ATHLETES VILLAGE: City carries no risk in Millennium Properties plan
JOHN BERMINGHAM AND DAMIAN INWOOD
Province
The Athletes Village will be part of the Southeast False Creek development, which is highlighted in this aerial view.
The City of Vancouver is selling a 2.4-hectare parcel of city land along Southeast False Creek for $193 million, which includes the site of the 2010 Olympic Athletes Village.
Councillors last night unanimously chose Millennium Properties Ltd. to develop the Olympic Village, following an eight-month selection process.
“We see it as a wonderful opportunity to partner with the city,” said Hank Jasper, general manager of Millennium. “These sorts of things in our business don’t come along too often.”
The proposal by Millennium, one of three bidders for the site, guarantees the city carries no financial risks in development of the Athletes Village, which during the Olympics will be home to about 2,800 athletes and officials.
After the Games it will be converted to 1,000 residential units, including 250 affordable housing units, a community centre, daycare centre, retail spaces and underground parking.
The parcel, south of False Creek to First Avenue between Ontario and Columbia streets, will be part of a large-scale redevelopment of Southeast False Creek.
Staff recommended Millennium Properties over Concord Pacific Ltd. and the Wall Financial Corp. after a detailed review by an evaluation committee. The city’s project manager, Jody Andrews, said Millennium was the highest bidder for the land, and produced a six-point plan for market housing on the site that’s affordable.
“They will design and construct all the buildings in the first phase of the project,” said Andrews. It includes a child-care centre, community centre and marina and 250 units of social housing.
The city will pay the construction costs for those facilities plus a fee of $5 million.
The deal includes a “green building strategy” and a commitment to provide jobs and business opportunities for people in the Downtown Eastside. Millennium pledged to create training and jobs for the aboriginal community.
Millennium will pay the city 15 per cent of the $193,000 as downpayment, and pay the balance when Millennium gets title to the land in 2010.
Staff will now work with Millennium to come up with a housing plan for the site, and bring a rezoning application back to council in the fall for a public hearing.