Vancouver's latest stab at innovative and affordable housing (after laneway homes and shipping container homes) comes in a more unexpected form: a jail.

The former Remand Centre (250 Powell St.) in downtown Vancouver is being turned into a seven-floor unit of affordable housing for marginalized and vulnerable community members.

The project is a collaborative effort between BC Housing, the government, BladeRunners, The Bloom Group, CPA Development Consultants, and Henriquez Partners Architects. The finished product will feature 96 self-contained housing units.

The jail, which was built in 1981 to hold those waiting to appear in court, was closed in 2002. Funnily enough, the original was designed by Henriquez Partners Architects founding partner Richard Henriquez. The redesign, led by the same firm, is in the hands of his son, Gregory.

"We have worked hard to get it off the ground and know it will make an enormously valuable impact on the DTES community, providing stability and dignity to at risk aboriginal youth, women at risk of homelessness and others struggling to build better lives," Gregory Henriquez told The Huffington Post B.C. in an email. "That my father designed the original detention centre further personalizes this project for me – I’m proud to be breathing new life into his original design."

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