A former biker clubhouse in Langford once tied to organized crime is about to be reborn as a place of healing and hope for construction workers battling mental health and addiction issues.
The single-storey building at 2775 Spencer Rd. – once the headquarters of the Savages Motorcycle Club, a "support club" for the Hells Angels – was purchased earlier this year by the Construction Foundation of BC (CFBC).
Now, it’s set to become The Forge: a first-of-its-kind hub offering peer support, recovery coaching, counselling, and community-building programs tailored to B.C.’s trades workforce.
“There’s something really beautiful about taking something from one stage and transforming it into something brand new,” said Jenny Nadeau, CFBC's director of community programs. “This space will give back in ways that maybe it couldn’t before. It’s about hope.”
The facility is expected to open in July 2026 and will serve as both a local gathering place and a provincewide resource through an app currently in development.
The goal: build a system of support by and for tradespeople, a demographic that remains over-represented in overdose and suicide statistics.
The building – roughly 1,450 square feet on a 7,400-square-foot lot – went up for sale last year for nearly $1.5 million.
Just months earlier, it was one of several properties raided during a multi-jurisdictional police operation that netted fentanyl and other drugs. That history isn’t being ignored – it’s being embraced.
“It’s a living metaphor,” said Mike Manhas, director of philanthropy with CFBC and founder of the ReWired Recovery Foundation. “We’re showing what transformation looks like – whether it’s a building or a person. Jenny and I are both in long-term recovery. This space says, ‘Change is possible'.”
Inside, The Forge will offer more than just trained counsellors and recovery coaches. It will host a peer-support network, offer social clubs to help those in recovery rebuild life skills, and serve as a space where local services can meet people where they’re at – without shame or stigma.
Too often, said Manhas, people looking for help are told to go find services on their own, which can feel impossible when they’re barely holding it together.
“You’re told the resources are out there – but how do you find them when you’re struggling just to get through the day?”
The initiative is deeply rooted in the construction industry.
Of B.C.’s 243,000 construction workers, too many are suffering in silence. Both Nadeau and Manhas believe the people who build the province deserve real investment in their own wellness.
“The people who build our lives deserve to have good lives too,” said Nadeau. “And they need spaces that feel like they’re for them. Because often the resources that do exist don’t feel accessible – either culturally or physically.”
The Forge is being funded through private donations from within the industry.
Unions like the Western Joint Electrical Training Society have already pledged support. Volunteers from the trades will handle much of the renovation, but an additional $500,000 to $700,000 is still needed for materials and expansion.
The Forge’s reach will go beyond Langford.
Peer-support services, recovery coaching, and counselling will be available provincewide through the app. A potential research partnership with UBC’s men’s mental-health division could help scale the model across B.C.
The public launch is set for Thursday, July 31, with remarks beginning at 11 a.m. at the former clubhouse.
“You might walk in with your head down,” said Manhas, “but we want you to walk out with your head held high – knowing that people have your back, and that change is possible.”
