Whitehorse motel owners seek gov't support to reopen as affordable housing
CBC
The owners of Whitehorse's Chilkoot Trail Inn, a dilapidated downtown motel ordered to close earlier this year by city fire inspectors, want to re-open the facility as housing for vulnerable people.
That's essentially what it was before it shut down, but now the owners are hoping the government will help pay for expensive repairs, and a local NGO will manage the building as supportive housing.
"We recognize that there's a need for affordable housing options for the vulnerable population in our city. That's the bottom line," said Marc Perreault, a spokeperson for the owners of the Chilkoot Trail Inn.
"The owners are very community-minded and they're willing to continue providing the asset they have as an option for those clients."
The 39-unit motel has already been used for years as housing, often by people struggling to find an affordable alternative.
In January, those residents were all given two weeks notice to clear out. A fire months earlier had sparked an investigation by the city's fire department and the building was found to be unsafe.
There were "significant deficiencies affecting fire and life safety," the city's fire chief told CBC in an email.
The non-profit Safe At Home Society then stepped in to help find solutions for the people suddenly left homeless.
Speaking in January, Perreault estimated that the needed repairs would take two to three months and that the owners intended to then allow people back into their old rooms.
"When it was closed, it was temporary. They, you know, meant it to be temporary. That was the initial intent," Perreault said.
Speaking on Wednesday, Perreault said some initial repair work was done but the building is still boarded up and vacant. In a letter to the territorial government last month he estimated that the needed repair work would cost between $400,000 and $700,000.
Perreault's letter to the government also asked for financial help. It says requests to the Yukon Housing Corporation and the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation were denied because the motel doesn't qualify for their funding programs.
"At this time we here in Whitehorse are not in a position to lose 39 units of affordable housing and our goal is to ensure that does not happen," the letter reads.
It suggests that once repairs are done, the motel owners would seek an agreement with a local NGO to manage the building for a fee.
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