Following Westbank owner Ian Gillespie’s commitment to house refugees in an apartment building his company owns in Vancouver’s West End, an association that represents developers is letting other building owners know how they can help.
The Urban Development Institute (UDI) plans to send out information to its members later today about how they might be able to help house some of the 2,500 Syrian refugees expected to arrive in British Columbia over the next few months.
“After we did our press conference on November 10 that was covered extensively by the media, [Gillespie] phoned me on Friday November 13,” said Chris Friesen, director of settlement services at the Immigrant Services Society of B.C.
“He put on the table the offer of providing us, on his dime, 12 apartments up until the end of March and perhaps even later as a temporary reception facility for Syrians as they come into Vancouver.”
It’s Friesen’s understanding that Westbank plans to redevelop the building in the near future and it is currently mostly empty as the company waits for permits from the city to come through. Its location in Vancouver’s West End is ideal because of the proximity to ISS’s existing settlement location at Drake and Seymour, Friesen said.
Westbank has not yet responded to an interview request from Business in Vancouver.
Gillespie told Friesen he is also keen to work on offering employment opportunities for refugees.
“He understands that refugees new to this country want to contribute,” Friesen said.
“For many of these refugees, they come into this country with no family connection, no social or professional network.”
Not every developer will be able to offer the same kind of assistance Westbank has announced, said Anne McMullin, president and CEO of the UDI.
“It’s those few that may have a short term opportunity, having a building that is slated for redevelopment, and it may be sitting vacant for the next few months,” McMullin said.
She said UDI has had some informal conversations with developers who might have that type of property available.
“We all have a moral obligation to do whatever we can do,” she said.
jstdenis@biv.com
@jenstden
For more business news go to biv.com
