The YMCA of Northern Alberta announced the closure of its downtown rooming house — meaning 120 residents will have to find a new place to live.

The housing facility on 100th Street and 102A Avenue will shut down by Oct. 31, 2017, giving its current residents more than a year to find new accommodations.

The agency opted to close the facility after a two-year review of its downtown operations.

President and CEO Nick Parkinson says it was a 'strategic' decision, which was not taken lightly by management.

"It was a very difficult and thoughtful decision that we have made," said Parkinson in an interview with CBC News.

"The building does lose money. We're running on a negative operating deficit and that's only projected to get worse."

After more than 65 years, Parkinson says the building has become too expensive to operate.

Mechanical failures are common, many aspects of the building are no longer up to code and the cost of renovations have been staggering. The building has an annual operating deficit between $100,000 to $150,000 a year, due to mounting operational costs.

"Every time something goes sideways you have to bring it up to code to meet the current standards at a great expense," said Parkinson.

"And we're only running half the building, with residents on one side and a single floor of administration, which doesn't make very much sense from an efficiency standpoint."

Parkinson says the building, which was originally constructed as a youth hostel, no longer meets the needs of residents. The agency consulted with an architect to see if the building could be redesigned, but was told the property is simply too small to meet its needs.

"They're dorm-style rooms. They're eight by 10 (foot) rooms with a bed and a dresser. There are no independent washrooms in there, and no kitchen facilities," Parkinson said.

"So it's met a need but it's not the ideal model for working with people on permanent supportive housing."

Residents were notified Oct. 28 of the closure.

Some clients have been living at the facility for just a few weeks, while more than 60 residents have lived on the property for more than two years.

Parkinson says his staff are already working with other Edmonton housing agencies to help long-term residents find a new place to live.

"As an organization that is committed to serving people and helping people, we're not going to put people on the street.

"Were going to make sure everyone is housed."