Some residents from the Downtown Eastside are upset that the City of Vancouver is not including them in the expropriation process of the Balmoral and Regent hotels.
A 50-page report has been written with inputs from more than 200 community members. The report details how they would like the 100 block of East Hastings Street to look like. But that block doesn’t include the two controversial hotels.
- Scroll down or click here to see the full report.
"The community doesn’t want to see these buildings opened," said Eris Nyx, the community organizer of the 100-Block Vision. "They have horrible memories especially for Indigenous women that are living in this community.
Nyx also added, “What the community want to see happen is the buildings torn down and a hundred percent shelter rate to go in their place.”
“The mayor did say very specifically inviting folks in from the community would be a mistake at this point," said Fiona York from the Carnegie Community Action Project. "We think that a mistake is being made by not listening to us.”
The Balmoral Hotel was shut down in June 2017 because it was structurally dangerous.
The Regent Hotel closed it door the following year in what the city called "decades of underinvestment and mismanagement by the building owners."
Vancouver councils are on summer break and the community members are hoping to deliver the report when they’re back.
The full report follows. Viewing this on our mobile beta site? Tap here for a compatible version.
