'This will ruin our lives': Vancouver OKs hotel to replace Mount Pleasant apartments

Article content

City staff acknowledged the proposed hotel is taller than surrounding development but say it remains below the Queen Elizabeth Park view cone, meets tower separation requirements and is appropriate due to its proximity to the future SkyTrain station.

Article content

But Unite Here Local 40, the hospitality workers’ union, said the project conflicts with the Broadway plan’s goal of minimizing tenant displacement and allowing renters to remain in their communities.

Article content

In a recent report, the union pointed to another proposed hotel at 148 East 6th Ave., which it said could also displace more Mount Pleasant renters.

Article content

It said the issue “is not whether Vancouver should build more hotels, it is whether hotels should receive preferential treatment while the city’s housing crisis remains unresolved.”

Article content

For tenants facing displacement, the biggest concern is being forced out of their neighbourhood.

Article content

Under the city’s tenant relocation and protection policy for the Broadway plan area, 27 of Myron Manor’s 29 units are eligible for compensation based on length of their tenancy. However, because the project does not include replacement rental housing, tenants will not be able to return to the rebuilt site.

Article content

Article content

The project’s developers have offered additional support to eligible tenants and hired a relocation coordinator. A city staff report said low-income tenants, seniors and others facing barriers will be supported in finding affordable and accessible housing.

Article content

In an email, Nicola Wealth Real Estate told Postmedia News that rezoning approval is only the first step in a lengthy development process and that residents are not expected to leave the building for at least two years.

Article content

It said it remains committed to the city’s tenant relocation and protection policy and will continue working directly with tenants as the project advances.

Article content

“Our focus remains on treating tenants with care and respect ,and supporting them in finding housing that meets their needs.”

Article content

Barrocan expects to receive about 12 months of rent compensation per decade lived in the building — roughly $14,000 — but said it would not last long in Vancouver’s rental market.

Article content

“It’s not nearly enough,” he told Postmedia News. “That would be gone in two years of us paying market rent in Vancouver. After that, what will happen to us?”

Article content

Article content

Myron Manor residents have hired a lawyer who plans to seek a court review of how the application process was handled.

Article content

“The fight is not over yet,” said a resident of more than two decades, Crystal Huba.

Article content

Huba works a part-time administrative role for the City of Vancouver and has a non-visible disability. She said her current rent allows her to remain independent, with housing costs making up about 30 per cent or less of her income.

Article content

“It felt like the home I’m currently in is not my home anymore,” she said about hearing the news.

Article content

“Losing my home would mean losing medical care within walking distance,” Huba said.

Article content

“I will be priced out of living in Metro Vancouver, and forced to move back in with my family in the Interior. Some residents don’t have another place to go.”

Article content

Article content