Units to be handed back by city after 20 years if deal approved
Frances Bula
Sun
The small amount of middle-income housing in the Olympic
Village will revert back to the developer after 20 years if Vancouver councillors approve the deal recommended by its housing staff.
The city could have held on to the 107 units forever if it had been prepared to invest $11 million in cash and $4 million in equity, says the report.
But staff say the property endowment fund is already stretched to pay for other priorities, so they are recommending that the developer, Millennium, build the units, rent them out at affordable rates for middle-income renters for 20 years, and then get them back to do whatever they want with them.
They have recommended that the unit sizes be restricted in the hope of keeping them as affordable units even after the 20 years are up.
That conclusion is disappointing to councillors from both Vision Vancouver, part of the council group that had originally tried to require that one-third of the village, or about 350 units, be built for middle-income renters and buyers, and the Non-Partisan Association, which killed that requirement but pushed for the developer to find a way to build middle-income housing voluntarily.
NPA Coun. Peter Ladner says it was the best deal the city could get and at least it means the city doesn’t get involved in trying to impose complicated rent-control or home-ownership plans.
But Vision Coun. Raymond Louie says it’s regrettable that the city is getting so little for the significant amount of bonus density the developer got to compensate for the cost of building the units.
And, he says, the city could have spent the $11 million on acquiring permanent housing stock for the benefit of its middle-income residents. Instead, it chose to spend that money on expensive initiatives like a new 311 phone system and the $20-million Olympic legacies fund.
But the project manager for Southeast False Creek says the city got a good deal with the 107 units of middle-income housing, which, with the 250 units of social housing that the province and federal government committed to, will create a good chunk of affordable housing.
“That’s a significant amount,” said Jody Foster. “This means that close to one in three units will not be market units in the Olympic Village. This is an important point for people to grasp. There is no other money. This is a Millennium endeavour, and what they are committing to is a provision of three buildings providing rental housing for 20 years.”
According to the report, the units will rent out for slightly more than the average market rent in the city. A studio will rent for about $800 a month, $100 more than the average city rent for a studio; a one-bedroom for $1,200, compared to the $1,100 average.
By standard estimates of affordability, which say that people should pay no more than 30 per cent of their income for rent, it’s estimated that a middle-income household with one salary, with earnings between $23,000 and $47,000, can afford $550-$1,180 a month in rent.
© The Vancouver Sun 2007