Drop-In Centre's hotel conversion plan goes to appeal board

About 30 people showed up for an appeal board hearingon Tuesday concerning a contentious plan by the Calgary Drop-In Centre to turn an old hotel into a housing facility.

Last fall, the Calgary Planning Commission rejected the DI's plan to turn the former Quality Innat 4804 Edmonton Trail into Centre 4800.

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Executive director Debbie Newman says the project meets the city's planning criteria and should have been approved.

"We have many people that are homeless in this province and we have a building that has been sitting empty for four years that should be filled with people of all walks of life," she said.

Newman says 46 of the units at Centre 4800 are earmarked for long-term supported housing, while the remaining 33 will be available for rent at market or near-market rates.

The DI bought the sitein 2012 in a bankruptcy sale, but its plan to turn it into a housing facility immediatelysparked oppositionfrom people who live in the nearby communities.

The proposed plan for the buildinghas since gone through several iterations.

The battle has cost the centre around $800,000, says Newman.

It could be two months before the Calgary Subdivision and Development Appeal Board makes a decision, which will likely be final.

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