The rooftop of the Caring Place in Richmond resembles a patchwork quilt.
This is because it’s been fixed again and again, but now the society that runs the building is getting pressure from its insurance company to get it completely redone.
And other necessary building repairs have resulted in a steep hike in rents for the non-profits that operate out of the building.
The Caring Place Society – that runs a building housing 12 Richmond non-profits on Granville Avenue near No. 3 Road – was pleased to learn in April that they received a provincial grant that will pay half of the building’s roof replacement project.
But this is only the first major renovation that needs to be done to the 30-year-old building.
Next on the list are security upgrades at $80,000 and the main-storey floor needs to be replaced.
And the costliest upgrade needed is to fix the building’s balconies that are cracking and causing water ingress – this could come with a $1.5 million price tag.
The Caring Place Society received a community gaming grant of $245,000, which will cover half the roof cost. The rest will come from the non-profit’s contingency fund.
The society has always tried to keep rents down, explained board chair Belinda Boyd. When they opened 30 years ago, rents were $11 per square foot. Just last year, they were at $18 per square foot.
But the board made the difficult decision – given the construction needs of the building – to raise rents last September by 60 per cent, to $30 per square foot. While this is still well below market prices, it wasn’t an easy decision, Boyd said.
“It was a very hard decision for the board,” she added. “Because that’s a huge jump and we know these are not-for-profits.”
Post-COVID-19 has been a financial strain, Boyd said, with construction costs skyrocketing. Before the pandemic, the roof replacement was estimated to cost $300,000. But this rose to half a million dollars when a new estimate was made.
“Everything went up hugely, like any kind of supplies or trades or material costs – they just seem to have escalated,” Boyd said.
The contract has been signed to start the roof project in August.
Security upgrades will follow, including securing the loading bay where there were two fires last winter.
As for the floor on the main-floor atrium, this has been rising up in places and has been patched up from time to time, making it the next priority.
And leaks caused by cracks in the balconies are fixed as they occur – but the entire project will eventually need to be addressed, Boyd said.
The Caring Place Society has asked the city to help fund these projects as the building is situated on city land. However, the society owns the building and, as such, has never received any funding for maintenance or capital improvements.
The city does, however, waive the property tax as well as look after the grounds.
To meet its building construction costs, the Caring Place Society has started fundraising through the Vancouver Foundation.
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