As the province prepares to close the Luugat Single Room Facility (SRO) in Vancouver Granville Street until the end of June, it seems BC Housing doesn’t want the public to see inside the former hotel that taxpayers paid millions of dollars to turn into supportive housing during COVID.
“I’m glad to get out of there,” Luugat resident Stewart Holcombe said with a laugh Friday.
Holcombe told Global News that he and about a dozen other residents were moving into new homes on May 1 after being told in September that the province would find them places equal to or better than 1176 Granville Street.
Holcombe said the roof of the bathroom in his fourth-floor unit at the SRO had caved in due to flooding from all the fires over the years, and his new accommodation in East Vancouver is much better.
“It’s three times the size, it’s cheaper and I have, like, a full fridge, full stove,” he told Global News ahead of the planned move. “It’s a full bachelor suite instead of a little box.”
Luugat had approximately 80 inhabitants in the fall of 2025.
According to the BC Ministry of Housing and Municipal Affairs, as of April 27, 36 residents remained and all had been offered alternative housing.
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Although Holcombe disputes these claims and said some residents have yet to be offered any housing, the ministry said 18 residents have accepted offers and are waiting to move, while the rest are “assessing which housing option will work best for them”.
Another flood at the Aura nightclub on the first floor of the former Howard Johnson hotel on Friday. April 24 provided a glimpse of the living conditions in the supportive housing above.
With the help of a plumber, bar owner Alan Goodall said he traced the water to an overflowing toilet in a first-floor unit, which was filled with two to four feet of rubbish – and no bedding.
Global News wanted to give the public a clearer look inside after the building’s nearly six-year stint as an SRO.
“It was destroyed in less than a year and a half,” Holcombe said in an interview. “Very sad.”
BC Housing denied Global News’ request to film Luugat’s common areas and unoccupied rooms, stating it has an obligation to respect the privacy of current residents.
“For this reason, we will not be able to accommodate any media tours of the building,” the Crown corporation said in an email.
In October 2020, Global News was welcomed inside the building for a tour, just months after the province bought the former hotel for $55 million to house people from the camps.
Our cameras captured a safer supply vending machine, the overdose prevention site above the lobby, and various residents in the elevators and hallways.
Atira, the housing operator at the time, spoke of the support available to residents, including healthcare support workers.
“It was nice at first,” Holcombe recalled.
BC Housing said it was happy to be able to accommodate Global News earlier. There also seemed to be no privacy issues with residents at the time.
More than five years later and after multiple fires, floods and at least $1.87 million spent on repairs and building repairs, it appears BC Housing doesn’t want taxpayers to see what’s left of Luugat.
“All the stuff in the hallways, the pictures were taken off the wall, the TVs were taken and sold, they were all — like, destroyed in less than a year,” Holcombe said, adding that he believes the public should be able to see the conditions. “Absolutely, yes, it’s destroyed, it’s absolutely destroyed in there, like there’s flood damage on every floor, there (are) multiple rooms you can’t even go in, the roofs are coming off.”
When pressed about access and what had changed since 2020, BC Housing said people in the building are in the process of having to leave.
“This is a destabilizing and stressful time in people’s lives and our focus is on supporting the removal process for residents and the community,” the Crown corporation responded in an email.
Holcombe, who survived a freak incident that saw him stuck in the building’s ventilation shaft for more than 24 hours in August 2024, said he is optimistic about housing’s next chapter.
“I’m very excited,” he said on the day of the move.
© 2026 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
