Displaced residents of Kelowna, B.C.’s ill-fated supportive housing building are being offered financial compensation from the organization blamed for their current plight.
Each household at Hadgraft Wilson Place is eligible to receive financial support of $12,000 from UBC Properties Trust. The aim is to help tenants who have been displaced since April, when cracks appeared in the building’s foundation, face unexpected costs associated with renting and moving into new accommodations, UBC officials said in a press release.
Residents were informed on July 2 by Pathways Abilities Society, which operates the building, along with detailed instructions on how to receive payment.
The financial package does not prevent residents from advancing legal claims in the future, according to the press release. There are several lawsuits relating to the damage caused in nearby buildings.
In addition to support for residents, arrangements have been made with Pathways and BC Housing for UBC Properties Trust to carry out early mitigation efforts for the HWP building. UBC Properties Trust has begun shoring work in the HWP parkade and while it’s still too early to say when the building can be occupied again, UBC is encouraged by the recent pace of progress.
Charisse Daley, executive director of Pathways Abilities Society, said the shoring work is cause for celebration and they’re hopeful it will allow residents the ability to get back into the building to collect the remainder of their belongings.
Pathways, which runs Hadgraft Wilson Place, said they’re still working to support residents the best they can.
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“It’s an unfortunate position to be in,” she said. “We didn’t think we’d be here just a year and a month after it opened.”
Residents of the building have, for the most part, been staying at the new residence building at Okanagan College. When September rolls around, however, they will again be displaced and that’s a concern both Daley and Cormack share.
“Our priority has always been getting displaced residents back into their homes quickly, safely and prudently,” Lesley Cormack, Principal and Deputy Vice-Chancellor for UBC Okanagan said in a press release. “This new financial assistance is a welcome development, but there is still much work to be done and that is where our focus will continue to be.”
The City of Kelowna adds that this additional relief for evacuated residents comes at a critical time.
“City staff will continue to work with the team involved in stabilizing and assessing HWP to get people home as soon as possible. This support will provide needed relief for residents while further work takes place.”
Cormack says the progress made so far has been possible thanks to everyone working together.
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“While this situation has been very difficult for the residents, I am heartened by the way our broader community stepped up to help. The City of Kelowna, Okanagan College, Pathways, BC Housing and the provincial government are all at the table and singularly focused on finding long-term and pragmatic solutions that benefit both residents and the community at large.”
The 84 residents of Hadgraft Wilson Place have been out of their homes, which catered to people with varying mental and physical challenges, since the beginning of April. They’ve been in multiple hotels and they relatively recently found a slightly more long-term solution to losing their homes.
They relocated to the new Okanagan College residence building until Aug. 15, at which point they will move, though nobody is sure where that will be just yet.
Cracks in the building that have made it unsafe are believed to have been caused by the construction of a massive UBC Okanagan tower next door.
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