Okanagan College has decided to open up their student residence to tenants who have been evacuated from their building because of UBC Okanagan’s downtown highrise construction. Hadgraft Wilson Place, a supportive housing building geared towards people with low income or disabilities, was evacuated on April 1 because the UBCO construction site next door caused structural damage.

(JESSE TOMAS / iNFOnews.ca)

Okanagan College has decided to open up their student residence to tenants who have been evacuated from their building because of UBC Okanagan’s downtown highrise construction.

Hadgraft Wilson Place, a supportive housing building geared towards people with low income or disabilities, was evacuated on April 1 because the UBCO construction site next door caused structural damage.

Since the evacuation tenants have been staying in various hotels unsure of what will come next.

Residents of Hadgraft Wilson Place will be able to temporarily move into the student residences until mid-August, according to a press release issued today, April 26. 

Pathways Abilities Society is the non-profit that operated Hadgraft Wilson Place, and the society’s director said this is good news for the tenants.

“Our residents have become a tight-knit community in the past year and this opportunity allows them to maintain the support of their friends and neighbours,” executive director of Pathways Ability Society Charisse Daley said in the release. “Providing some stability about their next few months and having the amenities of homes will hopefully make things easier while they wait for the remediation of our building and next steps.”

Every resident will be able to move into the top three floors of the new student housing building on the college’s Kelowna campus on KLO Road. Some of the dorm units are individual rooms with access to common spaces and others are suites which will be matched to residents’ unique needs.

READ MORE: Resident evacuated due to UBCO highrise construction in Kelowna has died

Prior to this news Monique Saebels, a tenant of Hadgraft Wilson Place, heard that this might be a possibility.

Saebels said there was talk about moving the displaced residents into dorms .

The most recent geotechnical report said it is expected to be several months before Hadgraft Wilson Place is ready for residents to return to the building.

Pathways said it will continue to work on finding longer-term solutions for housing tenants after the lease with Okanagan College ends.

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