Article: Canadian Mennonite
Photo by Dave Rogalsky

On October 6, 2007, at Kitchener City Council, the City presented its Urban Design Awards, an event held every two years.  Eligible properties were constructed between Jan 1/06 and Dec 31/07.  Of the three dozen or so projects nominated, the 12 finalists included institutional, multi-residential, commercial and industrial candidates.

Five of the 12 finalists received Nomination Awards; another five were given Awards of Merit.  There were two recipients of the highest honour, the Award of Excellence.  MennoHomes Inc was one of them!  The other was Emmanuel Bible College.   Here's what the award stated:

"Urban Design Awards, 2008.  Award of Excellence.  Given in recognition of projects that exemplify superior site design and their contribution to high quality design and development in the City.

MennoHomes

"For their contribution to outstanding site development and to recognize overall design quality,  Affordable housing that demonstrates great urban form, streetscape and massing while using high quality building materials and incorporating good pedestrian connections between adjacent sites and unique amenity areas."

Pictured Here - Martin Buhr, president of MennoHomes, stands in the community room of the 50-unit Rockway Village Gardens affordable housing project with the City of Kitchener (Ont.) Urban Design Award of Excellence the building garnered recently. “Affordable housing doesn’t have to look like it,” said the judges. Part of the rent collected from Rockway Village Gardens’ tenants goes to pay a caseworker to help residents with various issues they may have.