For years, business and property owners on Granville Street say they have been dealing with violence, open drug use, and vandalism, and now Hospitality Vancouver Association (HVA) says the three single-room occupancy (SRO) supportive housing buildings in the area have been a huge factor.

“It is the position of our organization that, by any metric, the location of people with complex mental health and addiction issues in and around our city’s entertainment district has been a dismal, failed experiment,” said HVA spokesperson Laura Ballance.

In 2020, the former Howard Johnson hotel was converted into the Luugat emergency SRO as a temporary measure. Earlier this month, BC Housing informed residents the facility will close in June 2026

But there are no timelines for the other two SROs in th

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