Downtown businesses in Vancouver, Victoria want changes to supportive housing, citing public safety concerns

Alan Goodall has owned the Aura nightclub in Vancouver's entertainment district for 16 years, and he says the situation for his business has never been worse.

"Just in the last month alone, my ceiling has caved in in three different locations, three times," Goodall said of his club, located on the ground floor of the former Howard Johnson hotel on Granville Street. 

The B.C. government purchased the hotel for supportive housing in 2020, and since then Vancouver fire crews have been called to the site 906 times, including for a fire on Wednesday.

Vancouver police also say they've been called to the housing site thousands of times since it was converted.

Downtown business problems aren't just affecting Granville Street. Business leaders and others in Vancouver and Victoria say the mounting number of public safety concerns in the downtowns and lack of action from the province is promoting them to rethink their operations. 

"Just last month, I was closed for 16 days. I had 50 staff members out of work, people who lived paycheque-to-paycheque were given 24 hours notice and they didn't know how they were gonna pay their rent," Goodall said. 

'Downtown businesses cannot wait'

Two people were injured in this week's fire, and all the residents were displaced overnight in what Vancouver Fire Rescue Services called an accidental blaze caused by a locking butane torch. The devices are commonly used to smoke drugs in crystal or powdered form.

Fire services information officer Matthew Trudeau described a challenging scene inside the facility.

"Hoarding conditions, challenges with water supply inside the building and people refusing to leave made fire suppression and search operations tough for crews," he said in a statement.

The Downtown Victoria Business Association said in its annual report released Wednesday that 48 per cent of the businesses surveyed said they are either unsure or would not renew their leases if it was due soon because of the "current conditions" in the neighbourhood.

"Our call is simple: all levels of government must act now," chief executive Jeff Bray said in a statement. 

"No more studies. No waiting on perfect solutions, " he said. "The data is clear: downtown businesses cannot wait three to five more years."

Laura Ballance with the Hospitality Vancouver Association said the business situation is equally dire on Granville Street, and many businesses are blaming the crime and street disorder on the "failed experiment" of placing supportive housing in the area.

Ballance said the group has engaged with B.C. Housing for years but the conversations have not created any movement on the situation.

Vancouver's fire service said of the more than 900 calls for service at the former hotel, 375 were medical incidents, 43 were fires and 12 were rescue or hazard events.

Police said they had 65 calls to the hotel in 2019 before it became supportive housing. Two years later police were asked to attend 971 times, and have gone on to average more than two calls a day. 

Moving supportive housing 

Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim said he could "feel the frustration and the sadness and the anger of our local businesses" because of what they have to deal with. 

He said he has spoken with provincial Housing Minister Ravi Kahlon after the fire and Kahlon committed to moving supportive housing out of the entertainment district, although there was no specific timeline.

In a statement, Kahlon said the province "will support the city's plan to revitalize the Granville entertainment district."

"Seeing another fire is frustrating for businesses, and having people lose access to housing is heartbreaking," Kahlon said.

He said supportive housing "works."

"We're seeing success in the City of Vancouver's reports that indicate a drop in violence and street crime in the Downtown Eastside with fewer people sheltering in encampments and parks."

Sim said the move of supportive housing away from Granville street "can't wait."

"Why don't you ask Alan [Goodall] how urgent this is?" Sim said at a news conference Thursday, gesturing to the nightclub owner also in attendance. 

"So, speed is of the essence, "Sim said. "If there's no movement, we'll have more press conferences like this, and they won't necessarily be initiated by the City of Vancouver."

Goodall said he wouldn't wish what happened to his business on anyone.

"As a result of the fire that happened yesterday, they're right now tearing out my ceiling again — a ceiling that I kind of consider my own little Sistine Chapel. I spent 200 hours, me personally, putting that ceiling up.

"And it's gone. I can't replace it. And I don't even know what I'm going to do with it. I don't even know if I'm going to be open this weekend."