The owners and managers of MacDonald Lofts in Downtown Edmonton have been slapped with 377 charges under the Housing Regulation and Public Health Act, adding another chapter into the tumultuous recent history of the brick-clad building. The legal action follows a failure to comply with numerous health orders that were issued in the summer, when officials labelled several units "unfit for human habitation." More than 100 health inspections, four compliance letters, and multiple meetings with property managers later, and the outstanding issues regarding building maintenance and pest control reportedly still remained. 

MacDonald Lofts, image retrieved from Google Street View

A number of units inside the low-rent 105 Avenue building, which dates back over a hundred years, were ordered vacated in August after health inspectors found unsanitary living conditions, including cockroach and bedbug infestations. After a five-year cap on rents expired, a proposal to hike monthly rates by nearly 50 percent in order to cover maintenance was quickly rescinded after the health orders were issued. In October, seven additional orders to vacate units were issued after water damage and mould were discovered. The 87-unit apartment building has historically housed vulnerable individuals, particularly people with mental health issues. 

To facilitate remedial work, the remaining tenants are scheduled to be relocated in the coming year after ICE District Joint Venture, an arm of Katz Group, entered into negotiations to buy the troubled property in November. Provincial law currently states that anyone being moved must be given a one-year advance warning. The building was declared a historic site by the city in 2003, so any discussions regarding the future of the structure, including its facade, would need to be vetted by the City.

MacDonald Lofts, image retrieved from Google Street View

The proximity of the building to the burgeoning ICE District presented a natural opportunity for land assemblage, but given the associated rise of property values in the immediate area, housing advocates are worried about the inevitable march of gentrification. With Edmonton's affordable housing stretched thin, many current tenants of the building will need to pay market rent elsewhere. And if renovations are indeed conducted at MacDonald Lofts, faced with the realities of the market, residents likely won't be paying below-average rents here anymore.

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