131 housing units secured for evacuated SRO tenants

More than 100 residents ordered evacuated from the decrepit Balmoral Hotel in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside could soon be sleeping in new beds after a joint effort by the city and B.C. Housing to secure 131 permanent housing units for the soon-to-be displaced tenants.

Friday’s move comes just days before expiration of a city-ordered evacuation of the oft-maligned hotel at 159 Hastings St., which was last week deemed by the city’s chief building official to be uninhabitable after years of complaints and legal action from tenants.

According to a statement issued Friday, the city said the new units — the majority of which are pet friendly — were ready to start receiving tenants “immediately.” Due to privacy concerns, the specific location of the units were not provided by the city.

“Over the past week, City staff, B.C. Housing, and non-profit partners have been going all-out to secure homes — not shelter spaces — for every tenant who is being displaced due to evacuation of the Balmoral,” Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson said in a statement.

Housing activist Wendy Pedersen, however, said some of the hotel’s current residents could end up being forced into shelters. She estimated there could be 30 to 50 residents who were not officially registered as living at the hotel, meaning they were not included in the count. In an email response to this and other questions, the city said there are currently “128-tenanted” units at the Balmoral housing 142 people, so “BC Housing and the City are confident that the secured 131 housing units will be able to accommodate everyone.”

The units are a mix of non-profit, privately owned and government owned, according to the city’s email. And the “goal” is to ensure residents “are not paying more than they do now at the Balmoral.”

Robertson said in Friday’s statement that the city was awaiting direction from its legal team on how to move forward with action against the owners of the Balmoral and the 150-odd bylaw violations related to the hotel.

According to records, the hotel is owned by members of the Sahota family. The city has demanded the Sahotas make more than $1 million in structural repairs to the Balmoral’s ground-level bar and envelope, and hire professional engineers to conduct a full assessment of the building.