‘Not an eviction’: Boyle Street leaving downtown location by end of month

Boyle Street Community Services leaders say it’s no longer finically viable to stay at their current location and are leaving at the end of the month. The Katz group which owns the property says they offered another lease.

By Darcy Ropchan and Carly Robinson

Posted September 12, 2023 12:38 pm.

Last Updated September 12, 2023 10:08 pm.

Boyle Street Community Services (BSCS) is leaving its downtown location by the end of the month as its lease is up, and the organization did not agree to the extension that was offered to them.

Effective Sept. 30, the social service organization that helps Edmonton’s homeless community will leave its building across the street from Rogers Place. The group says it is not an eviction.

BSCS is building a new facility just a few blocks away – okimaw peyesew kamik (King Thunderbird Centre) – but it is not expected to be ready until sometime in 2024.

"It's not an eviction," Elliott Tanti with @BoyleStreet tells me there will be news about their location tomorrow. Their new location is not expected to be finished until sometime in 2024. @citynewsyeg #YEG

— Carly Robinson (@CarlyDRobinson) September 11, 2023

Katz Group Real Estate, the umbrella company of Oilers Entertainment Group (OEG), purchased the current BSCS building in 2021.

“At the time, they asked for a two-year lease which would end in the fall of 2023 to give them sufficient time to fundraise, build and move into their new facility,” Tim Shipton, executive vice-president of OEG Sports & Entertainment, told CityNews in an emailed statement.

“Earlier this month, we offered an extension of their lease at the same nominal rate as agreed upon in 2021 to allow more time for Boyle Street to coordinate their relocation.”

BSCS says the lease extension was not financially viable.

BACKGROUND:

Boyle Street Community Services told CityNews Tuesday it has options and contingency plans for a different building until the King Thunderbird Centre, which is located at 100th Street and 107A Avenue, is ready.

That land was purchased after the sale of the old building, along with a $10M donation from the Edmonton Oilers Community Foundation.

Effective Sept 30th. Boyle Street Community services is leaving their downtown location as the lease is up. Saying they have options and contingency plans for a building until the King Thunderbird Centre can open in fall 2024 pic.twitter.com/MQNLciaY1b

— Darce Vader (@darcyropchan) September 12, 2023

Shipton says OEG remains “supportive of Boyle Street Community Services and their plans to move into the King Thunderbird Centre, which will provide them with a long-term, sustainable facility to deliver their services—and we will continue to work with them on their relocation plans.”

The King Thunderbird Centre project, which is across the street from Victoria School of the Performing Arts, has received opposition from some in the community.