With Phase 1 of renovations complete at a former Traveller's Inn, the first residents have moved in to the City-owned property at 120 Gorge Rd. East.
The 26 supportive housing units will be managed by the Victoria Native Friendship Centre and will house single Aboriginal adults and families with young children.
Rents at Siem Lelum – Salish for "respected house" – range from $425 for a studio apartment, $525 for a one bedroom apartment and $620 for a family suite.
First Nations make up 2.8 per cent of the Capital Region's population, but account for 25 per cent of the homeless population, according to the City of Victoria.
The motel conversion is one of two projects undertaken by the City of Victoria in partnership with the federal government, Capital Regional District and the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp.