Future of Vancouver SRO remains uncertain nearly a year after collapse warning

Vancouver’s 116-year-old Summer Hotel in the Downtown Eastside remains standing nearly a year after the city warned it faced an imminent-collapse risk, but its future remains unresolved. A fire in a second-floor room on Oct. 17, 2025 led then-chief building official Saul Schwebs to declare the building unsafe to occupy because of water damage. Last December, council declared 341 East Hastings Street a public-safety danger and ordered the owner to stabilize or demolish it.

The owner, Thuan Phuoc Holdings, commissioned an engineering report that said the building could be repaired. However, the City of Vancouver says the company carried out unpermitted work that disturbed hazardous materials. WorkSafeBC has issued two stop-work orders over structural-safety concerns and potential asbestos.

An April 9 inspection documented ongoing structural movement and found a temporary shoring system had been installed without professional design, direction, oversight or permits. A May 12 inspection raised concerns that suspected asbestos-containing material may have been disturbed without appropriate assessment or controls. WorkSafeBC says work cannot resume until safety requirements are met, including a structural engineer’s written confirmation that the building is stable and safe for workers, and a qualified third party’s final inspection confirming asbestos-containing materials have been fully removed.

Robert Gallagher, the hotel’s only remaining tenant, said he has lived there on and off for about two decades and stayed after the fire displaced other tenants to watch the vacant building. He acknowledged that floors had collapsed at the rear of the ground level but said the structure could be saved with shoring. Heritage consultant Donald Luxton said work could proceed if WorkSafeBC’s conditions are addressed, but added that the owner must follow due process.

The property is on the Vancouver Heritage Register and is regulated under the Single Room Accommodation By-law. The city says the owner must submit a work plan to WorkSafeBC before new work begins. In mid-August, WorkSafeBC said Thuan Phuoc Holdings Ltd. was developing a procedure to address the remaining safety concerns, after which the agency would review whether to lift the stop-work order.