Synagogue to host Ukrainian refugee family in Whitby-owned home

A local synagogue has applied to lease a home from the Town of Whitby to host a family of Ukrainian refugees.

The moves come from the B’Nai Shalom v’Tikvah, a Reform synagogue based in Ajax. The synagogue has offered to lease 508 Colborne Street West, a modest home in a quiet residential neighbourhood just south of Dundas Street.

The Town has owned the home for several decades. It is a 1,255-square-foot single-storey residential-detached bungalow built in 1953. The town originally bought the house to protect the area’s future road needs. However, it has instead been used as an asylum for refugees from conflict.

It was first used as a home for a family fleeing the Syrian Civil War in 2016. The Hebron Christian Reformed Church of Whitby initially leased the home on the family’s behalf for one year but renewed this lease every year following.

The Syrian family has established itself in the community and has since purchased their own home. They moved out of 508 Colborne in August. Shortly afterward, the synagogue approached the town, hoping to sponsor the Ukrainian family.

The synagogue has already identified the family they wish to help. They’ve noted the family needs new accommodations by the end of the year prompting Whitby to expedite the process. As a result, the synagogue and the town do not yet have a final lease agreement, though the draft is similar to the 2016 lease.

The town doesn’t have any formal plans for the home as yet and is prepared to lease it to the synagogue for three years with a possible one-year extension. The lease will run the synagogue a little more than $15,000 annually nearly $1,300 a month, about the same as the church was paying in August.

However, the home also requires significant repairs which will cost about $120,000. The repairs include new window panes, a paint job, new electrical panels, new flooring on the main level and basement, a new gas furnace, roof repairs and a nearly completely refurbished kitchen.