Vancouver's Luugat Building: A Tale of Fire, Flood, and Relocation

Vancouver's Lugat single-room occupancy building on Granville Street is shutting down by the end of June after taxpayer sheldown 55.

Million dollars to turn the old Howard Johnson Hotel into supportive housing back in October 2020.

What started as a quick fix during COVID has fallen apart fast with multiple fires, floods, and over $1.87 million in repairs.

Now BC housing is blocking media from peeking inside as the last residents pack up.

Earlier this week a flood at the Ground Floor Nightclub traced back to a first floor unit overflowing with two to four feet of garbage and no bed, giving a rare glimpse of the mess upstairs.

Residents Stewart Holcomb says the place got destroyed in less than a year and a half.

Rooms caving in from water damage, hallway strip bare, rooms, two wreck to enter.

Folks like Holcomb are relieved to bounce.

He described his current spot as a tiny box with a collapsed bathroom ceiling, but his new East Vancouver bachelor suite is three times bigger, cheaper, with a full fridge and stove.

He even got stuck in a ventilation shaft for over 24 hours last year, but he's chuckling about finally moving on.

As of late April, 36 residents were left out of the original 80 or so with the ministry claiming all got housing offers.

Accepted, others deciding, Holcomb pushes back, saying not everyone's sorted yet.

BC housing sites resident privacy in the stress of relocation, as reasons to keep doors shut now, unlike the open tour they allowed in 2020.

Still, Holcomb wants the public to see the damage firsthand before its history, and he's hyped for his fresh start.

That's your update from Canada News Today, powered by AI. I'm Cory with the story.