A Vancouver city councillor says she believes taxpayers should know how much the City of Vancouver paid for two vacant derelict hotels in the Downtown Eastside, despite terms of the deal dictated by the landlords to keep the sale price secret.
Coun. Lisa Dominato said in an email to Glacier Media Wednesday that she has asked city staff to provide her an answer on whether the non-disclosure component of the agreement for the Sahota family-owned Balmoral and Regent hotels can be renegotiated without jeopardizing the overall deal.
“I think the public is entitled to know the price the City paid as they are taxpayer dollars and this upholds the principle of transparency,” said Dominato, although she emphasized she thought the deal was “in the broad public interest overall to secure the buildings for safe, secure housing and mitigate against possible financial risk posed by a judicial review and potential compensation claims.”
The City announced Dec. 4 in a news release that it bought the hotels, which have a combined 300 rooms, for an undisclosed sum and planned to work with BC Housing to turn the buildings into “safe and secure low-income housing.”
Coun. Jean Swanson told Glacier Media in an email Wednesday that information she received from city staff said “confidentiality regarding pricing is a condition on which the owners insisted as a prerequisite to resolving the litigation.”
“So, we could push [to have the sale price revealed] but doubt that the Sahotas would agree,” Swanson said. “I do think in general that the public should know what it pays for stuff, but in this case, it is important to get the buildings so we can proceed, hopefully, to get some housing for low-income folks who need it desperately.”
Mayor Kennedy Stewart’s office supplied further information from the city’s legal department, which was sent to council Wednesday. It said: “On balance, the City determined that it was in the best interest of the public to settle the litigation. This settlement has not only mitigated the financial risk posed by the judicial review and potential compensation claims, but also allows the City to move swiftly to bring these properties into public ownership and turn them into much needed safe and secure low-income housing.”
City council approved expropriation of the buildings in November 2019 in an attempt to bring the hotels into public ownership and convert them into social housing. The Sahota family then filed for a judicial review of the city’s expropriation.
The owners withdrew their application for review as part of the settlement.
The city has since completed the expropriation process by making advance payments and filing the vesting notices in the land title office, making the city the registered owner of the Balmoral and Regent.
Lawyer Evan Cooke, acting on behalf of the Sahotas, sent an emailed statement Dec. 4 to Glacier Media saying “the terms of settlement are confidential. No further comment will be forthcoming."
Back in November 2019, Cooke spoke to city council and requested council abandon the move to expropriate the hotels. He suggested at the time the family had received multiple private offers ranging from $7 million to $12.5 million for each building.
The Balmoral has been vacant since June 2017 and the Regent since June 2018. Both hotels face each other on East Hastings Street near Main Street. The city closed both buildings because they were deemed unsafe to occupy.
At the time, the city cited engineering reports detailing fire hazards, rotting wood, sagging floors, water damage and mould inside the Balmoral. Similar problems were raised by the city in its decision to close the Regent. In November 2019, the city's estimate to repair both hotels was $90 million.
Glacier Media sent emails Wednesday morning to the mayor and the city’s 10 councillors to respond to questions about the sale of the hotels, and why the value wasn’t disclosed.
Only Dominato, Swanson and Stewart’s office had replied by the time this story was posted Wednesday evening.
Glacier Media has filed a request under the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act to seek details of the city’s settlement with the Sahota family, including the price paid for the hotels.
In June, the provincial government announced it purchased two Vancouver hotels and revealed the price of each — the 110-room Howard Johnson hotel on Granville Street and neighbouring development site for $55 million, and the 63-room Buchan Hotel on Haro Street for $19.4 million.
That same month, the B.C. government also announced it bought the 42-unit American Hotel at 928 Main St. and an adjacent vacant site at 938 Main St. for $17.9 million.
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