Renovation of the 16 SRO hotels purchased by the British Columbia government last year to provide livable, clean, well-supervised socially responsible accommodation for members of our most indigent and vulnerable Downtown Eastside population continues apace in 2009.
The folks at Vancouver Housing Update report that …

“The renovations being made to the SROs represent major upgrades to the buildings. Where possible, the renovations are energy efficient: high-performance windows, low-energy lighting systems, and efficient ventilation and heating systems are being installed; exterior walls and roofs are being insulated. Mould, asbestos, lead paint, PCBs, and other recognized hazardous materials are being eradicated from the buildings and moisture resistant drywall which inhibits mould is being added to all sites where finishes are being replaced. With the removal of hazardous materials, the building envelope repair, and the new ventilation systems, the buildings will offer a greatly improved environment for tenants.”

To eradicate a terrible bed bug infestation problem that plagues the Downtown Eastside, those engaged in the renovation of the government-
owned SROs have set about to employ diatomaceous earth in an effort to control bedbug infestations. Diatomaceous earth is a soft rock that crumbles easily into a fine powder. The substance is being placed into the building wall cavities of each of the 16 SROs. When bedbugs crawl across it, they pick up traces of the powder, absorbing liquids from the host’s exoskeleton, which causes the bedbug to dehydrate and expire.
Eighteen of the city’s most experienced non-profit groups who work to deliver housing, shelter and support services to those in greatest need, and who currently act as community partners operating SROs across the Lower Mainland — delivering Outreach programmes to the homeless, and / or provide emergency shelter across Metro Vancouver — have been assigned the responsibility to act as operating partners for the SROs currently being renovated and which, in most cases, are expected to open later this year.

In an area of Vancouver defined by despair, drug addiction, mental health disorders, and a lack of hope for the future, the prospect of marginally better living conditions for the several thousand people who call the downtown eastside home emerged a year ago when the provincial government purchased 16 hotels in Vancouver’s poorest neighbourhood.
Since that time, the Province of British Columbia has also agreed to build new social housing for the poorest and most destitute of our citizenry, on land turned over to the province by the City of Vancouver. The City and the Province, working together, have fast-tracked the approval of up to 1,200 new social and supportive housing units, on 12 city-owned sites.
How is the renovation and construction process coming along, one year on?
The short answer: nothing good happens quickly. And so it goes.

In the most recent report issued by Vancouver Housing Update, progress is slow, but steady. The 18 community non-profit partners who will operate the renovated hotels, as well as the 12 new social housing projects — range from the Lookout Emergency Aid Society to the Motivation, Power and Achievement Society and the Coast Foundation, to RainCity Housing and the Atira Women’s Resource Society, among a raft of other non-profit partners. All are onboard, and more than ready to house the homeless.
As to progress on those 12 City-owned sites, development on the sites continues to wend its way through Vancouver’s Planning Department.
The local architectural firm of Gomberoff Bell Lyon submitted their plan for the site to be developed at 188 East 1st Avenue, on May 2nd; this site will house 129 persons in a social housing building that will meet the LEED Green Environmental standard. Construction on the building is about to commence, with completion set for mid-2010, when residents will move into the building to by operated by the Lookout Emergency Aid Society.
GBL‘s remaining projects — at 1237 Howe Street and 505 Abbott Street — have made it through the design and notification process, and await final approval from the Planning Department before construction begins.
Meanwhile, on May 12th of this year, the Vancouver-based architectural firm of Neale Staniszkis Doll Adams submitted their plan to Vancouver City Hall for a 9-storey, 62-resident apartment building, to be operated jointly by the Katherine Sanford Housing Society, and the MPA. Again, construction is about to commence, with a completion date set for mid-2110.
The other NSDA-designed site, at 1388 Seymour, consists of 106 single units, and will be operated by the Granville Mennonite Housing Society.
VanRamblings’ readers may follow developments on the 12 sites (to be increased shortly to 14 sites, we have been informed by reliable sources) by clicking on this link, and when you arrive at the page to gain further insight, clicking on the addresses of the sites on the left-hand side of the page.
In time, as construction progresses, VanRamblings will produce a photo record of the social housing sites’ progress. We’ll see you back here soon.