Edmonton’s Coliseum Inn could be converted into permanent affordable housing in $18M plan

Another old hotel in Edmonton is offering new options to some of the city’s most vulnerable. City councillors are considering turning the Coliseum Inn into 98 permanent affordable housing units

“This is the third latest in a series of hotel acquisition projects,” City of Edmonton director of affordable housing & homelessness Christel Kjenner said.

The city and the federal government have already announced funding to re-purpose the Sands Hotel on Fort Road and the Days Inn on University Avenue.

On Wednesday, the city’s executive council gave the green light for this proposed $18-million project to go before council in the coming weeks.

“I’m confident that council will give final approval to this funding so we can go ahead and start converting these old buildings to provide supportive housing,” Edmonton Mayor Amarjeet Sohi said.

More than $7 million from city would go to that project, the rest would come from the federal government.

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“This year we will have close to 500 new supporting housing units come on board,” Sohi said.

“Prior to the pandemic, Edmonton only had about 200 units of supportive housing available, so this a substantial increase in that inventory so we do expect that it will make a difference for a large number of people,” Kjenner said.

1:58 Renovations underway to convert 2 former Edmonton hotels into affordable housing units

The hotel is currently providing bridge housing, this change would mean more help for those who need it offering things like social supports.

“Of those units of supportive housing, a minimum of 58 units will also be specifically targeted for people who are Indigenous and experiencing homelessness as well,” Kjenner said.

Sohi said 60 per cent of people experiencing homelessness in our city are Indigenous.

“In order for us to be tackling houselessness we need to invest in Indigenous housing and Indigenous-appropriate cultural support systems,” Sohi said.

It all means more housing for Indigenous people and others needing a place to live.

“We are in a housing crisis, so being able to provide 98 new units makes a pretty significant dent in our goals towards more affordable housing in Edmonton,” Ward Métis Councillor Ashley Salvador said.