Tenants, community groups fight 'renovictions' at Ventura Towers in downtown Hamilton
CBC
Vanessa Jeffrey had tears in her eyes and a lump in her throat as she stood in front of her apartment on 192 Hughson St. in Hamilton's Beasley neighbourhood Monday.
She said she's lived in a unit at Ventura Towers for nine months and "it's been hell" because of poor living conditions such as bedbugs and cockroaches.
"Just imagine getting bitten alive, living with no heat ... how is it fair when we pay our rent?" the 42-year-old tenant asked.
Now she may lose her home because the owners, Valery Group, are going to renovate part of her building and another highrise on 181 John St.
"I was born and raised here and I ain't going," she told media.
Jeffrey was joined by a handful of other tenants at a demonstration in the biting cold to protest what they're calling "renovictions."
Dyna Teal, Valery Group's marketing director, said the developer received all the required permits from the city and the two apartment buildings will undergo "a demolition to produce 200 new rental units to help assist with the Hamilton housing shortage," Teal wrote in a statement.
The specifics of the renovation or demolition are unclear.
Gachi Issa, Hamilton Community Legal Clinic's Black justice coordinator, said the renovation will affect the first six floors at the John Street building and the first five floors on Hughson Street. At least a dozen families will be forced out.
"I am so angry ... at the fact people are being displaced in the middle of the winter," she told media.
A letter dated Nov. 1, obtained by CBC Hamilton, from Valery to residents offered them $20,000 to leave in 30 days, $15,000 to leave in 60 days, $10,000 to move in 90 days.
However, if none of those were accepted by Nov. 8, the developers would issue a notice to vacate in 120 days for no money.
One tenant told CBC on Monday that packages were re-offered after Nov. 8 with a new deadline of Nov. 15. It is unclear how many tenants may have accepted.
The move comes as Hamilton grapples with homelessness and affordability.
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