News – Kingston Community House at 99 York

Accessibility Renovation Updates
Since we began as a registered charity 45 years ago, we have dreamed of having a more accessible building. Now, our house is undergoing a transformation! And it is all thanks to community organizations and
individuals who have donated money, ideas and hundreds of volunteer hours. We are working towards the creation of more accessible spaces in our lower level. We are 3 years in and $50,000 spent!

To prepare for the installation of an electric door and ramp, we have had a lot of work to do! We replaced the 20+year old furnace and all its duct work with a smaller high-efficiency furnace in its own fire-rated room. This allowed space to built a new larger wheelchair accessible washroom (now complete!) We renovated the lower level meeting space, aka “The Den” (previously called “The Board Room” – now complete and ready to be booked!) The new bathroom location and a change in stair direction allowed all our meeting rooms to be enclosed, private spaces — an essential requirement for many groups.

To prepare for an accessible entrance at the back of the house we landscaped the backyard with a graded pathway and a large level patio (now complete!).

We have received generous support from the Kingston Cataraqui Rotary for the landscaping ($8,000), the Kingston Community Credit Union ($10,000 for general alterations and the new bathroom) and the Amherst Island Radio Station $5,000 (for the new bathroom). Another $30,000 has been donated or generated from house operations (from room and house rental fees!)

What’s Next — This first phase of work was completed in late 2025. But we’re not done! The next phase includes the electric door with access from the back of the house, moving the kitchen to a new location, removing old plumbing and replacing with new pipes and venting that meets building code requirements, ramping the interior hallway to allow wheelchair access to two meeting spaces.

We’re taking a breather now, preparing for another round of grant writing, fundraising and physical labour. As well, we may need to prioritize the replacement of the roof before we can allocate extra funds to the renovations. We’re proud of what we have accomplished so far and extend our grateful thanks to all who have contributed time, money and ideas to this project.

Please feel free to visit our improved space and see for yourself. Room bookings can be made through house coordinator Harold at [email protected]. Donations towards the renovations (and/or roof replacement) can be made on our website and are eligible for a charitable tax receipt.

Member Outreach We would love to hear from you! If you are a new member and would like a tour and orientation to the house facilities, please be in touch with Elinor from our Board: [email protected]
We’d be happy to promote groups and events that are using the house – please reach out to our social media accounts.

Want to Get Involved?
Volunteer! We have 2 Vacancies on our Board of Directors If working together to maintain and improve our Community House interests you, reach out to Tracey, our chairperson, at [email protected] We meet monthly. Sometimes there are snacks! 🙂