CTF calls on BC govt to close supportive housing building with one tenant following $101K July bill

The Canadian Taxpayers Federation is calling on the BC government to immediately close the Luugat supportive-housing building in Vancouver — which has remained open nearly two months after its planned closure date.

The province had intended on closing the 110-room building on Granville Street by June 30, but one resident remains.

Luugat cost approximately $101,000 to operate in July, according to figures first reported by Global News.

"We’re spending three grand a day to keep a collapsing SRO open for one tenant," said CTF BC Director Carson Binda. "It’s been 57 days since the province promised to close it. This delay is bad for both taxpayers and the remaining resident who’s living in a substandard facility."

While Binda pointed to the $101,000 cost and the number of residents remaining, the Ministry previously told Sitka Media the expenses were “not all related to housing the tenant.”

What did BC’s $101,000 Luugat bill actually pay for as one tenant remained?

A six-figure bill to keep a nearly empty Vancouver supportive-housing building open has drawn scrutiny over public spending. Sitka Media took a closer look at what’s behind the $101,000 figure.

Sitka MediaLeda Omid

The July costs included building maintenance, municipal taxes, insurance, utilities for fire and life-safety systems, security and services needed to maintain a commercial tenant at the property. The Ministry said many of those costs remain largely the same regardless of how many residents are living in the building, while staffing and support-service costs have decreased as residents moved out.

The remaining resident has been offered alternative housing by the province but has not yet moved.

The province purchased Luugat, formerly the Howard Johnson hotel, and a neighbouring development site for approximately $55 million in 2020. The CTF says recent assessments value the site at $27.5 million.

Binda questioned why the building remains open despite the cost and the province’s earlier timeline.

“We can’t keep spending money like this forever, especially not when the tenant has been offered other better options,” he said.

The CTF compared the $101,000 July cost to the average monthly rent of 39 Vancouver apartments and the annual provincial tax bill of 31 working families.

“The province said it would be closed at the end of June, but it’s still costing us thousands of dollars a day,” Binda said.

The province, BC Housing and the City of Vancouver have been working to relocate residents from three supportive-housing buildings in the Granville Entertainment District. The broader plan is to replace the three sites with approximately 280 self-contained supportive-housing units outside the district, although the Ministry has said details are still being developed.

Binda called on Housing Minister Christine Boyle to relocate the remaining resident and close Luugat, arguing that, "the province is failing the last resident at this facility and it’s failing taxpayers."