The smells of construction — fresh paint, new vinyl flooring, a little drywall dust — fill the building at Fifth Avenue and St. Paul Street.

Outside, bare dirt extends from the vinyl-clad exterior walls right up to the sidewalk. That’s being greened up today.

Inside, workers packing drills, pliers and other tools were still finishing up, putting on trim,

But Bob Hughes, executive director of the AIDS Society of Kamloops, threw open the doors for an open house Friday to show off a project that has gone from $2.2 million up to almost $4 million and has spanned two years.

The former Whistler Inn is new on so many levels.

The three-storey building itself is essentially new; it was practically gutted except for the frame.

The people living in it will be essentially new. Nine of the old tenants who were relocated to the Acadian Inn during the makeover move back on Monday, while the other 19 suites will see new faces.

The name of the building is new. It will now be called Henry Leland House after the Squilax Indian band member who froze to death in Kamloops in December 2007.

“He was the last homeless person we know of dying in Kamloops,” Hughes said.

“Hopefully, that’s the last time someone dies being homeless in Kamloops.”

Paul Lagace of ASK Wellness knew Leland a bit and saw him a week before his death. It was surprising, Lagace said, because Leland was so resilient, as well as being quiet and independent.

Lagace burned sweetgrass in a smudge ceremony at the entrance and exit doors of the building just prior to Friday’s open house.

“Sweetgrass is intended to bring about kindness,” he said. “Many people who walk the streets are not treated with much kindness.”

As of Monday, Henry Leland House will house people who until now have had difficulty finding or keeping a home, whether it’s due to addictions, mental health issues or other problems.

Staff are on site around the clock, a doctor has signed on to provide medical support and the Canadian Mental Health Association is involved, too.

The new suites, with their vinyl wood-patterned floors, dark wood kitchen cupboards, air conditioners and pristine white appliances, now have sprinkler systems and air vents.

The old, unsafe balconies were taken off and weren’t replaced because of security concerns. Hughes said there are surveillance cameras all around the outside of the building to keep the tenants safe.

Tenants get beds, linen service and some donated furniture. But they’ll have to find some pieces themselves, as well as paying $375 a month in rent, utilities, phone and cable if they want it.

“It isn’t a total free ride,” said Hughes.

But it’s a place that’s free of the problems that come with living on the street.

And it’s a place where Henry Leland could have found safety from the cold.

A formal grand opening will be held at Henry Leland House in early September, Hughes said.