Construction of a new library in Strathcona was launched today (January 19), marking a milestone for the facility that Mayor Gregor Robertson says has been “a long time coming”.

The six-storey building on East Hastings Street between Heatley and Hawkes avenues will also include 21 housing units for single mothers and their children, in addition to 4,700 square feet of community space.

“We’ll have medical and employment services, a mother and tot program, and we’ll offer support to families with infants who have been diagnosed with developmental delays,” YWCA Metro Vancouver CEO Janet Austin said at a news conference at the site.

The total budget for the project is $25 million. The YWCA has so far raised $9 million of its $10-million capital contribution for the housing complex, which will be called the Cause We Care House.

Robertson said Strathcona “desperately needs” a library. The Vancouver Public Library’s current branch in the neighbourhood is located within the Lord Strathcona Elementary School and has limited hours.

The mayor said the new branch will provide access to Strathcona, Downtown Eastside and Chinatown residents.

“It’s been many, many years of trying to find the right spot and the right conditions, so it’s a great advance to have a Strathcona library built on Hastings Street,” he told reporters.

"Having affordable housing on the same site on top of the library is a really big bonus for us when we need the affordable housing, and it’s for single mums with kids, family units, and that’s much needed in Vancouver."

Vancouver Public Library Board chair Mary Lynn Baum described the library’s joint project with the YWCA as “a perfect match”.

“In this library, our neighbourhood’s children…will see that learning is for everyone, regardless of gender, age, culture, wealth, social status,” she said.

“That learning is at the heart of empathic, creative, and engaged communities, and that learning is so important that our community offers it freely so that everyone can participate.”

The 11,000-square-foot library, which will be one of the largest branches in the city, will be located on the ground floor and part of the second floor in the new development. The facility will include meeting, programming, and community-gathering spaces.

The library will be called the nə́c̓aʔmat ct Strathcona library branch, an aboriginal name that blends the Musqueam word for “we are one” with the neighbourhood name.

The supportive housing component will include two, three, and four-bedroom units for low-income single mothers and their children who are homeless or at risk of being homeless.

Tenants will also have access to services at the nearby YWCA Crabtree Corner Community Resource Centre, such as daily hot meals, an early learning and care centre, legal education and violence prevention, and a support group for single mothers.

The new complex is expected to open in spring 2016.