Vancouver’s Portland Hotel Society (PHS) has been awarded a provincial contract to operate a low-barrier housing facility on upper Douglas Street, Citified has learned.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, multiple sources have confirmed PHS submitted the winning bid for the operating rights of the former 51-unit Super 8 Hotel property at 2915 Douglas Street.

Last June BC Housing acquired the hotel for $6.5 million, pushing the number of newly established transitional and low-barrier housing units throughout the capital region to nearly 400.

The sale is expected to close this week with resident move-ins scheduled for mid-fall.

A liquor store situated in the building’s basement has vacated the premises in response to the sale, while operators of Spoons Diner, an eatery fronting onto Douglas Street, plan to remain in-place for the foreseeable future.

PHS, with an established housing and social services presence in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside, is currently the operator of the Central Care Home low-barrier housing facility in the 800-block of Johnson Street. The organization was selected for the role in light of the anticipated needs of the resident make-up.

Formerly owned by a consortium of Island-based businessmen most notably known for their Country Grocer chain of grocery stores, the high-profile hotel property between Topaz Avenue and Summit Street was built as the Ingraham Hotel in 1960. It operated under that banner until 2003 when it was re-branded as a Super 8 Hotel. The Ingraham Hotel’s Ingraham Beer Parlour was at one point the largest beer parlour in British Columbia and a mainstay of Victoria’s entertainment industry

The property had been placed on the market last December for $6.85 million. C

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