BC Housing plans to rebuild notorious Downtown Eastside hotel as 77-unit social housing complex

BC Housing is planning a major overhaul of the Regent Hotel at 160 East Hastings Street, turning the 1913-era building into 77 new self-contained social housing units after eight years vacant.

A staff report going before city council Wednesday requests approval to demolish 161 rooms between the second and eighth floors. The rebuild will include seismic upgrades, full hazardous materials abatement, two new elevators, and replacement of all mechanical, electrical, and fire-safety systems. New units will range from 227 to 673 square feet and include kitchenettes and bathrooms.

The basement and ground floor will be renovated to provide a heat treatment room, counselling areas, staff offices, a nurses' station, laundry facilities, and a commercial kitchen and dining area. Previous tenants who want to return will be offered right of first refusal, subject to eligibility requirements.

BC Housing began leasing the building from the city in August 2023. City inspectors closed both the Regent and the nearby Balmoral Hotel in 2017–2018 after finding fire hazards, rotting wood, sagging floors, water damage, and mould. The Balmoral has since been demolished. The hotels' history as problem properties spans almost 20 years, with police responding to 845 calls at the Regent alone by 2018.