‘Risky’ Woodward’s project gets approval
David Carrigg
Province
Vancouver council last night backed the redevelopment of the Downtown Eastside’s abandoned Woodward’s building despite a staff warning it is an “expensive and risky undertaking.”
Sam Sullivan was the only councillor who voted against the $280-million project — which is now $32 million over budget.
“It’s irresponsible to expose taxpayers to a multimillion-dollar risk,” Sullivan said.
The Woodward’s building, on the 100-block West Hastings, has been empty since the early-1990s.
It was bought by the NDP government in May 2001 for $22 million, after which several million dollars were spent on repairs.
In March 2003, the building was sold to the City of Vancouver for a basement bargain $5 million as part of a deal with the COPE councillor Jim Green to support the 2010 Winter Olympics.
Council believes the Woodward’s project will help revitalize the troubled Downtown Eastside.
The proposal is for 500 units of market housing in a 40-storey tower on the Cordova Street side of the property and 200 units of social housing on the Abbott Street and Hastings Street side.
There will also be a drugstore, child-care centre, Simon Fraser University satellite campus and space for non-profit societies.
Last September, council selected a consortium between Westbank Projects and the Peterson Investment Group to develop Woodward’s on the condition it included social housing.
The social-housing component has long been advocated by Green.
However, council was told last night that the cost of providing that social housing has jumped from $27 million to $48 million over the past two years.
Council then agreed to contribute $7 million to that increased social-housing cost, on the condition the federal and provincial governments agree to do the same.
The city will also chip in an additional $6.5 million to deal with other cost increases, creating a total commitment of $13.5 million.
Green said Sullivan did everything he could to stop the development and threatened to kill it if Sullivan’s NPA party got into power again.
“It’s expensive, there’s no doubt, but the financing is in place and the only risk is a political one — that the NPA will cancel the project if they get back into power,” Green said.
Sullivan has been challenging Green over the project since last year, when Green was appointed to the committee overseeing the project.
“I’ve always complained about him being on what should be a staff-only committee,” Sullivan said.
City council’s other NPA councillor, Peter Ladner, said he supports the project in principle but believes it needs to be scaled back.
“We are trying to do too much and aren’t willing to rein it in,” he said.
“For $13.5 million we could have a new library in Strathcona or could finish off the Renfrew Community Centre pool. We shouldn’t be covering the developers’ risk on Woodward’s.”
Sullivan said he expects the Woodward’s redevelopment will become a key election issue in the upcoming municipal election.
According to city staffer Michael Flanigan, the risks involved with the project are outweighed by the benefit the redevelopment will have for the Hastings Street corridor east of Main Street.
Green said he expects work to commence on the project by fall next year and it should be complete by the 2010 Winter Olympics.
© The Vancouver Province 2005