B.C. housing minister says situation at single-tenant Granville SRO ‘not ideal’

B.C.’s housing minister is finally addressing questions about the costs of operating a Vancouver SRO for one tenant .

The Luugat, or the former Howard Johnson Hotel on Vancouver’s Granville Strip, is still operating a month and a half after the province promised to close it and relocate residents outside of the entertainment district.

One staff member is serving a lone tenant who previously told Global News he has a seizure disorder and requires a building with an elevator and a unit the same size or larger than his current room.

Global News asked B.C.’s housing minister how she justifies spending $101,000 in July to keep the 110-room building open for one person.

Christine Boyle said she shares the public’s frustration on this issue and that the government is working to close the building down.

“The situation at the Luugat has not been ideal for a long time, which is why we’ve been taking action to close the building down and why we’ve moved more than 80 residents from the building to other housing, with one remaining,” she said.

When asked how the money was spent, Boyle said the building is a large one, that until very recently was housing a lot of people, which is why the costs to maintain it are high.

“We’re working closely with this individual and there are specific needs that I can’t go into, of course, for privacy reasons, but we are close,” she said.

Downtown Van has written another letter to the provincial government, requesting a timeline on the closure of the Luugat and two other publicly-owned SROs — the St. Helen’s Hotel and Granville Villa.

“To not provide clear information, it’s unacceptable,” Downtown Van president and CEO, Jane Talbot, said.

“The current housing does not support the needs of the people and we see that play out on the streets and yeah, it’s frustrating.”

Boyle said the province is close to closing the Luugat and more than 80 tenants have been successfully relocated into good and stable housing.

However, four former Luugat residents moved across the street to Granville Villa, even though the government promised to relocate tenants outside of the entertainment strip.

“I’m saddened by that because across the street from the Luugat is no better than the Luugat,” Talbot said.