A supportive housing site set up at the former Travelodge motel on Marine Drive is closing down.
On Jan. 15, operations at the North Vancouver housing site will cease, leaving at least one tenant without future accommodations secured.
The temporary housing site opened quietly in 2020, in response to overcrowding at shelters during the COVID-19 pandemic. BC Housing signed a lease in 2022 for all 61 rooms to provide support for people experiencing homelessness or at risk of experiencing homelessness.
BC Housing agreed to pay $1.5 million per year toward operating costs, with Lu’ma Native Housing Society managing the site.
The site was not without problems, with eight deaths recorded at the site between its opening and March 2022, according to a statement from B.C.’s Ministry of Health, responding to a reporter’s request for comment in 2023.
Concerns were also raised by former West Vancouver-Capilano MLA Karin Kirkpatrick, who said the facility was run without adequate supports.
BC Housing’s lease on the property expired in May of 2024, and the provincial body has been extending it on a month-by-month basis since.
BC Housing and Lu’ma have been in regular communication with residents over the past year, updating them on the future of the site, the provincial body said in a statement.
Residents were formally notified by letter on Nov. 15, 2024, that operations at the Travelodge site would end Jan. 15.
With the property slated to be redeveloped, the supportive housing was always meant to be temporary, a BC Housing spokesperson said in a written statement.
“BC Housing has been working closely with Lu’ma Native Housing Society and the Aboriginal Housing Management Association to find alternative housing for all residents. As of Jan. 2, there are five residents remaining,” the spokesperson said.
Of those individuals, all have been offered housing and four have accepted offers of housing elsewhere, the spokesperson added.
“We know moving is stressful, which is why BC Housing and Lu’ma have provided a variety of supports to residents to help them with the transition into new homes,” the BC Housing spokesperson said.
“For residents at the Travelodge, this includes covering the cost of moving expenses, joining residents at housing interviews, assisting with packing belongings and arranging transportation,” the spokesperson said.
BC Housing said it couldn’t provide specifics on where residents have moved, for privacy reasons, but is committed to working with residents to assess their needs and offer options to remain in the community when possible.
“Many residents have moved into housing in North Vancouver. As some residents originally came to the Travelodge from Vancouver, some have also been offered housing in Vancouver or elsewhere in the Lower Mainland,” the spokesperson said.
More supportive and affordable housing coming to North Vancouver
“We know more is needed for people at risk of or experiencing homelessness in North Vancouver,” BC Housing added.
“Since 2017, the province, through BC Housing, has more than 1,100 supportive and affordable homes delivered or underway in North Vancouver,” the spokesperson said.
In January 2024, the City of North Vancouver borrowed more than $50 million to fast-track a rebuild of North Shore Neighbourhood House, which will include construction of an affordable rental tower in Lower Lonsdale.
Last February, District of North Van passed a controversial plan to build a 67-unit supportive housing project at East Keith Road and Mountain Highway.
In March, the province announced a new affordable rental project with 166 units on district-owned land near the Holiday Inn in Lynnmour. That month, politicians and housing advocates also celebrated a $54.7-million project that will provide 86 units of affordable housing at the site of the former Delbrook community centre.
In June, a new 90-unit affordable rental building opened near Phibbs Exchange. And in August, the provincial government said it had bought a three-storey walk-up building in Lower Lonsdale as part of a $500-million program to purchase and secure older rental buildings.
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