B.C. invests $54.6M to open 115-unit affordable housing building for seniors in Vancouver

Chalmers Foundation previously operated a seniors’ care facility in the 115-unit building recently purchased by B.C.'s government. It's set to open in fall 2023 as a supportive housing option for seniors, the province announced Tuesday, April 11.

As the removal of tents and structures in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside puts a spotlight on the city’s homeless crisis, British Columbia’s government says more than 200 affordable housing units are on the way.

The province announced Tuesday that it’s purchased a 115-unit building in the South Granville area, with tenants expected to move in by this fall.

Seniors who are currently living in single-residency-occupancy buildings will be given priority, which the province says will result in more housing options for people sheltering outdoors in the Downtown Eastside.

“This is another 115 units that will help break the cycle of homelessness for people on East Hastings and in Crab Park,” said Housing Minister Ravi Kahlon, referring to two major encampments in the city.

According to a statement, the province has invested $54.6 million to secure the property --$10 million of which is reserved for renovations alone.

Kahlon also announced Tuesday that 95 units are set to reopen at 112 Water Street. Twenty-five former residents of the Gastown Hotel, which was evacuated on April 11, 2022 as a result of a devastating fire at the nearby Winters Hotel, are set to move back in.

The province says the SROs operator, Atira, will fill the remaining units with people from Hastings Street shelters or the Downtown Eastside who are in need of stable housing.

Last Wednesday, the City of Vancouver executed an accelerated plan to dismantle the Hastings Street encampment with the support of police—all while acknowledging that there aren’t enough housing options available for all the people who will be displaced by the effort.

“There are more people seeking housing that we have housing, that’s absolutely correct,” the city manager Paul Mochrie said during a news conference.

The province, through BC Housing, has pledged to deliver 330 new or renovated units in the Downtown Eastside by June.