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But he cited the City of Vancouver’s decision to expropriate the notoriously squalid Regent and Balmoral Hotels from their owners, the Sahota family. Although Chudnovsky acknowledged the situation with those rundown rooming houses is different from the one at Little Mountain, he said it’s unlikely city staff would have tried to expropriate the Sahotas’ buildings — or that council would have supported it — if not for years of pressure from members of the public.

The task of the community, Chudnovsky said, “is to push government to have the political will to make a move.”

Holborn, the developer that bought Little Mountain, struck a deal in 2008 with the province to buy the six-hectare site, develop several buildings of market condos on the property plus non-market homes to replace 224 social housing units that would be torn down.

But the development has been repeatedly delayed. In July, the City of Vancouver said it expected Holborn to submit development applications for three more buildings by the end of the summer, but as of Thursday, none had been received.

And, as a Postmedia investigation revealed, as of last year the company still owed the province most of the reported $334 million purchase price, because of the complicated but still largely secret deal.

Holborn did not return a request for comment on Thursday.

Postmedia asked the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing on Thursday whether it was possible for the government to “take back” Little Mountain.