Prince George man speaks out about experiences with housing insecurity
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PRINCE GEORGE – The Lights are on at 605 Quebec Street, but nobody’s home. That’s because the new apartments, listed last year on Kijiji for $1450 a pop for a one bedroom unit with balcony and parking don’t yet have the necessary occupancy permits to operate as an apartment complex at all, but early as September 2022, the building had been collecting applications on the proposed units, taking potential tenants on tours, and in the case of Nathan Findlay, they accepted a damage deposit for a future unit, allowed him to store his belongings, but then ultimately served him with a notice to remove them, as the complex on 605 Quebec Street was allegedly sold to a tenant that wanted it vacant, all before he ever received the green light to move in.
Nathan Findlay is a peer support worker and aspiring nursing student, who himself has first hand lived experiences with homelessness and the desperate situations many folks living without stable housing face every day. According to Nathan, the stress of being strung along for months with promises of move in dates that never came, followed up by the harsh reality that his dream of a safe, affordable, convenient place to live was crashing down around him, was a debilitating shock to the system after he had come so far on his journey of healing.
In a written statement from BC Housing, the organization confirmed that they are in talks with the owners of 605 Quebec Street to potentially purchase the building, but have not yet reached a final deal. BC housing confirmed the building has no occupancy permit, and is currently vacant. adding “we are committed to ensuring that our purchase of any building does not result in anyone being displaced to homelessness. When contected for comment, Peter Wise of PRP Holdings confirmed that they are still the building owners, and if the purchase falls through with BC Housing, Prince George can expect to see Quebec Street House back on the rental market in the coming months.
