Waterloo Co-operative Residence Incorporated - History

History

The history of WCRI began in September 1964 with the founding of the Waterloo division of Campus Co-operative Residence Incorporated in Toronto. Due to changes in the National Housing Act, student housing co-operatives were able to apply for financing from Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation. Initially, two separate houses on University Avenue in Waterloo accommodated twenty-seven male and nine female students, though meals were taken together at the men's house. One cook was hired, but all other work was done by the members.

Independence from CCRI was soon deemed desirable and the process of splitting off into a separate co-op was undertaken. Letters patent for the incorporation of WCRI were issued on November 8, 1965.

Expansion was the word of the day in the early years of the co-op and by September 1966, more than 200 students lived in various WCRI accommodations. In addition to owning several houses, the co-op had built a four-storey dormitory called Hammar, the first such building in North America to be built, owned, and operated by students. At this point, full-time staff were beginning to be hired to handle various administrative matters.

In January 1969, the co-op completed the construction of two new dormitory divisions and an apartment division on Phillip Street. The former were called Phillip North and South, and the latter was simply called the Apartment Division. At this time, resident membership surpassed 600, including some members who still lived in houses.

In 1976, the last of the houses were sold off, beginning what could be thought of as the modern era of WCRI. This also coincided with significant changes to the organizational structure of the co-op, creating a complex hierarchy of decentralized decision-making bodies.

In 1986, the co-op undertook the construction of three new apartment divisions on Phillip Street, next to the existing property, named Carver, Clayfield, and Kershaw. The existing Apartment Division was renamed B-Division to disambiguate.

In 1993, the co-operative used some empty space in the basement of Clayfield to open an English-style pub called Weavers' Arms. The pub was financially unsuccessful year after year, despite several attempts at revitalization, and was permanently closed in August 2004; however, is still available for social events - although only currently serves alcohol under event specific liquor licenses rather than a commercial site license. WCRI policy is generally not to allocate funds for purchases of alcohol, however in event planning for the 2008 Fresh Week, two liquor licensed events were planned - a Kegger and a Monte Carlo night. There are hopes from some members to see the location serve a variety of ongoing usages; however currently requires booking in advance of event with a member(s) responsible for the establishment during events, in general supplied for the membership rather than for commercial reasons.

In 2005, Hammar underwent a comprehensive redevelopment project, with two floors reopened in September 2005 and the remaining two in January 2006.