Former South Granville seniors tower to house Downtown Eastside residents

The B.C. government is converting a former seniors’ assisted living facility in South Granville into supportive housing for residents in the Downtown Eastside.

The province has purchased a 12-storey tower on West 12th Avenue, about a block from Granville Street on Vancouver’s west side, for $40.5 million.

It used to be the Chalmers Lodge, an assisted living facility for seniors. The province will renovate the building and anticipates new residents from the Downtown Eastside to move in by the fall of 2023.

“With the West 12th purchase, there is another 115 units that will help break the cycle of homelessness for people on East Hastings and in Crab Park,” provincial Minister of Housing Ravi Kahlon said in a statement.

It specified that the 115 units will be new replacement homes for those currently living in single-room occupancy or SRO buildings in Vancouver, and those living outside in tents in the Downtown Eastside with priority given to seniors in need.