Vancouver’s dilapidated Balmoral Hotel to be demolished
Posted February 15, 2022 3:22 pm.
Last Updated February 15, 2022 3:23 pm.
More than a year after seizing it from its previous owners, the City of Vancouver has decided to demolish the decrepit Balmoral Hotel on the Downtown Eastside.
According to the city, the single-room-occupancy hotel on 159 East Hastings St. poses a risk to the public and people around in the event of a fire or similar incidents. The city’s chief building official issued an order Tuesday.
Council voted to expropriate the Balmoral, along with the Regent Hotel, from the Sahota family for $1 each in November 2020, more than a year after failing to compel the owners to bring the decaying buildings up to code.
At the time, the city estimated it would cost $46 million to fix the Balmoral and $40 million for the Regent Hotel.
Although the city claims in a statement it has made efforts to maintain the building, it says “decades of underinvestment and mismanagement by the building’s previous owners was irreversible.”
Two third-party engineering reports on the hotel showed the current fire and structural risks making it clear the building has deteriorated to a point beyond repair.
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Demolition planning has begun, however, given the age, complexity and condition of the building, removing it will take several months to complete, the city says, adding it is actively working to engage contractors.
The city plans to work with BC Housing to redevelop the site into affordable housing.
The Balmoral hotel was operated as a single-room occupancy building, before it was shut down by the city in 2017 due to terrible living conditions.
