The goal of Bob and Michael’s Place is to set a new standard for social housing, and to be friendly and accessible.
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An innovative new social-housing/health centre project at 58 West Hastings St. in Vancouver has a new name, and is accepting applications for its 231 units of housing.
The 10-storey building will be known as Bob and Michael’s Place, after philanthropists Bob Lee and Michael Audain, who donated a combined $10 million to the project.
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The building is slated to open in May. The units will be a mix of 54 micro-suites, 107 studio suites, 11 one-bedroom and 12 two-bedroom apartments. Each unit will have storage and an outdoor balcony.
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One-hundred-and-twenty rooms will be rented at the shelter (welfare) rate, while 110 will be set at a Housing Income Limits’ rate.
“The rents I would say will be at one-third and one-half of what the market is,” said Carol Lee of the Vancouver Chinatown Foundation, which raised $30 million for the $110 million project.
To apply to get into the housing, you have to submit a B.C. Housing Registry Application Form, along with a SUCCESS application form. The SUCCESS affordable housing society will manage the project.
Putting together a building like 58 West Hastings took time.
“I think I had my first meeting (about the project) in 2011,” said Carol Lee. “It’s taken a long time. But we’re getting there — it’s going to open in May.”
The concept behind the building was “to try and set a new standard for social housing.”
As a result, the units are far different than a typical single-room-occupancy room.
“I think you will be amazed when you see the physical structure (inside),” said Carol Lee. “The units are beautiful. We aimed for a very high standard.”
The mixed-use building will have five units of retail on the main floor, a two-storey health centre and seven storeys of housing. The fourth floor is a common amenity space.
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The 50,000-square-foot health centre will be called the Lily Lee Community Health Centre, after Bob Lee’s wife Lily, who worked as a public health nurse in Strathcona. It probably won’t open until 2025.
Carol Lee is Bob and Lily’s daughter, and has been at the forefront of trying to revitalize Chinatown. Bob died in 2020.
Carol Lee said she “couldn’t be happier with the co-naming” for Bob Lee and Michael Audain.
“Part of the approach for this building was we wanted it to feel friendly and accessible, which is why we wanted to use first names,” she said. “They have been incredibly generous to Vancouver. They’re two incredible men, my father and Michael Audain. Very strong businessmen, but also with very deep social roots. They’re both very kind and generous people who have given over-and-over to build a better community for everyone.”
The provincial government gave $33.6 million through B.C. Housing, while the federal government gave $45.8 million. The city donated the land through a 99-year lease.
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