The provincial and federal governments are providing more than $4.8 million to improve ventilation in nine social housing buildings in B.C.
The investment includes $3.89 million from Ottawa through the COVID-19 Resilience Infrastructure funding program.
“The funding announced today will support critical upgrades to several social housing buildings, making them more efficient and reliable so that they can continue to serve the communities that rely on them,” said federal Housing Minister Sean Fraser.
The projects include Mary Cridge Manor on Hillside Avenue in Victoria, which offers services to survivors of brain injuries and allows residents to stay up to three years as they go through rehabilitation. A grant of $588,500 will be used to replace energy recovery and ventilation systems, and install heat pumps and exhaust fans.
Joanne Linka, manager of communications for Mary Cridge Manor, said the investment will make a difference for those working on regaining life skills to improve their well-being.
“Having a safe and comfortable home to live in is just one part of their journey towards recovery and health,” she said.
In Vancouver, social housing locations the Beacon Hotel, Irving Hotel, Hotel Canada, Molson’s Bank Building, Maple Hotel, and Orange Hall, a B.C. Housing office that provides services for people in the Downtown Eastside, will get upgrades to ventilation systems.
