Building Spaces of Safety, Stability, and Strength: Larkspur Projects and YW Calgary’s Transformational Facilities

When a woman arrives at one of YW Calgary’s facilities, she is not simply entering a building — she is stepping into safety, stability, and a sense of possibility. For more than 100 years, YW Calgary has been a lifeline for women and their families, helping them navigate crisis, rebuild after trauma, and move toward independence. The built environments that hold this work matter deeply. They need to protect, empower, hold space for healing, and welcome the community, all at once.

Larkspur Projects has had the honour of supporting YW Calgary through three major capital projects that together reshape what safety and dignity can look like: the YW Hub Facility in Inglewood, the Sheriff King Redevelopment, and the Taylor Family Home. Each project is a unique response to the realities experienced by women and children, and each reflects Larkspur’s core belief that development is ultimately about people — not buildings.

YW Hub: A Central Home for Women and Families

Opened in 2019, the YW Hub represents a new era of integrated, trauma-informed care. The 127,000-square-foot facility brings essential supports under one roof including transitional housing for 100 women, counselling, employment and language programs, childcare, fitness and wellness spaces, and a community kitchen. It is not just the centre of operations for YW Calgary — it is a place to rebuild.

Larkspur played a critical role in stewarding the project through complexity, facilitating alignment between stakeholders, navigating community engagement, and supporting donor and partner engagement throughout the construction process. The result is a building that feels anchored in humanity. Natural light, Indigenous-led and women-led art installations, warm textures, intuitive wayfinding, and secure private outdoor spaces work together to create safety without sterility and openness without exposure. The Hub has transformed how women and families access support — and how Calgary understands healing environments.

Sheriff King Redevelopment: A Shelter and Community Reimagined

The redevelopment of the original Sheriff King crisis shelter — in operation for 40 years — marks one of the most significant investments in Calgary’s response to domestic violence. Built during a time when crisis rates surged due to the pandemic and economic downturn, the new facility includes two interconnected buildings: a short-term crisis shelter and a three-storey residential building for long-term affordable housing.

Larkspur supported this project through multiple phases, ensuring continuity of services while the aging building was demolished and reconstructed on the same site. The redevelopment elevates the standard of care for women and children fleeing violence: secure family-sized suites, nearly 20% of units designed with accessibility needs in mind, childcare and counselling access, pet-friendly options, and CPTED-informed design for visibility and safety both inside and out. The shared courtyard — gardens, seating areas, a firepit, playground, and bike path — is now the heart of the site, designed to support connection and play during some of the most difficult moments in a family’s life.

Taylor Family Home: Dignity, Permanence, and a Place to Thrive

The Taylor Family Home provides long-term supportive housing for women and families who are ready for stability, independence, and community. The design reflects a simple but powerful idea: home is not only a place to sleep, it is a foundation for rebuilding identity, confidence, and connection. Larkspur’s role centred on ensuring the facility’s operational requirements, funding milestones, safety considerations, and design intent remained aligned throughout development.

What These Projects Mean for Calgary

Across all three facilities, the through-line is clear: safety and belonging are architectural imperatives. When women feel safe, supported, and respected, healing becomes possible, families stabilize, and cycles of crisis are interrupted. Today, YW Calgary campuses serve thousands of women and children every year — not only with programs, but with places designed around human dignity.

For Larkspur Projects, supporting these initiatives has been one of the most meaningful chapters of the firm’s work. It reflects what development can and should be: building with purpose, centring lived experience, and creating spaces that change lives.

Because when a woman walks through the door of any YW Calgary facility, she deserves to feel, without hesitation: I am safe here. I am valued here. I matter.