Former co-op home purchased by Kamloops hospital foundation for patients, doctors

Visiting cancer patients and doctors have a home to stay in Kamloops thanks to the Royal Inland Hospital Foundation.

The charity bought a nine-bedroom home from a housing co-op last December and it’s expected to be a companion to the upcoming Kamloops Cancer Centre, according to a Kamloops city staff report.

Though the foundation has previously hosted visiting doctors on occasion at rental houses, this appears to be the first property for the charity to host long- or short-term stays.

To make full use of the 6,000-square-foot home, the foundation is seeking city council approval to allow for up to 15 unrelated people to stay there at any one time.

iNFOnews.ca reached out to foundation executive director Heidi Coleman, who said she would comment on the purchase after council votes on July 14.

It was purpose-built for the RareBirds Housing Co-operative more than a decade ago. The latest assessment of the property by BC assessment put the value at $1.5 million.

Each of the six residents in the co-op owned a share in the property, and each had their own bedroom and ensuite bathroom.

It was a particularly close-knit arrangement even for a co-op home with a shared kitchen. Aside from the six upstairs bedrooms, it included three guest rooms in the basement.

It cost $1.2 million to build and its residents moved into their new home in 2014, but they struggled to find new residents to take over $250,000 shares in the property as the years went on. By 2025, the co-op members decided to move on and sell the home.

According to the city staff report, the new owner plans to rent rooms to out-of-town patients and their families, along with visiting or learning doctors. It’s at the furthest west edge of Battle Street West, adjacent to Guerin Creek, and is two kilometres from the hospital.

It’s not clear when guests can begin renting rooms, but it’s unlikely the foundation will wait until the $386-million cancer centre opens, which is slated for late-2028.