Latest news with #AuraNightclub
CBC
a day ago
- Business
- CBC
Downtown businesses in Vancouver, Victoria want changes to supportive housing, citing public safety concerns
Social Sharing Alan Goodall has owned the Aura nightclub in Vancouver's entertainment district for 16 years, and he says the situation for his business has never been worse. "Just in the last month alone, my ceiling has caved in in three different locations, three times," Goodall said of his club, located on the ground floor of the former Howard Johnson hotel on Granville Street. The B.C. government purchased the hotel for supportive housing in 2020, and since then Vancouver fire crews have been called to the site 906 times, including for a fire on Wednesday. Vancouver police also say they've been called to the housing site thousands of times since it was converted. Downtown business problems aren't just affecting Granville Street. Business leaders and others in Vancouver and Victoria say the mounting number of public safety concerns in the downtowns and lack of action from the province is promoting them to rethink their operations. "Just last month, I was closed for 16 days. I had 50 staff members out of work, people who lived paycheque-to-paycheque were given 24 hours notice and they didn't know how they were gonna pay their rent," Goodall said. 'Downtown businesses cannot wait' Two people were injured in this week's fire, and all the residents were displaced overnight in what Vancouver Fire Rescue Services called an accidental blaze caused by a locking butane torch. The devices are commonly used to smoke drugs in crystal or powdered form. Fire services information officer Matthew Trudeau described a challenging scene inside the facility. "Hoarding conditions, challenges with water supply inside the building and people refusing to leave made fire suppression and search operations tough for crews," he said in a statement. The Downtown Victoria Business Association said in its annual report released Wednesday that 48 per cent of the businesses surveyed said they are either unsure or would not renew their leases if it was due soon because of the "current conditions" in the neighbourhood. "Our call is simple: all levels of government must act now," chief executive Jeff Bray said in a statement. "No more studies. No waiting on perfect solutions, " he said. "The data is clear: downtown businesses cannot wait three to five more years." Laura Ballance with the Hospitality Vancouver Association said the business situation is equally dire on Granville Street, and many businesses are blaming the crime and street disorder on the "failed experiment" of placing supportive housing in the area. Ballance said the group has engaged with B.C. Housing for years but the conversations have not created any movement on the situation. Vancouver's fire service said of the more than 900 calls for service at the former hotel, 375 were medical incidents, 43 were fires and 12 were rescue or hazard events. Police said they had 65 calls to the hotel in 2019 before it became supportive housing. Two years later police were asked to attend 971 times, and have gone on to average more than two calls a day. Moving supportive housing Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim said he could "feel the frustration and the sadness and the anger of our local businesses" because of what they have to deal with. He said he has spoken with provincial Housing Minister Ravi Kahlon after the fire and Kahlon committed to moving supportive housing out of the entertainment district, although there was no specific timeline. In a statement, Kahlon said the province "will support the city's plan to revitalize the Granville entertainment district." "Seeing another fire is frustrating for businesses, and having people lose access to housing is heartbreaking," Kahlon said. He said supportive housing "works." "We're seeing success in the City of Vancouver's reports that indicate a drop in violence and street crime in the Downtown Eastside with fewer people sheltering in encampments and parks." Sim said the move of supportive housing away from Granville street "can't wait." "Why don't you ask Alan [Goodall] how urgent this is?" Sim said at a news conference Thursday, gesturing to the nightclub owner also in attendance. "So, speed is of the essence, "Sim said. "If there's no movement, we'll have more press conferences like this, and they won't necessarily be initiated by the City of Vancouver." Goodall said he wouldn't wish what happened to his business on anyone. "As a result of the fire that happened yesterday, they're right now tearing out my ceiling again — a ceiling that I kind of consider my own little Sistine Chapel. I spent 200 hours, me personally, putting that ceiling up.
