The City of Kelowna has purchased a former Hells Angels clubhouse, the province has announced.
In a statement, B.C.’s Minister of Public Safety Garry Begg says the move is “the next step in addressing organized crime in British Columbia.”
Begg’s statement said the sale of the home includes a “right of entry,” which means the province’s civil forfeiture office can take the property back if it is ever acquired and used for organized crime in the future.
In 2023, the B.C. Court of Appeal ordered that clubhouses in Nanaimo, Kelowna and East Vancouver be seized by the province following a years-long legal battle with the motorcycle gang, which has long been associated with organized crime.
The Nanaimo clubhouse was demolished last year, and the province says it will share information about the sale of that property, as well as the one in East Vancouver, “when details are available.”
Price of sale not publicy shared
CBC News has contacted the city and the province for details of the sale, as well as the city’s plans for the property.
The province said it cannot share how much the clubhouse was sold for until it is posted on the B.C. Land Titles registry.
The City of Kelowna did not answer the question of how much the clubhouse cost but, in a written statement, said the purchase at 837 Ellis St. had been made using funds from its land sales reserve budget.
It also said the city is “working to determine the best use for this land in the future.”
The home was built in 1996 and is listed as having one bedroom and two bathrooms.
It was assessed at $1.25 million, while the East Vancouver property was valued at $1.52 million, and the Nanaimo site at $300,000.
The province says the proceeds from all the properties would be deposited into the Civil Forfeiture Office’s account and then used to both pay for that program as well as distributed to crime prevention grants across B.C.
It said that “approximately half” of all forfeited funds go to crime prevention.
The minister says selling the home, along with other tools at the province’s disposal, allows it to pursue profits from criminal activity more efficiently and are “perfect illustrations of why we have civil forfeiture in B.C.”
