Single Room Occupancy Hotels

Renovations complete at several more SROs

This summer the Park, Savoy, Beacon, and Orange Hall joined the growing list of government-owned SROs that have undergone renovation work and are now providing safe and secure homes. For some of the tenants, it was an opportunity to move back into a newly renovated unit; for many others, it meant the first real home they have known in a long time. New tenants were selected through the Supportive Housing Registry service.

Tenants began moving into the Beacon Hotel (formerly the Backpackers Inn) on September 14. Approximately 20 of the new tenants had been staying at the New Fountain Shelter, one of the City’s HEAT shelters. The Beacon’s opening meant a large group from New Fountain could stay together. (Both the Beacon and New Fountain are operated by PHS Community Services Society.)

"These people have been living together since the shelter opened and have formed friendships," said PHS Executive Director Mark Townsend. "Over the months, we’ve seen them improve. Their sense of community helps them through good times and bad times. It’s important for them to stay together."

Some of the PHS staff from the shelter will move to the Beacon, which also maintains continuity. "The clients have built relationships with our staff; the staff have gained their trust," added Mark. "This is important when you think someone should see a doctor or meet with a mental health team. The client is more likely to go if they can go with someone they trust."

A kitchen in Orange Hall pre-renovations (right) and a common area kitchen post renovations.
Above: a newly renovated unit at the Park Hotel before tenancy (left) and the building’s common laundry facilities.
Above: kitchen area pre-renovation at the Park and another kitchen area post-renovations.
Above: putting the finishing touches on the exterior of the Savoy Hotel (left) and the building’s renovated common washrooms.
Above: rooms at the Savoy pre-renovations (left) and post-renovations (right).

SHR houses 500+ tenants

Over 500 homeless people have now been housed in the government-owned SROs and The Lux using the Supportive Housing Registration (SHR) service. The service works closely with housing providers and support agencies and coordinates its work with many other staff at BC Housing. The 500th tenant milestone was reached during the opening of the Beacon Hotel in mid-September.

"It’s a real juggling act between many groups of people once a building is ready for tenants," said BC Housing’s Catherine Talbott. "Eight to 10 different functions, from applicant assessments to furniture delivery and budget negotiations with the operator, have to align before the building can be made ready to accept tenants. Good communications and coordination is necessary."

The SHR service will continue to house people in SRO units as these become available either through the completion of renovations or the filling of vacancies as these arise. As the supportive housing sites being built by the City of Vancouver and the Province come on line, SHR will also fill these units. BC Housing will conduct an evaluation of the service this fall to ensure the service is working as well as possible.

Tentative SRO construction schedule as of September 21, 2009

Hotel Units Tenancy status Non-Profit Operator Renovation Status Anticipated Completion Date
54 East Cordova 34 Tenanted Atira Property Management UNDERWAY October 2009
566 Powell Street 3 12 Tenanted Atira Property Management No renovations required COMPLETE
Arco Hotel 64 Tenanted Atira Property Management Pre-renovation TBD
Beacon Hotel 41 Tenanted PHS Community Services Society COMPLETE COMPLETE
Carl Rooms 44 Tenanted Atira Property Management with support services provided by PHS Community Services Society COMPLETE COMPLETE
Dominion Hotel 63 Tenanted Atira Property Management COMPLETE COMPLETE
Drake Hotel 2 26 Tenanted Atira Property Management COMPLETE COMPLETE
Gastown Hotel 93 Tenanted Atira Property Management Pre-renovation TBD
Hazelwood Hotel 112 Tenanted Atira Property Management with support services provided by MPA Society COMPLETE COMPLETE
London Hotel3 72 Tenanted Atira Property Management COMPLETE COMPLETE
Marble Arch Hotel 138 Phased renovation/partially occupied Atira Property Management with support services provided by PHS Community Services Society UNDERWAY Ph. 1: COMPLETE
Ph. 2: Oct. 2009
Ph. 3 & 4: TBD
Marr Hotel 29 Tenanted Atira Women’s Resource Society COMPLETE COMPLETE
Orange Hall 27 Tenanted S.U.C.C.E.S.S. COMPLETE COMPLETE
Orwell Hotel 55 Empty Vancouver Native Housing Society UNDERWAY October 2009
Park Hotel 50 Tenanted Atira Property Management with support services provided by PHS Community Services Society COMPLETE COMPLETE
Pender Hotel 40 Empty Vancouver Native Housing Society Pre-renovation TBD
Rainier Hotel 41 Tenanted PHS Community Services Society COMPLETE COMPLETE5
The Rice Block 42 Tenanted Atira Women’s Resource Society COMPLETE COMPLETE
Roosevelt Hotel 42 Tenanted PHS Community Services Society UNDERWAY January 2010
Savoy Hotel 25 Tenanted Atira Property Management with support services provided by MPA Society COMPLETE COMPLETE
Shaldon Hotel 54 Tenanted RainCity Housing and Support Society Pre-renovation TBD
St. Helens Hotel 86 Phased renovation/partially occupied Atira Property Management with support services provided by Coast Foundation Society UNDERWAY November 2009
Tamura House 110 Tenanted Lookout Emergency Aid Society Pre-renovation TBD
Walton Hotel 48 Tenanted Lookout Emergency Aid Society COMPLETE COMPLETE
1 Unit numbers are best estimates of how many units there will be in each building post-renovations.
2 This City-owned building is being used for tenant relocations. It will be replaced with a new building managed by RainCity Housing and Support Society.
3 Five-year renewable lease.
5 Residential renovations are complete. Renovations to the commercial are expected to be complete by Sept. 2009.

