Landsbankinn grants a construction loan to a halfway house for women and children
Agreements providing for the construction and financing of an 18-apartment halfway house for Kvennaathvafið, the Women’s Shelter, were signed on 28 November. Landsbankinn grants a construction loan for the halfway house during the period of construction.
The halfway house will incorporate 12 studio apartments and 6 3-bedroom apartments. Work is scheduled to begin on 1 February 2020 and to end in summer of 2021. Preparation for the project began in 2017 with a collection drive organised by “Á allra vörum” which culminated in a televised fund raiser hosted by RÚV and Síminn. A total of ISK 80 million was collected during the combined fund-raising effort. The project has received capital contributions from the Housing Financing Fund and the City of Reykjavík. The project has also received handsome support from non-profit organisations the Oddfellows, Soroptimists, Zonta and women’s societies, and several others.
Access to moderately priced housing under the protection and support of the Women’s Shelter can be instrumental in assisting women and children to rebuild their lives, once they no longer require emergency housing. The halfway house will be an addition to the current services offered by the emergency housing of the Women’s Shelter, and function as so-called interim housing. The apartments will provide a home to women and children who have fled domestic abuse while they get back on their feet.
Alverk ehf. is the project’s building contractor. The building is designed by Þorleifur Eggertsson with Tendra Architects, engineering firm Lota, design studio Storð and Trivium.
