Olympic Village & Southeast False Creek Updates Discussion

[Pinion]

Originally Posted by TwoFace

Smart businessmen don't normally do Charity work by buying stuff at a premium that no one else wants.

I'm sure the real story will come out in time.

[spm2013]

Tell that to Arthur Griffiths

[Prometheus]

More regarding Olympic Village:

City involvement at Olympic Village costs taxpayers $150 million

By Glen Korstrom and Tyler Orton
Mon Apr 28, 2014

The total cost to taxpayers of the city's involvement at the Olympic Village is about $150 million even though mayor Gregor Robertson is claiming that the city has paid off all debts and is running a $70 million surplus on the project.

Robertson announced April 28 that the Aquilini Group has scooped up the final 67 condominiums at the False Creek development for $91 million.

He said that the transaction allows the City of Vancouver to pay down the remainder of what started out as a $630 million debt when the city took over the project from Fortress Credit Corp. in 2009.

"It's great news for Vancouver taxpayers that we've paid off the Olympic Village debt and recovered an additional $70 million to go towards community amenities and public infrastructure," Robertson said.

"We are now officially done with our involvement in the project."

What Robertson did not mention, however, was a $170 million shortfall in money that Millennium Development owed the city to buy the property.

Millennium agreed to pay the city $200 million for the property but only ever paid a $30 million down payment.

Add in the $70 million that the city has realized since taking over the project and that leaves a $100 million cost to taxpayers.

"Another thing that the city is not talking about is the 262 social housing units," said real estate consultant and developer Michael Geller. "That was supposed to cost $60 million but ended up costing $110 million."

So there is another $50 million cost to taxpayers...

Now, here's an accounting of how the city determined that it generated a $70 million surplus.

Read full story: http://www.biv.com/article/20140428/BIV0...mpic-village-costs-taxpayers-150-million

[WarrenC12]

Originally Posted by whatnext

In an election year, Vision gets bailed out by a developer and gets to close the books on this. How convenient....

Easy there Debbie Downer. You'd be bashing VV no matter what happened.

VV didn't vote to pick the developer, or even to step in when they lost financing, but that probably doesn't matter to you.

[SFUVancouver]

Originally Posted by WarrenC12

[snip]
VV didn't vote to pick the developer, or even to step in when they lost financing...
[snip]

In fact, promising to fix/salvage what could be salvaged from the NPA Olympic Village project was a major plank in Vision's platform for the Mayor's election. An appropriate instance of the "post hoc, ergo propter hoc" fallacy.

[TwoFace]

Originally Posted by spm2013

Tell that to Arthur Griffiths

Point taken

[officedweller]

Meccanica by Yellow Fever at SSC:
- What's up with the gray stripes on the alley side?
(apart from smaller windows for overlook)

Originally Posted by Yellow Fever

new updates


Flickr 上 Yellow Fever @ SkyscraperCity 的 IMG_8213


Flickr 上 Yellow Fever @ SkyscraperCity 的 IMG_8220

Originally Posted by Yellow Fever

Flickr 上 Yellow Fever @ SkyscraperCity 的 IMG_8232


Flickr 上 Yellow Fever @ SkyscraperCity 的 IMG_8233

[Kapten]

Originally Posted by csbvan

Does anyone know much about the site at 2nd and Wylie? 2 of the 3 businesses have signs up saying that they are moving in May:

https://www.google.ca/maps/@49.267496,-1...3m4!1e1!3m2!1sKvri_YwmIU9iOotyiBs1LQ!2e0

As of today all three of the businesses are shut down and the entire property is fenced off. It appears that the site may be on its way to demolition...

I wonder what may be coming to this site?

[Jebby]

Wow, the Meccanica tower looks awful.

[officedweller]

Pics of The One (Ontario & 1st) by Yellow Fever at SSC May 12th:

Originally Posted by Yellow Fever

Flickr 上 Yellow Fever @ SkyscraperCity 的 IMG_8805

Originally Posted by Yellow Fever

new updates


Flickr 上 Yellow Fever @ SkyscraperCity 的 IMG_8794


Flickr 上 Yellow Fever @ SkyscraperCity 的 IMG_8796

Originally Posted by Yellow Fever

Flickr 上 Yellow Fever @ SkyscraperCity 的 IMG_8797


Flickr 上 Yellow Fever @ SkyscraperCity 的 IMG_8798

Originally Posted by Yellow Fever

Flickr 上 Yellow Fever @ SkyscraperCity 的 IMG_8800

[SFUVancouver]

Thanks for posting the photos. Part of me is still in disbelief how quickly this whole neighbourhood has built out. Before we know it the western SEFC lands north of 1st, east of the Cambie St Bridge and west of Columbia st will be coming on stream.

