'Really frustrating': Affordable rental building in Surrey to be torn down for high rises
CTV
Dozens of residents of an affordable rental building in Surrey will be forced to look for a new place to live after council unanimously voted to move forward with a new development.
Dozens of residents of an affordable rental building in Surrey will be forced to look for a new place to live after council unanimously voted to move forward with a new development.
The Elizabeth Manor building on 104 Avenue will be torn down after council's decision Monday. It'll be replaced with two high rises, which will have 561 units as part of the province's plan for more density.
Current residents of Elizabeth Manor say they are paying less than $1,000 per month for two-bedroom units and are worried they won't be able to afford a new place to live.
"At my age, given I have health issues, I now have to look for some place else to live. That's really frustrating," Mary Sillf, who's lived at Elizabeth Manor for 25 years, told CTV News Vancouver.
Dusty Graves has lived in the building for 23 years and is expecting his rental costs will skyrocket.
"If you said to me, 'Dusty, we can't help it, you've got to pay $200 more a month,' I'd say 'no problem,'" Graves told CTV News. "I'm paying $900 and all of a sudden I'm paying $2,100, I don't know where that money's coming from."
Tenants in the building say they've already received eviction notices. Part of the city's requirement for the new development includes 57 below-market rental units at the new site and to provide financial compensation to all the tenants being forced out.
