As people gather with family and friends over the holidays, some tenants of a subsidized housing building in Kelowna, B.C., say they have been scattered and forgotten after their homes were deemed unsafe due to ground settling linked to a UBC Okanagan construction site just metres away.
When Hadgraft Wilson Place opened 18 months ago, it was intended as a permanent home for individuals with low incomes and physical or mental disabilities.
It is owned and operated by Pathways Abilities Society, a non-profit organization that supports people with diverse needs.
Now, the five-story building stands fenced off and empty, showing visible cracks in its walls inside and out, after Kelowna’s fire chief ordered an evacuation and deemed it unsafe to live in.
The damage began appearing in late 2023, shortly after excavation work started at the adjacent UBC-Okanagan construction site to build the university’s downtown campus.
For Monique Saebels, who was living in a suite with her elderly mother, the building provided not only a home but a sense of stability and community.
“It hits me emotionally to come here and see that our home’s been taken away, and we have no answers to when or if we’ll ever come back,” said Saebels.
Ongoing concerns
The excavation, the largest in Kelowna’s history, involves digging several stories down to build an underground parkade for UBC’s $263-million downtown campus project.
Tenants reported cracks forming in the walls shortly after construction began and structural engineers warned that shifting soil could cause serious damage. Residents were initially evacuated for two weeks, but the order was extended indefinitely.
Megan Beckmann, another displaced tenant, said seeing the ongoing construction adds to the frustration.
“It feels a bit of an offence to have construction going on still to this day,” Beckmann said.
“To just come walking past and seeing the towers moving and their development is still going as planned and having us have have been uprooted, it’s definitely an offence to the citizens.”
UBC’s response and financial support
In a written statement, a spokesperson for UBC said the university has apologized to residents for the impact on their homes. UBC’s development company, UBC Properties Trust, offered each tenant $12,000 to assist with moving and securing alternative accommodations.
UBC stated it continues to follow recommendations from engineering professionals and monitor site conditions closely, and excavation and foundation work is expected to be completed by summer 2025.
The spokesperson said UBC said it remains “optimistic” about the future of Hadgraft Wilson Place but did not explain what work is needed to repair the building or ensure its long-term stability.
While many gather with friends and family this holiday season, 80 low-income tenants in Kelowna say they have been scattered and forgotten. This year, their subsidized housing building was deemed unsafe due to ground settling from UBC Okanagan’s construction site next door. The CBC’s Brady Strachan met with tenants.
Trouble finding suitable accommodations
Beckmann said the payment offered by UBC and its development company falls short in Kelowna’s expensive rental market, and her family is now paying double what it was previously charged at the subsidized housing complex.
For Paul Stackhouse, who uses a wheelchair due to a spinal injury, the disruption has been especially difficult.
“I had my forever home, and just like that, it got taken away from us,” said Stackhouse. “It’s difficult. Things are difficult.”
His apartment at Hadgraft Wilson Place was custom-built for accessibility. Finding a comparable unit elsewhere has been nearly impossible, he said.
Legal action and uncertainty
Saebels and Beckmann have filed a lawsuit against UBC Properties Trust and other parties involved in the UBC construction project, alleging negligence related to the damage and displacement.
UBC Properties Trust has not yet filed a response to the notice of civil claim.
Meanwhile, tenants remain in limbo with no timeline for repairs or return.
“We really developed a tight-knit family,” said Stackhouse, reflecting on the sense of community they lost.
“It was my forever home. The apartment I was going to live in for the rest of my life.”