British ColumbiaVancouver Mayor Ken Sim and some downtown Vancouver businesses are calling the province to close two more social housing complexes on Granville Street.Hospitality association spokesperson says social housing built on Granville Street a ‘failed experiment’CBC News · Posted: Nov 27, 2025 9:28 PM EST | Last Updated: 5 hours agoListen to this articleEstimated 3 minutesThe audio version of this article is generated by text-to-speech, a technology based on artificial intelligence.Mayor Ken Sim is pictured at The Roxy Nightclub during a Hospitality Vancouver Association (HVA) press conference calling on the closure of some nearby single-room occupancy (SRO) buildings on Granville Street. (Ben Nelms/CBC)Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim and some downtown Vancouver businesses are calling for the closure of two more social housing complexes on Granville Street.Earlier this month, B.C. Housing announced the SRO (single-room occupancy) Luugat building would close in June 2026, a move that was hailed by some local businesses.The Hospitality Vancouver Association, however, hosted a news conference Thursday expressing concerns about what it says is continued street disorder in Vancouver’s main entertainment district.Association spokesperson Laura Ballance said housing people with complex mental health and addiction issues in and around the Granville Street entertainment district was a “dismal, failed experiment.”“The level of crime, street disorder and general chaos created by those residents of those buildings has spiraled Granville Street into disarray,” Ballance said.WATCH | Some Vancouver business owners call for end to street disorder:Hospitality Vancouver Association, mayor, police address crime on Granville StreetFollowing a week of violence, fires and street disorder on Granville Street, the Hospitality Vancouver Association along with the mayor and police chief spoke at a media conference on Thursday asking for two nearby single-room occupancy (SRO) buildings to close.She said the association had called for an inquiry into the oversight of SROs in June, but hasn’t received any answers.“Granville Street is no longer safe — not for the vulnerable population who are living in these crime-controlled, rotting and derelict buildings,” Ballance said.”Nor is it safe for the employees and patrons of the businesses who make up what was once one of our city’s most historic and dynamic streets.”WATCH | Luugat building to close:SRO building on Vancouver’s Granville Street will be shut downB.C.’s housing ministry is closing the Luugat, a single room occupancy building on Granville Street in Vancouver. The building, a former Howard Johnson hotel, was converted to social housing during the pandemic. As CBC’s Pinki Wong explains, the closure comes as the city of Vancouver plans to revamp the area ahead of the FIFA World Cup. Mayor Ken Sim called for the province to “immediately” provide closure timelines for St. Helen’s Hotel and the Granville Villa, both SROs on Granville Street owned by the province and serving low-income people.“Vancouver cannot wait indefinitely while these buildings continue to destabilize the Granville Entertainment District,” Sim said at the news conference.He also wants new involuntary mental health care beds in Vancouver.“This is where the crisis is most urgent. This is where the need is greatest.”Wendy Pedersen from the SRO Collaborative says that federal dollars should be directed towards solving homelessness across Canada. (CBC)Wendy Pedersen with the advocacy organization SRO Collaborative said that the push to close social housing is not being accompanied with more spaces being built — especially as Vancouver council voted to freeze future increases of supportive housing buildings earlier this year.”This continual drip, drip, drip of loss … really, it means more encampments and more people sleeping in alcoves and on the sidewalks,” she said.She said she sympathized with the businesses in the Granville Street area, but asked them to lead advocacy efforts and ask the federal governments to contribute towards social housing across Canada.WATCH | Push to move SROs away from Granville Street:Vancouver mayor pushing province to move SROs away from Granville StreetVancouver Mayor Ken Sim is again pushing the province to move single-room occupancy (SRO) buildings away from the Granville Entertainment District. But as the CBC’s Pinki Wong reports, advocates worry the closures will just push low-income people back to the streets. Housing minister respondsHousing Minister Christine Boyle said Thursday the province is in active discussions with the City of Vancouver and the mayor.She said the current priority is working with tenants at the Luugat to relocate them to new housing by June of next year.MLA Christine Boyle says discussions are underway to relocate tenants of the Luugat in Vancouver by June 2026. (Mike McArthur/CBC)“What we don’t want to see is people getting evicted onto the street,” Boyle said. “We know that makes the situation worse for those residents and for the community. So we need to find good, alternative housing and that’s not easy to do immediately.”With files from Pinki Wong, Katie DeRosa, Michelle Morton and Lauren Vanderdeen
Vancouver mayor calls for local involuntary care beds as Granville Street businesses complain of disorder
