Hôtel Albert de Sherbrooke: tenants ready to do anything to stay


An evacuation notice was issued in recent weeks to the building located at the corner of King East and Bowen streets. According to the Régie du bâtiment du Québec, the place does not respect the Building Code, among other things in terms of fire safety.

I have never seen such disciplined people. Everyone was begging me to do what was necessary so that we didn’t end up throwing everyone out. I am human. I know them. My conscience compelled me to make one last attempt. I spoke to everyone. [Je leur ai demandé] if it was worth trying. As it happened in the media, it is notbluff. If you are not able to control yourself and the holes in the walls keep reappearing and the alarm system still gets ripped off, it won’t work anymore.says the owner of the Albert Hotel, Lionel Cuggia.

There are many who have had a sleepless night. There are three or four who told me they wouldn’t know where to go. »

A quote from Lionel Cuggia, owner of the Hotel Albert
Lionel Cuggia in the hallway of his building.  Wires hanging from the ceiling.

The owner of the Hotel Albert, Lionel Cuggia

Photo: Radio-Canada

So, since the repairs, no holes have been made in the walls. The entrances are also free of all waste and the fire safety system is functional. Not everything is perfect, that’s for sure. But I feel a collaboration that there was not before.

So far, I’m really satisfied. Look at the walls! If it was like before, a number of holes would have reappeared. I wouldn’t have enough of my ten fingers to count them. »

A quote from Lionel Cuggia, owner of the Hotel Albert

No question of renoviction

The owner maintains that it would be easy to put people out and renoviction to make them student residencesfor example. If I had wanted to take this path, I would have done it, but it would make a lot of people on the street.

According to Mr. Cuggia, several actors from the community and health sectors want the Albert Hotel to remain open. It is sure that it is not an easy clientele for an owner. Little by little, it is progressing. I still have some hope that the 25 people who live here will continue to live here. Everyone wants that.

The latter agrees with the requirements of the Régie du bâtiment and the Fire Protection Department. It’s always been reasonable [leurs demandes]. The only thing is that to achieve that, with a clientele that tears everything down, it’s not realistic. If the City can put a little less pressure on me, that would be appreciated.

A cluttered room of a tenant of the Hôtel Albert.

The tenants of the Hotel Albert are ready to do anything to avoid being evicted. If the interior of their room may seem cluttered, remains that they respect, until now, the repair work done by the owner.

Photo: Radio-Canada / Geneviève Proulx

Difficult the niche of very low-end real estate

Owning real estate in the ultra-low-end segment is a difficult thing, recalls Mr. Cuggia. It’s not pink. I am still quite young. I have patience. I have a certain respect for them. I don’t want 25 humans picking up on the street. I do everything my conscience requires of me to improve the building. People must also help me by doing their bit.

The owner is unable to accurately quantify the investments he had to make in the past year. It’s under $100,000. The doors, which I change often, are $600-700 each, for example. Added to this is the fact that many do not pay [leur loyer] and that’s not counting all the energy that it eats up.

Since we got the sword of Damocles from the RBQ which hovers above our head, it is really calmer. Before, it often happened that people shouted, that people fought in the corridors. »

A quote from Lionel Cuggia, owner of the Hotel Albert

During Radio-Canada’s visit, several tenants stressed that they wanted to do their part to keep the building in better condition than it was.

Mr. Cuggia rents out his rooms for $250 a month. An amount that has not changed since he has owned it, for 15 years. These people are there whether my building exists or not. There are social problems that I will not solve even if with a wave of a magic wand the building becomes perfect. These people would have the same problems.



Reference-ici.radio-canada.ca

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