On the south side of Shuter Street, west of Parliament there are two matching rowhouse buildings, half a block apart, one perpendicular and one parallel to the street. This is the Toronto Women’s Housing Co-operative (TWHC), the second of three women’s non-profit co-operatives built in Toronto. The Constance Hamilton Housing Co-operative, located in the Frankel-Lambert neighbourhood, opened in 1982, and the OWN (Older Women’s Network) Housing Co-operative, located south of St Lawrence Market, opened in 1997.

Incorporated in 1984, TWHC is also called the Beguinage by founding resident-members who were inspired by a historic model of women’s communities – medieval European beguinages were small urban communities of unmarried women who lived apart from conventional families and at arm’s length from male-dominated church control.

The stacked townhouse design of TWHC contains 28 units, with 13 one-bedroom units, 12 two-bedroom units, and 3 three-bedroom units. Each unit has a large private balcony or a fenced yard at ground level. Townhouse units have direct access to the street, and one-bedroom units share small vestibules. The project includes a co-ordinator’s office, a workshop or storage room, and a laundry room. Due to design constraints imposed by the government funding program and because the TWHC was a turnkey development, there is little in the building design or layout to distinguish women’s ideas and preferences, other than the communal courtyards at the back. Though not articulated in its physical form, the TWHC is distinctive in its creation of a unique women’s space and supportive community.

The TWHC is an example of how women’s groups across Canada have used existing social housing programs to develop non-profit housing for women. The self-management model of housing co-operatives has provided opportunities for residents to develop their management and leadership skills as well as to maintain control of their residential environment and provide mutual support.

Sylvia Novac