Not An Option In Toronto

Most the hotel properties that would have been viable options have been gentrified and in the process some of the previous tenants have become homeless. We started lossing affordable accomodation back in Sewell's tenure on counsel when Cabbagetown began whitewashing the downtown area and more and more of the "middle class" opted out of the move to the suburbs. This, of course, might be a blessing in disguise when we look at the track record of Toronto managing property.

$80m rescue for tenants
15 low-rent buildings in Vancouver, Burnaby, Victoria
Ian Bailey
The Province
Wednesday, April 04, 2007

The government's investment in affordable housing is 'a good-news story,' according to the Pivot Legal Society's David Eby, standing yesterday in front of the Marble Arch, one of 11 hotels purchased.

CREDIT: Arlen Redekop, The Province
The government's investment in affordable housing is 'a good-news story,' according to the Pivot Legal Society's David Eby, standing yesterday in front of the Marble Arch, one of 11 hotels purchased.

The B.C. government yesterday announced it's buying 11 low-income hotels, largely in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside, as part of an $80-million housing commitment.
The move means tenants, who generally have few other housing options, will be spared from eviction before the 2010 Olympics.
No plans have been finalized on the fate of bars and other businesses in the buildings. Purchase prices of individual buildings was not disclosed.
Buildings include the Marble Arch Hotel, St. Helen's Hotel and the Molson's Bank Building, adding 996 units of supportive housing in the Lower Mainland and Victoria. Another four buildings in Burnaby and Victoria are included.
But yesterday's announcement, at Salvation Army headquarters in Vancouver, came in the shadow of concerns about tenants being evicted from single-room-occupancy hotels in advance of the 2010 Games.
Premier Gordon Campbell did not dwell on that issue or on recent protests over homelessness.
Instead, Campbell cast the news as part of a housing strategy he linked to a tripling of social-housing spending to $328 million this year from 2001. He described the purchase as "the largest single investment in this critical type of housing stock ever."
Campbell said no one will be evicted in the transition to provincial ownership.
"Some of [the buildings] are in pretty good shape. Some of them need to have work done on them," Campbell told reporters.
He also promised additional measures, declaring "this is not the end of this."
Four buildings in Burnaby and Victoria will be converted into supportive housing that mixes support services with housing, allowing people to move from temporary shelter into secure housing.
The province is also funding 287 additional new supportive housing units in Vancouver on three city-owned sites.
The province will seek out non-profit groups to run the hotels and offer support programs for tenants.
"When people come and live there, they will have a chance to connect with the health-care providers and the social supports they need, and hopefully be able to make a transition into healthier housing in the long term for everyone," said Campbell.
Vancouver Mayor Sam Sullivan saluted the provincial effort, calling yesterday "the day we began to turn the tide on homelessness."
The city had been hoping to purchase some single-room-occupancy hotels, but at a much slower pace.
But NDP Leader Carole James said Campbell's plans fall short of addressing the homelessness crisis she accused the government of creating.
"City officials and Olympic planners have told Mr. Campbell that he needs to make a commitment to 3,200 new affordable housing units by 2010 to make a serious dent in the homelessness crisis," James said in a statement.
"But this plan announced today provides less than 300 new units."
The Liberal measures drew some measured praise from some observers as a badly needed measure to at least start to counter homelessness.
"[It's] a baby step in the right direction because it prevents these buildings from being closed in this huge speculative climate," said Jean Swanson, co-ordinator at the Carnegie Community Action Project, which works to develop better housing options for residents of the Downtown Eastside.
ibailey@png.canwest.com