Breaking ground on new one-stop shop for social services

A groundbreaking ceremony took place Tuesday for a new, 33,000 square-foot headquarters for the District of Sault Ste. Marie Social Services Administration Board (DSSMSSAB). 

The four-storey structure at 540 Albert Street East will house all divisions of social services and consolidate three of its existing buildings into one. 

“We’re collapsing all those divisions into one location, and the dream, the goal, is to offer a seamless service to the client, to the community,” said DSSMSSAB chief executive officer Mike Nadeau. “Right now, you have to go to one counter to see Ontario Works, another counter to receive childcare, another counter to receive housing, etcetera. What we want to be able to do is almost make it a one-stop shop where people can come and get the services in one location, rather than having to attend multiple appointments to get the same service.

“So we’re really hoping that the community will see an improvement in our services, and start to respond in a positive manner as well.”

Last week SooToday reported that Matheson Constructors Ltd. of Aurora, Ont. won a $16.3 million contract to build the new headquarters at the corner of Albert Street and Brock Street. 

“I think the big takeaway here is that our clients in Sault Ste. Marie can have a much better experience accessing the help they need. On the Sault Ste. Marie taxpayer side of things, I’m really proud to say that not only is this not going to cost the levy any extra money, but we should be seeing some savings as those efficiencies happen from all being under one roof,” said Ward 2 councillor and DSSMSSAB chair Luke Dufour. “We cast a really wide net to make sure this was the best option, both from a service perspective and from a cost efficiency perspective, and it was.

“It’s an exciting time to see that we’re able to move forward.”

It’s anticipated that the existing Ontario Works building at 540 Albert Street East will remain there until a decision is made on the structure’s future. Public Health Ontario has a lease on a portion of the building in place until 2029. 

Nadeau says the building has been there for roughly 65 years. The new building will be built next to the older structure. 

“We don’t know yet, because we know the cost to renovate that space and to add on was more than to build new for a new office building,” said Nadeau. “Because of the age of some of the infrastructure that is there, it may not be possible, but over the next few years we’re going to really start to explore what should that building do, if anything, or does it need to come down.” 

The target date for completion of the new social service building is February 2023. 

“It’s a pretty aggressive target,” Nadeau said. 

A study done in 2020 found that it would be more expensive to renovate 540 Albert St. than to erect a new building.

- with files from David Helwig