New Development

Bishop’s Manor

APPLY FOR HOUSING

Boasting a mix of one, two, three and even a four-bedroom suite, Bishop’s Manor offers a safe, affordable place to call home to approximately 200 vulnerable Calgarians who are struggling to make ends meet. Learn more about living at the new building.

This project was made possible thanks to the financial support from the private sector through the Calgary Collaborative Capital Campaign for Affordable Housing (formerly known as the RESOLVE Campaign) and all three levels of Government, proving that collaboration is the key to solving the affordable housing crisis in our city.

The Honourable Ahmed Hussen, Minister of Families, Children and Social Development, joins us to celebrate the grand opening of Bishop’s Manor. Bishop’s Manor received $16 million in financing from the federal government through CMHC’s Rental Construction Financing initiative (RCFi), a National Housing Strategy program.

The Honourable Josephine Pon, Minister of Seniors and Housing, joins us as we celebrate the grand opening of Bishop’s Manor. The Government of Alberta committed $6 million + leased land to the development of this project.

His Worship, Mayor Nenshi joins us as we celebrate the grand opening of Bishop’s Manor. Through the Housing Incentive Program (HIP), the City of Calgary provided $430,864 to this project through development fee rebates.

COMING TO LIFE.

Watch this amazing building come to life. From a vacant plot of land, to an incredible state-of-the-art building… 18 months of hard work and construction summarized in 92 seconds. A special thank you to MegVis Productions for their incredible video work.

Located in Bridgeland, this building reflects the diversity of the community by providing long term affordable housing to individuals, seniors and families. Forward Housing believes that social connections and supports are at the root of strong and healthy communities. Our new building has been thoughtfully designed to include a variety of communal spaces including a community garden, roof top terrace, kids’ play area, study spaces and a spiritual wellness room.

Supporters

Forward Housing would like to thank all its supporters who have rallied together to help make this building possible. All levels of Government have demonstrated their support for this project as has the private sector through the Calgary Collaborative Capital Campaign for Affordable Housing (formerly known as the RESOLVE Campaign), making this truly a community project.

Forward Housing is humbled to have received a $3M pledge from Stan and Marge Owerko, towards our new building. This pledge will allow Forward Housing to build even more affordable housing for vulnerable Calgarians in Calgary.

As one of the nine partners in the campaign, which concluded in 2018, Forward Housing is honoured to have received direct support from the following donors, whose generosity made this building a reality:

TRANSFORMATIONAL

Stan and Marge Owerko

CHAMPION

Canadian Natural
Columbus Benefit Club of Calgary
Howard & Michelle Crone
Veresen

STEWARD

Robert and Karen Bedin
Robert and Candece Chaisson
Kenneth and Frances Rickbeil

AMBASSADOR

Children’s Hospital Aid Society
Roman Catholic Diocese of Calgary

ADVOCATE

ATB Financial
Craig Bishop
Myrt Butler
Canadian Natural Resources Ltd.
Canadian Online Giving Foundation
Colliers Project Leaders
Ryan Gritzfeldt
Betty Ho
Knights of Columbus
Jess Landry
Jacqueline A. Lewis
Alex Ljubojevic
Reginald J. MacDougall
The McLeod Law LLP Fund
Annabelle Martensen
Richard McDonald
David McGoey

Gary McNamara and Susan Colautti
Nicolette Miller
Dave & Debbie Onysyk
Ray Poon
Robert E. Pottinger
Reggin Technical Services
Mark Schmalz
William & Rosalyn Schmidt
Betty Ann Smith
St. Bonaventure CWL
St. Luke’s Catholic Women’s League
Patrick Sullivan
Roderick Wade
Warburg Pincus LLC
Christine Wegleitner

A special thank you to all undesignated donors whose collective contributions made an impactful difference for all 9 partner agencies involved in the campaign.

Poelzer Family Foundation Wellness Room

Thanks to a $25,000 grant from the Poelzer Family Foundation Fund at the Calgary Foundation our organization has been able to incorporate a Spiritual Wellness room into our new building.

The funds received from this grant have been specifically allocated to the creation of The Poelzer Family Foundation Wellness room. Without this support, we would not have been able to incorporate this space into the design of the building. From our work in the community we recognize that there is a need for residents to have spaces such as these in their residence so they can feel fully connected, supported and welcomed. It is evident that people benefit greatly when they have a designated space to meditate, pray, smudge or worship. These funds have allowed us to design this space with appropriate venting to allow our residents to smudge or burn incense in accordance with their spiritual beliefs, while not violating terms of their lease. By offering residents a safe, clean and welcoming space to practice their spiritual traditions we intend to create a vibrant, inclusive community.

We thank the Poelzer Family Foundation Fund for giving this gift to our future tenants.

We also extend our sincerest gratitude to Lance Cardinal, an Indigenous artist from The Bigstone Cree Nation, in Treaty 8 Territory, who, with guidance from Elder Jackie Bromley from The Kainai Nation, designed and painted this space.

“This beautiful space of light and wellness has been created for all people at Bishop Manor. It is a welcoming space for all nations, offering a quiet place of prayer, reflection and solitude. The calming colours and patterns of the room are inspired by the vibrant designs of the traditional ribbon skirt, a contemporary symbol of the Indigenous healing movement. The custom hand painted wall patterns are inspired by the ancient Indigenous petroglyphs seen all throughout southern Alberta. This is a space for all people, all nations and all types of prayer. This is a place of wellness.”

– Lance Cardinal, Designer, Bigstone Cree Nation

Alice Ranks Knitting Corner

On September 21, 2020 our organization held its first ever benefit concert. Songs for Home was a cabaret style concert featuring the very talented Denis Lambert. It all began with a small idea, to do something involving music for his Grandmother, Alice Ranks who celebrated her 90th birthday in January. His Grandma Ranks was one of his musical influencers as a child and he could think of nothing more touching than to celebrate her with music. He was also looking to pair this idea with some form of philanthropy; to give back, in a meaningful way, to the city he grew up in.
The event was a major success raising a grand total of $24,500! Forward Housing has dedicated a special space, named the ‘Alice Ranks Knitting Corner’ in this building to honour Denis’ Grandmother and to recognize this fantastic event.

get involved

donate

support us today!

creating homes

live here