CTV News
2 days ago
- Business
- CTV News
Granville bar owners call for BC Housing inquiry as SRO disorder plagues entertainment district
Firefighters were called to an SRO building on Granville Street on June 10, 2024. A group of hospitality business owners gathered Wednesday morning to say they've had enough of the street disorder and building damage that often forces them to shut their doors and turn away customers in the city's entertainment district. It comes one day after a fire at a single-room occupancy hotel owned by the province caused significant water damage to Aura Nightclub on Granville Street. As firefighters poured water into a top floor unit, it cascaded down six-storeys and tore a hole in the ceiling of the ground-floor business. 'I don't even know if I'm going to be open this weekend. Just last month, I was closed for 16 days,' said Aura owner Alan Goodall. 'I had 50 staff members out of work. People that live paycheque to paycheque were given 24 hours notice, and they didn't know how they were going to pay their rent.' According to Vancouver Fire Rescue Services, there have been 44 fires in the building since 2020, when it was converted from a Howard Johnson Hotel to a BC Housing SRO. 'Just in the last month alone, my ceiling has caved in in three different locations,' said Goodall. Investigators deem the latest fire accidental and say it was caused by a butane torch used for smoking drugs. The business owners say much of the disorder in the entertainment district can be traced back to the two SRO's directly across from each other in the 1100-block of Granville Street. Each also has a nightclub on the ground floor. On Thursday morning, a man smoking something out of a glass pipe in the doorway of Aura startled Mayor Ken Sim and Vancouver Police Chief Department Chief Const. Steve Rai as they made their way inside with Goodall to survey the most recent damage. The Hospitality Vancouver Association is demanding the province take steps to relocate the supportive housing units away from the entertainment district. 'This is not an anti-poverty message. This is a message to get people who need help the proper help,' said Dave Kershaw, who owns Cabana Nightclub on the ground floor of one of the SROs. 'They are not being served being put in SROs on Granville Street. And at the same time, it is destroying our businesses.' Provincial Housing Minister Ravi Kahlon appears to be onboard with moving supportive housing away from Granville Street, but no timeline has been made public. 'We appreciated the city offering to bring three pieces of land to the table so we can build purpose-built supportive housing elsewhere,' said Kahlon. 'We're committed to that, and I confirmed that with the mayor yesterday.' At the former Howard Johnson Hotel on the east side of the street, many of the windows are covered in thick layers of pigeon feces, suggesting the building may not be getting the regular maintenance one would expect of a BC Housing property. 'We at Hospitality Vancouver Association today are calling for a full inquiry related to BC Housing, their funding model, their oversight and their accountability,' said Laura Ballance, a spokesperson with the Hospitality Vancouver Association. The province did not directly respond to questions about whether it would open an investigation into BC Housing, but did provide a statement. 'As BC Housing continues to deliver on government commitments, we must also modernize and adapt to create more efficiencies in how it operates,' it said. 'This work is underway and is supported by government.'
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Vancouver mayor says minister commits to moving supportive housing after latest fire
VANCOUVER — Vancouver's mayor says British Columbia's government has committed to moving supportive housing out of the city's entertainment district, after the latest fire at a facility that's been the subject of hundreds of emergency call outs. Vancouver Fire Rescue Services says two people were injured in Wednesday's fire at the former Howard Johnson hotel, which the province bought for supportive housing in 2020. The fire service says that since January that year, the facility on Granville Street has been the subject of 906 call outs, including 375 medical incidents, 334 alarms, 43 fires and 12 rescue or hazard events. Mayor Ken Sim says he spoke to provincial Housing Minister Ravi Kahlon after the fire and Kahlon committed to moving supportive housing out of the entertainment district, with no specific timeline. The Ministry of Housing didn't immediately respond to requests for confirmation. Alan Goodall, who owns the Aura nightclub on the building's ground floor, says his ceiling has caved in three times in the last month due to activities upstairs. This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 12, 2025. Chuck Chiang, The Canadian Press Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
