BURST
A fire Thursday at a government-run social housing building has drowned out the music at Aura nightclub, which won’t be fully operational for at least a month.
Alan Goodall’s downtown Vancouver venue at 1176 Granville St. was once again disrupted by fire last week — the latest in a series of emergencies tied to the provincially owned single-room occupancy units above, known as the Luugat.
Since the B.C. government purchased the building in June 2020 for $55 million and converted it into supportive housing, the Luugat has been the subject of 906 emergency calls, including 375 medical incidents, 334 alarms, 43 fires and 12 rescue or hazard events, according to Vancouver Fire Rescue Services.
“It’s been just one problem after another since the hotel became social housing,” explained Goodall.
This week’s fire didn’t reach the club directly, but water from the building’s sprinkler system flooded parts of the business below.
The blaze was started by a butane torch, which Goodall said fire officials told him is commonly used to heat opioids.
“Parts of my ceiling are still being rebuilt with drywall since the last fire two weeks ago,” said Goodall, noting that only part of the repair costs will be covered by B.C. Housing, which operates the building.
Aura has only been able to reopen in the past week with a limited capacity, and the losses are mounting.
“On the first Friday we partially reopened, there were virtually no customers. We lost money that night,” Goodall said. “Before we reopened, some of my staff told me they couldn’t afford rent or groceries without their shifts. I’ve already lost one employee because of the instability.”
Previous damage to the club’s tile floor caused by flooding that leaked down from the Luugat into the nightclub in early 2023 cost Goodall $51,000 to repair.
The emergencies affecting the government-owned SRO on Granville Street aren’t isolated.
Just steps from the Luugat, St. Helen’s Hotel has seen 1,297 emergency calls since June 2020, including 935 false alarms, 251 medical incidents and 31 fires, according to fire officials. Further north, the Granville Villa generated 425 fire service calls between January 2020 and May 2025, the majority related to medical issues, including 128 overdoses.
This latest fire at the Luugat comes as the city promises a new future for the Granville strip.
Vancouver city council recently approved a 20-year plan to revitalize the Granville entertainment district — envisioning major redevelopment, rooftop patios, new venues, hotels and some of the city’s tallest towers.
But for Goodall and others, the crisis on the ground feels far from resolved.
“It’s truly astounding to me that just one resident using drugs can cause so much damage, requiring around 40 firefighters to fight the fire, numerous police to respond, other residents to be sent to the hospital and all my employees to lose out on work,” he said.
“It just keeps on getting worse and worse.”
According to the Downtown Vancouver Business Improvement Association, Granville’s storefront vacancy rate rose from 22.1 per cent to 29.3 per cent in 2024. Major closures included Cinema Public House, 8th & Main, and Helly Hansen.
Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim announced earlier this month that the province plans to relocate social housing out of the Granville strip, with potential new sites recently identified. The province has said it is waiting on the city to provide more details about long-term housing options. It remains unclear if these involve new construction or renovations, or when relocations will occur.