.

More than a dozen residents without housing set up a tent encampment on the periphery of the city’s downtown last month. They were forced to move from a privately owned lot to one owned by Housing NWT on 51 Street. Residents have been told they will have to vacate that site by September 10, as renovations begin on the nearby Aspen Apartments, a currently vacant apartment complex earmarked for subsidized public housing. Several residents of the encampment and their supporters have called for clarity from the NWT government on where to relocate as the deadline nears.

The new wellness and recovery centre was originally slated to open in 2023, but that date has been pushed back several times. It is now expected to be occupied by late 2026.

Designs for the new centre, which the NWT government shared last year, indicate it will have 30 beds in the recovery centre and 59 seats in the day shelter, an increase of 14 compared to the current temporary day shelter. The new facility will also have bathrooms, showers, laundry facilities, a storage room for clients’ belongings, a community hall and space for counselling.

The site of the new centre, like many proposed locations for shelters across Yellowknife, has received mixed reaction from residents and businesses.

The NWT government has said it explored several other sites, which were rejected as unsuitable. During a town hall presentation in May 2023, territorial officials said that groups and shelter users had asked for the new facility to be located downtown, there were no permafrost concerns with the site on 51 Street and an environmental assessment had been completed with no issues.

In response to questions about the new centre, the Department of Health and Social Services referred Cabin Radio to the construction tender for the project. According to that document, the facility is being constructed by Clark Builders for more than $23 million.

The federal government announced it was committing $24 million to the project last October.