Beacon providing a ray of sunshine

When Moe Spires arrived home to his shared apartment in East Vancouver in the summer of 2005, he wasn’t expecting to begin a journey that would lead him to the Beacon Hotel.

But on that day he found his roommate had left and with him went the share of the rent that Moe couldn’t afford on his own. Moe had to move out.

Since he arrived in B.C. from the Maritimes 35 years ago Moe has plied his trade as a carpenter and construction labourer at projects around the city. The Downtown Eastside wasn’t a place he wanted to go so in the summer of 2005 Moe set up camp in the shadow of the Skytrain line running behind the Real Canadian Superstore at Rupert and Grandview. He was comfortable with things there till December of last year when a combination of ill health and the construction of the new Central Valley Greenway trail forced him out of the wooded area.

Moe found himself on the Downtown Eastside and was one of the first people to take shelter in the New Fountain HEAT shelter that was opened last December. Living in a shelter was a new experience for Moe and the daily process of having to get up and leave for the day and not having much in the way of privacy was taking its toll on his mental health.

All that changed for Moe with one simple experience on the morning of Tuesday, September 15. For the first time in nine months, he woke up and didn’t have to go anywhere.

He woke up in his new room at the Beacon Hotel where he has a door that locks and the privacy he had been craving. That morning, at the age of 59, Moe had the choice to get out of bed, go out for a coffee and then come back to his room to read and get some rest.

These days Moe tries to get labouring work with the employment agencies in the area, but otherwise spends time volunteering with the PHS Lifeskills program, helping out with Meals on Wheels and serving meals at the Lifeskills centre. From his perspective, ‘it is all good.’

Long-term tenant returns to Park Hotel

The Park Hotel has been home to John* for some eight years. After the Province bought the downtown SRO, John had to move across the street to the Marble Arch for about six months while renovations were done on his unit as well as the rest of the building. In early September, John returned to his home, which boasts a large window overlooking Pender Street. "It’s really nice; the job was very well done," he said of his upgraded unit. John appreciates the functionality of the renovated rooms and how easy they are to keep clean. "I just hope they keep it up!" he added.

John likes to keep to himself and doesn’t know many of his neighbours. He works nightshift as a hotel auditor and sleeps during the days. On his time off, he enjoys visiting thrift stores and looking for bargains. He likes living at the Park because "it’s all I need; I’ve lived in fancy apartments and I don’t need all that."

* Last name withheld to protect the tenant’s privacy.

Strategic sourcing resulting in big savings

BC Housing has been working closely with the SRO operators to identify opportunities to improve the value of materials and services purchased for the renovated buildings. The results are millions of dollars in savings as well as improved quality on the goods and services acquired.

"Strategic sourcing is a process that requires a different mindset from the more traditional approach of choosing the lowest bid," said BC Housing’s David Williamson, Manager, Supply Chain and Contract Services. "It requires us to think ahead so there is enough time to identify and research opportunities. It also asks us to think outside the box and look for opportunities that aren’t necessarily obvious. And, it takes a lot of collaboration: internally; with our non-profit partners; and with suppliers."

Strategic sourcing was used for the furnishings of most of the SROs. One building was outfitted before the principle was applied. The cost of furnishing each of those units was $2,000 with an expected lifetime of three to five years. With the application of strategic sourcing to the rest of the 1,700+ units in the provincial portfolio, the cost per unit has gone down to $1,420 and the new furniture has an expected average lifetime of 30 years. The direct hard dollar savings is nearly $1.3 million. And, if as expected the furniture really does last six times longer, the lifecycle savings could work out to be over $16 million.

"We really looked to the SRO operators for their input on the furnishings," said Liz Meneses, BC Housing. "We wanted to save money, but didn’t want to create rooms that felt like institutions. We worked with the societies as partners and their ideas were very valuable."

"We worked together to choose furniture that was durable and we were also able to contribute tips on bed bug issues that could arise with certain choices," said Christine Williams, Property Manager, Lookout Emergency Aid Society. "Societies have knowledge of issues that BC Housing may not think about, so collaborating is useful."

Howe Street shelter clients relocated to SROs

RainCity Housing and Support Society and BC Housing staff went to extraordinary lengths this summer to help relocate people staying in the Howe Street shelter into units at the government-owned SROs. The shelter, which was one of the City of Vancouver’s HEAT shelters, closed August 7.

RainCity Housing Society operated the Howe Street shelter and, once the fate of the shelter was decided, their staff immediately started having tough conversations with the clients about what they wanted for their future. BC Housing staff built on the conversation RainCity staff started; they took the time to listen to the concerns of the shelter’s residents and were able to gently convince them that housing was in their best interest.

BC Housing’s Catherine Talbott said, ""We were able to house 21 people on August 4, including two of the most outspoken clients. They returned to the shelter that night for dinner and talked about how great their rooms were and how happy they were to be in them. This seemed to really help sway the rest of the clients to accept housing the following day."

In all 36 people from the Howe Street shelter moved into SRO units.

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