Downtown Eastside - DTES Issues

[MIPS]

I can't be opposed to more SRO's being opened but my opposition is:

1) Is the cost of purchasing a hotel and renovating it to accommodate a few dozen people at a time viable as opposed to building new structures?

2) Is there any incentive for other low-cost hotel chains to move in to fill the bottom-end of the tourism market? Vancouver becomes less appealing to visit when the cheapest rooms in the city are over $120/night.

Also has anything happened with the Balmoral and Regent lately or is it still locked in the courts with the Sahotas? I swear they settled last year for around $11 million.