[officedweller]

There will be a plaza at the west end of that block (with The One):


http://vancouver.ca/home-property-development/southeast-false-creek.aspx

[Jebby]

Is that a streetcar in the drawing?

[officedweller]

Yup.

[Smooth]

Originally Posted by SFUVancouver

Thanks for posting the photos. Part of me is still in disbelief how quickly this whole neighbourhood has built out. Before we know it the western SEFC lands north of 1st, east of the Cambie St Bridge and west of Columbia st will be coming on stream.

Speaking of development in that area... the Speedy Brake & Tire Centre at the north end of Yukon (here) is now fenced off. Does anyone know what is going in on that property?

EDIT: I see someone else asked the exact same question above.

[hollywoodnorth]

Originally Posted by Smooth

Speaking of development in that area... the Speedy Brake & Tire Centre at the north end of Yukon (here) is now fenced off. Does anyone know what is going in on that property?

EDIT: I see someone else asked the exact same question above.

I'm gonna go with parking lot/condo sales center location for the short term.

redevelopment mid-term

[furbe]

Originally Posted by nds88

I second not being in an original OV unit, unless you do copious amounts of due diligence first. I don't think its fair to say all the OV units are garbage unless research has been done on each building. Its not as if there are tons of owners (besides the city) listing their units trying to get rid of them because of all the headaches. My realtor rented a 2br in the OV (not sure of the building) and he had water leak issues. Also, when I went to view an OV show home, I asked them about the huge water stain in the ceiling...which they quickly brushed off saying "they would replace the panels" (that doesn't solve the issue...water will keep leaking).

I'm in a new building right at the edge of the original OV. Overall I am quite satisfied, besides the two points mentioned in my previous post.

I bought a unit at Sails (1661 Ontario) two years ago. At the time, there was no Urban Fare, London Drugs, Craft, Medical, etc. All the articles were negative; the OV is a ghost town they would say, nobody wanted to live there, problems with the buildings, etc.

In my humble opinion, the negativity was blown way out of proportion. There was public money invested that looked lost due to a market downturn, angry homeowners who got burned paying premium prices for assets that depreciated, and all this ghost town talk which is now laughable in hindsight. There is some merit to the quality issues which plagued the village at time of completion due to the rush to meet the Olympic deadline, but I suggest they are blown far out of proportion and would say it's not an issue of major concern.

Real estate is about risk and reward. Supply and demand. I picked up my new unit for $550 sq ft, which I know was discounted considerably from the original asking price. I believe all the OV units have the same high end finishings: Inform kitchens, Sub Zero, Miele, etc. All deficiencies were fixed either prior to moving in or within the first year, and they were all minor.

I believe the build quality concern will be something of a memory in a few years, and future buyers will see choice units in a burgeoning neighborhood community with high end finishings. I know there are a lot of opinions to stay clear of the originally OV units, but I would suggest you do your own research and due diligence. There are pros and cons, but the same could be said of any real estate investment.

Either way, I most definitely recommend investing in and living in the OV village. I love it here and amenities continue to improve which perpetuates the desirability of the neighborhood and increasing values.

[VanK]

Originally Posted by furbe

In my humble opinion, the negativity was blown way out of proportion.

Either way, I most definitely recommend investing in and living in the OV village. I love it here and amenities continue to improve which perpetuates the desirability of the neighborhood and increasing values.

I second that. The news was way over blown. Due to current supply prices are low & undervalued & should go up from here.

[axestone]

Originally Posted by furbe

I picked up my new unit for $550 sq ft

Sounds good!

In a couple-of-something years from now you will be sitting on a gold mine imo…

[Vin]

Is it really overblown? The issue of many original buyers at the OV being stuck with their properties and not able to resell without incurring huge losses still persists. While people living downtown have their property values increased over the years, BC Assessment of OV is on the decline. For such an ambitious neighbourhood, the retail and restaurant options are truly limited. Even Main Street and Kingsway neighbourhoods around Broadway offer way better services and options. Last but not least, the strata and energy bill for that area will always be a lot more than other neighbourhoods, including downtown. There are people who live in the peninsula paying just $30 per month for utilities. To date there hasn't been a single assurance that energy costs would come down at the OV.

I would not consider investing in OV unless I really really love that neighbourhood, or if I get a really awesome deal from a developer desperate to off load the condos. Otherwise, there are better options in other parts of the city, IMHO