Quote:
Originally Posted by officedweller
The City was opportunistic in buying up practically every failing low to mid end hotel during and after Covid for social housing.
That created a void in the number of hotel rooms and problems with the social housing tenants.
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I don't think the City bought any hotels on Granville. The province, through BC Housing acquired 9 hotels in 2020 and 2021 (five in Vancouver and four in Victoria) to provide 810 shelter bed spaces. It was when they closed tent encampments at Vancouver's Oppenheimer park and Victoria's Topaz Park and Pandora Avenue to prevent the spread of COVID-19. BC Housing also bought some privately owned SRO buildings, and the Salvation Army Harbour Light hostel in Vancouver.
The City bought the Days Inn and Best Western hotels on Kingsway with federal funds to house the homeless, in 2021, and they bought the Regent and Balmoral on E Hastings, (but one of those has been demolished and the other is vacant for now).
The Howard Johnson and Hi Hostel were bought by BC Housing in the 2020/21 acquisitions. The St Helen's was bought in 2007. One of the more problematic SROs on Granville, the Regal, is still owned by the Sahota family.
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