Metro Vancouver non-profit thrift stores say they’re facing tough times as rents continue to rise [Video]

The operators of non-profit thrift stores in Metro Vancouver say the region’s expensive real estate market is making it difficult for them to make money, and that’s keeping them from being able to help their communities.

Burnaby Association for South East Side (BASES) Family Thrift Store in Burnaby, B.C., says it will soon have to close because of increasingly unaffordable rent.

“We know we can run a successful business. We’ve done it for 12 years and we certainly can continue that,” said BASES president Peggy Woodruff.

“But we just can’t afford the rent.”

Woodruff says her thrift store has raised more than $1 million for children and families in her community. But after all these years, she’s getting ready to close the store’s doors.

Rent for the store started at $10 a square foot when it first opened more than a decade ago, she says. It’s now being raised to $40 a square foot. 

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