Thrive hosted a public meeting last month at the former school to talk about the project, tour the site, and gather feedback from attendees on how the development can best serve the community.

The basis of the agreement is the Community Benefits Framework, created in June by a constellation of 25 community stakeholder groups, including All Welcome Here, The Hub, and PELASS, with the goal of working with developers to improve social, economic, and environmental life in the County. 

The network will pursue the collective vision laid out in the Community Benefits Framework, a tool to negotiate mutually beneficial outcomes with developers.

A Community Benefits Framework is a tool for negotiating with developers to achieve community priorities.
A framework enables Community Benefit Networks to engage with developers, local organizations and businesses to pursue agreements that focus on positive outcomes for Prince Edward County.

The framework has nine pillars: affordability, quality jobs, a diverse economy, sustainable tourism, climate protection, arts and cultural heritage, community connections, social infrastructure, and social services. 

Establishing a Community Benefit Agreement with Pinecrest is by no means a stretch. The project already envisions adaptively reusing the former school to create a sustainably powered, affordable home for seniors, with amenities for residents and the community at large. 

Former classrooms will be divided into 50 affordable living units, at a modest 400-square feet each. Ken How, Pinecrest’s Project Facilitator, likens the living quarters to a cruise ship, where the real excitement is in the communal space. 

“We don’t want to have an apartment building. That’s a death wish,” he said.

A community hub will occupy the former gym, and a 1500-metre walking trail will frame the property. Heat comes from solar-powered heat recovery systems.

Phase two will add a further 100 units to the 20-acre site, complete with retail space on the first floor. 

Pinecrest has partnered with developer Phil Spry, whose affordable housing projects include Great St. James in Belleville, a mix of long-term and transitional housing. 

Christine Durant, Program Coordinator at PELC, lauded the community-centred approach of the Pinecrest development. 

“They want to do everything, but this allows community input,” Ms. Durant told participants. 

“It’s totally a learning experience,” Mr. How said of the CBA process. “What they are going to bring to the table and what we’re going to bring to the table is yet to be decided.”

“Definitely we want to keep in the back of our mind hiring local workers, which we’ve done 100 percent,” Mr. How said.

Suggestions included integrating with the village by protecting Bloomfield’s scale, and offering services and amenities that complement, but don’t compete, with Bloomfield Main Street. 

Participants agreed the affordable housing threshold should be set at 30% of a pension or of average local wages. 

Next, a Pinecrest working group within the Community Benefits Network will present a set of recommendations for the agreement. 

Pinecrest’s developers have applied to the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation for funding required to move things forward.

Mr. How noted it costs $7,000 a month to maintain the building in the semi-gutted state that it’s in. 

Pinecrest has received official charity status, paving the way to receive donations directly, rather than through the municipality or the Emmanuel Baptist Church. The Community Benefits Agreement is another step forward. 

As Mr. How noted, “It’s wonderful that we can say, ‘why don’t we work together?’”