YELLOWKNIFE - The Somba K'e Healing Lodge will be soon opening its doors as a mine training centre after sitting empty since 2003.

The NWT Housing Corporation struck a deal with the Deton'Cho Corporation for the lodge to be used as a training centre in partnership with Aurora College and the Mine Training Society.

Somba K'e Healing Lodge has finally found a tenant after sitting empty since 2003. - NNSL file photo

"This is the first real deal that we have been able to sign and it is a lease arrangement that has a three-year length, that could possibly be extended or evolve into ownership," said Michael Miltenberger, minister responsible for the NWT Housing Corporation.

"Since taking ownership of the facility in 2003, the Housing Corporation has incurred operating and maintenance costs related to this facility totalling approximately $1 million," said Miltenberger, in a statement on Tuesday.

That figure was a marked increase from the $70,000 per year Miltenberger alluded to during question period Monday for heating, operations and maintenance.

The lodge is situated outside of Yellowknife, on the highway to Dettah.

Robert Hawkins said he wondered why the government felt a need to close down the addictions facility in the first place. The Nats'ejee K'eh Treatment Centre outside Hay River is the only alcohol and drug treatment centre in operation in the territory today.

"I didn't realize we had too many treatment centres that we had to get rid of one," he said.

Hawkins said though that he did not want to be seen as opposed to filling the vacant building.

"I think it is a real shame that it has been empty for so long and probably heated forever at an exorbitant rate," he said.

As part of the arrangement, the government will pay all costs, as well as the mortgage, for the first three months of the lease to get the deal with the Mine Training Society off the ground.

"After three months, they will be covering all the (operations and maintenance) and mortgage costs," said Miltenberger.

The Deton'Cho Corporation has committed $150,000 in furniture and equipment purchases to transform the building into an educational facility.

This was not the first time this session that the issue of vacant buildings has come up.

Glen Abernethy, MLA for Great Slave, said on a recent trip to Fort Resolution, he came across three houses, built by the NWT Housing Corporation through the public housing and home ownership program, in a community that had no eligible candidates to take over the houses.

"So they've been sitting vacant for two years," said Abernethy.

He asked what the criteria to build was when there were no candidates readily available, to which Miltenberger responded that the availability of clients was one factor, along with land availability and community interest.

He also confirmed that the corporation was looking at different ways of filling the Fort Resolution buildings, because, Miltenberger said, the cost of paying to keep the empty buildings heated was considerable.

"(Operations and maintenance) money is a significant issue," said Miltenberger.