P.E.I. government made offer to purchase Causeway Bay Hotel, says minister

The P.E.I. authorities made a suggestion to buy the Causeway Bay Resort in Summerside, however solely after the lodge had already been offered as soon as over the summer season — and by then the asking value from the brand new house owners was too excessive.

That is in accordance with P.E.I’s Minister of Housing and Social Growth Matthew MacKay, who stated his division  remains to be in discussions with the brand new house owners whereas looking for alternate housing for long-term tenants of the lodge going through eviction on Nov. 13.

When the difficulty of the lodge was raised throughout Query Interval Thursday, MacKay stated authorities had initially missed out on the chance to buy the 106-room lodge when it was listed over the summer season.

“No one got here to us to purchase this constructing and by the point we discovered it was even probably on the market, it had already offered and closed,” MacKay stated, in response to a query from Summerside-South Drive MLA Stephen Howard.

Afterward, MacKay instructed reporters that after the sale, the province tried to purchase the lodge from the brand new house owners.

“Actually they purchased the constructing and we had been ready to purchase it inside days of them shopping for it.” 

MacKay stated the province put in a suggestion — he would not say how a lot — and the counter-offer that got here again was too excessive.

“We all know the constructing is in intensive want of labor … we thought if we had been going to spend that a lot cash we’d as properly simply construct new. However from my understanding the discussions are nonetheless occurring.”

Two units of eviction notices

Eviction notices had been issued to about 60 tenants of the lodge in late August giving them 30 days to maneuver, however then withdrawn. Beneath P.E.I.’s Residential Tenancy Act, tenants need to be given 60 days discover of eviction usually.

Then in October new notices had been despatched to twenty remaining tenants. This time the notices cited injury that they had allegedly induced to their residences, which underneath the Act would enable them to be evicted in 30 days. 

They had been instructed to depart by Nov. 13. Nonetheless, some are interesting, and Howard stated Thursday he’d been knowledgeable no less than a few of these appeals have been profitable.

MacKay stated some residents have discovered different lodging, “however there’s nonetheless a big quantity that have not. So my division is lining up what this might appear like if they’ve to maneuver and the items which might be obtainable.”

Give authorities first dibs on housing, say Greens

“Islanders do not have to simply accept that non-public buyers will simply scoop up all our housing inventory, whether or not it is to evict Islanders or to jack up their rents,” Howard stated throughout Query Interval.

He is asking the province to herald laws to offer itself a primary proper of refusal so it has the choice to purchase up residential properties earlier than they’re offered. 

The identical concept was included within the housing platform of David Eby, who was declared chief of the NDP in British Columbia final month, and shall be sworn in because the province’s subsequent premier on Nov. 18.

Relating to the province’s ongoing efforts to purchase the Causeway Bay Resort, Howard stated “they’re looking to buy it now for an inflated price, whereas if that they had one thing like proper of first refusal they may have purchased it within the first place and saved taxpayers thousands and thousands.”