These buildings on Sutherland Avenue in Kelowna, one of which houses the Inn From the Cold emergency shelter, will be demolished and replaced by a commercial/residential building, some of which will be subsidized.

(ROB MUNRO / iNFOnews.ca)

KELOWNA - Just because Inn From the Cold emergency shelter will finally close by the end of January, it doesn’t mean its landlord isn’t helping those in need.

The Culos Group of Companies bought the building that houses the shelter, along with neighbouring buildings, from the Knights of Columbus last spring, company president Mike Culos told iNFOnews.ca.

The land, on Sutherland Avenue across from the Capri Shopping Centre, has been rezoned for a four-storey building that will be leased back to the Knights of Columbus. It will provide commercial space on the ground floor, with 58 rental units above.

Two floors will be market rental with the top floor termed “life leases,” which is a form of subsidized housing.

Culos did serve notice some months ago to Inn From the Cold but has extended that notice a number of times, most recently from Jan. 7 to about the end of the month.

“We’ve got plenty of work to do on site,” Culos said. “We're doing our hazmatting (removing hazardous materials) and things like that. Between coordinating with B.C. Housing and the Knights of Columbus and Inn From the Cold and our guys on site, there’s no sense in moving everyone out if we can leave that thing open and help them out as long as we possibly can.”

But he added, “the days are getting very numbered now.”

He’ll need Inn From the Cold out by the end of January for sure so the buildings can be demolished. Plans are to relocate some of the residents to the new Heath House supportive housing project that is expected to be open by then.

Culos hopes to start construction on the new building in March. Zoning is in place but he still needs to finalize the development permit.

Culos is a developer who started building houses in Kelowna in the 1980s but has focused more of his work in Kamloops and the Kootenays in recent years.

According to his company's website, he is a former president of the B.C. Social Credit Party, former Grand Knight of the Knights of Columbus and a former chairman of the Columbian Centennial Housing Society.

Find past stories on Inn From the Cold here.

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