As many Royal Canadian Legions (RCL) in Canada struggle to keep their doors open, a branch in a community in Ontario’s Muskoka region is reinventing itself through an ambitious project to develop a four-storey residential apartment building on its property.
With a commitment to 35 per cent affordable housing, the 128-unit project helps address a pressing housing need in the community of Bala while bolstering the legion’s financial stability through a small percentage of the apartment building’s revenues.
The design is by WZMH Architects which is employing an innovative platform called ELEVATE that combines new housing above existing under-used community assets such as the legion, says Zenon Radewych, WZMH principal and founder of the firm’s research lab “sparkbird” where ELEVATE was developed.
While the design hasn’t been finalized, the apartment building will be constructed on stilts because of the site’s bedrock conditions and the slope of the property. The 1970s legion hall will be replaced by a larger facility that will feature the legion’s traditional ceremonial space and a bar.
Plans include leasing space for a restaurant to further add revenue for the legion and an office and medical clinic could be onsite, enhancing the legion’s role as a social and supportive hub in Bala.
Maryam Madsen, senior associate principal and project lead at WZMH, says the apartment will have “a Muskoka look” through the use of materials common to the area such as wood and stone.
It will be comprised of some structural steel and EBS Global is expected to fabricate a steel stud modular wall system, says Radewych, pointing out ELEVATE emphasizes prefabrication and modularity for speed and cost efficiency.
While the existing RCL will be demolished, its “signature” semi-circle red brick bar will be dismantled and reinstalled in the new building, says Dennis Mills, president of the legion branch and a former member of the House of Commons of Canada.
Mills, who says he hopes demolition of the old legion will start in May, sees the design innovations by WZMH as instrumental to moving the project ahead.
He suggests many of the 1,340 or so legion halls in Canada can monetize their land for a steady, sustainable stream of income through similar endeavours.
“I think the legion system could play a major role in reigniting affordable rental property in this country.”
But getting a project like Bala’s off the ground is a challenge for not-for-profit organizations like the legions because of the upfront costs required to cover soft costs such as architectural and engineering drawings as well as submissions to planning and permits authorities.
Mills says the Bala legion has been fortunate because a number of players involved in the project have done pro-bono work or are willing to wait until the project is underway before seeking payment.
Radewych says partnering early on with developers to cover soft costs is in keeping with the principles of ELEVATE. In return, developers receive a share of the revenue when the project is completed.
The legion is receiving low-cost financing through Canada Builds, the federal agency supporting the development of affordable housing, says Mills.
“All the legion wants is a very small royalty at the end of the month. It is a revenue stream that guarantees the legion’s ability to sustain itself.”
Radewych will be proposing building solutions through ELEVATE to more than a dozen legions and developers across Canada.
“These are legions that have parking lots and enough land where this can work.”
ELEVATE was created in 2024 as a companion to WZMH’s HUBS concept for housing above libraries. ELEVATE specifically targets legions, schools and other community institutions that sit on well‑located land but lack density, Radewych says.
