Residents evacuated by UBCO tower debacle won’t live in newly announced facility

UBC Okanagan’s new downtown campus tower was a debacle and left dozens of people without a home, now the coalition tasked with setting the situation right has left out those who were displaced.

The City of Kelowna, Pathways Abilities Society and UBC Properties Trust have formed a task force to build a new 69-unit facility to replace Hadgraft Wilson Place. But the evacuated tenants who lived in Hadgraft Wilson Place aren’t sure what it’s going to do for them.

“People have been scrambling to find places, and the situation is still the same. Nothing has changed,” former Hadgraft Wilson Place resident and the former residents’ spokesperson Monique Saebels told iNFOnews.ca.

The city gave the Hadgraft Wilson Place property at 1360 Bertram Street to UBC in exchange for the a new building site at 1243 and 1255 Pridham Avenue and 1244 and 1254 Sutherland Avenue, according to a UBC media release issued, Sept. 9.

Around 18 months ago 84 residents of Hadgraft Wilson Place, Pathways’ supportive housing building next to the UBCO tower construction site, were kicked out of the building when it started sinking.

The residents have multiple class-action lawsuits on the go against the city and the university’s subsidiary UBC Properties Trust.

Saebels said the residents weren’t told about the replacement building and haven’t been offered any of the units.

“I’m really saddened by corporations and the city and things like that that are able to do these things and not be able to talk to the people that were affected by it,” Saebels said.

“This could be you. It could be your sister. It could be your daughter that will go through this, and I just want people to realize that we’ve gone through a lot of pain and a lot of suffering, and some people still haven’t found housing.”

Pathways Abilities Society executive director Alan Clay said he couldn’t comment on the tenants’ situation, but he praised the city and the university for getting the project going.

“There are legal activities going on there. But in terms of moving forward with a new building, we’ve got two years yet to look at what we’re going to do to fill those suites. And that’ll be the next activity. The first part of all of this was trying to find a solution to the building downtown, and we’ve been able to do that,” he said.

UBC Properties Trust is building the new facility for Pathways Abilities Society, but it isn’t directly related to the lawsuits filed by the tenants.

Whether the existing Hadgraft Wilson Place building is going to get knocked down, or fixed and repurposed by the university isn’t clear.

Saebels said the fact that the university damaged Hadgraft Wilson Place and has now been given the property adjacent to its new downtown tower campus adds insult to injury.

“It’s just like a stab in the heart. I mean, let’s be real, that’s what they’ve always wanted,” she said. “If the city works out a deal with them and Pathways, well, that’s their thing.”

The UBC media release celebrated the new building as a win for the community.

“This outcome shows what can be achieved when we work together with genuine commitment to the community,” the university’s principal Dr. Lesley Cormack said in the release.

“I’m deeply aware of the frustration and concern of our many friends, neighbours and partners throughout this complex process, but the progress announced today hopefully demonstrates the extent of the efforts happening behind the scenes.”