From the street, the seven-story building by Toronto’s architectsAlliance is difficult to figure out. A set of three volumes wrapped in curtain wall and dark gray brick, it could be offices or apartments. According to partner-in-charge John van Nostrand, this smooth, contemporary wrapper contains something quite familiar. “Essentially,” he says, “it’s an old-time hotel.”

In fact, Evangel Hall consists of a thoughtful hybrid of a single-room-occupancy (SRO) residence and social-service hub, but designed with plenty of care and the graciousness of a Victorian hotel. Located in a mixed-use neighborhood in downtown Toronto, Evangel Hall, an inner-city mission of the Presbyterian Church of Canada, includes 84 units of transitional housing. It also serves as home to a church drop-in center that caters to the city’s homeless with a cafeteria and an array of social services.