Uncategorized

Credit crisis comes to Olympic Village

90
90 Comments

Gah just posted this link, looks like Millennium Water might need a bail out:

As the credit crisis south of the border begins to creep north, concerns are mounting over the impact it may already be having on construction of the athletes’ village for the 2010 Winter Games.

Last week, members of Vancouver’s city council held an emergency, in-camera meeting to get an update on the project. Much of the discussion revolved around the city’s obligation in the event the developer, Millennium Development Corp., can’t meet demands from the bank because of massive cost overruns, according to sources briefed on the meeting.

The best part? Even if you haven’t been speculating on Vancouver condos, now you get a chance to take part in the collapse since it looks like the City is on the hook for cost over-runs on this particular project.  But don’t fret, the absolutely ‘worst case scenario’ at this point looks like a $100 million dollar bill for Vancouver tax payers.

90 Comments
newest
oldest most voted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
Anonymous

The evil Millenium people are also trying to destroy a heritage building in downtowm Vancouver known as Maxine's Hideaway. They'll rape Vancouver's taxpayers and then they'll erase its heritage. These people have no humanity and need to be stopped at all cost!

0
0
Glug GLug Glug

Just another feather in Sullivan, Ladner and Campbell's hat. Great job boys! Campbell's announcement to freeze home assessments was a ploy to keep assessments high so they could keep the mill rate low next year, so they could say that taxes weren't rising so high, yet still pocketing more money to pay back the 100 mill, if the payout stays hidden. Ladner's attempt to whitewash this with his appearance on Bill Good this morning (Fri.Nov 7) on AM980 was eerily like Colin Hansen's "deer in the headlights" look when he was questioned about the Winter Olympics security budget figures by Vaughn Palmer on Voice Of BC on Shaw cable a week ago, Thursday October 30th. They just keep stepping in it, don't they? And we thought the Fast Cats were bad. Those ferries sitting in the Burrard Inlet are going… Read more »

0
0
renterskeeprenting

I think the posters on this site are morons and or simply never owned property in their life and probably never will. The fact is coal harbour, false creek north water front locations are not going to be affected. Most people who own are affluent and there is non of this bs 5 percent down garbage. Most have atleast put down 25% and have a 1500 loan and if they sell they will not take a low ball price. I know hundreds of people in False Creek north who own and have purchased 1 bed or even 2 beds for 400 to 1 million. most of the people i know have 25% debt on the place if that. To you wishfull renters hoping to sabatoge the market and get a deal in the future to you i say …..(middle finger)… Read more »

0
0
Mario

Here is my opinion – I would strongly recommend that you think twice before purchasing a Millenium developed unit….my colleague purchased one, and has had nothing but trouble. Metrocan construction will not, I repeat will not fix your deficiencies, and have cut so many corners, there are problems with new units….and Metrocan is the same contractor used for the olympic village. If you see the millenium/metrocan partnership, then run the other way…

What am I talking about, well, my friends unit wasn't properly plumbed, so feces and urine would leak from the top unit down to his living room. Metrocan's response: This is normal. Millenium, What goes around, comes around!

0
0
Disbelief

Even at $1000/psf you would have to be a chowderhead (idiot) to buy one. And no the value doesn't automatically go up after a steroid monkey top athlete sweats all over it. Maybe the next Olympics Vancouver gets might be worth $1000 psf but in 2008…NOT

0
0
Clam Chowderhead

Umm wouldn't a frozen rainforest be just a snow forest??

The prices also tops out at $1000/psf not $2500/psf not that it's cheap but it's a real number.

Anyways anyone that has read the follow up articles has learned that there is no more issue, the developer will complete on time just not on budget, there is no cost to the taxpayers.

0
0
NO -LYMPICS

Good point MickeyFinn:

Real Estate is simply like any other traded asset. Hence, it is affected by the same market forces of the day ….which in this case is a lot of speculation . Maybe people should read about Holland's tulip speculation a few hundred years ago…oh yeah, Bre-X or Dot.com bomb more recently.

0
0
bdk

I'm Dave man c'mon man I've got the stuff on me man

0
0
patriotz

Dave's not here.

0
0
bdk

Coincidentally there is no Dave here and Dave's websites latest article was written by his wife

Maybe he's taking a vacation from sitting around in coffee shops attempting to skew the cold hard facts by disrupting several blogs simultaneously with his truthiness.

0
0
I want my tax ollars

I think we should start a legal fund so that when the Olympic bills come in we can take the shysters to court for a possible refund to the taxpayer.

There will huge bills,especially for security.

0
0
JB

Russia and Brazil crumble as commodity prices crash.

The entire complex of commodities and emerging market stocks, bonds, and currencies is now in free-fall as the economic crisis spreads like brushfire, threatening to draw every corner of the globe into the vortex of recession.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/markets/314836…

0
0
disbelief

So let me get this straight. Somehow the sweat of some of the worlds greatest athletes make these suites worth $2500/sq. ft. To me it isn't worth $250/sq ft after sweaty pigs the worldover have used your suite for 10 days. I think we have found the greatest fool (village idiot) who would pay anywhere near $2500/sq. ft for any place in the frozen rainforest. Listen you can almost hear the price of real estate drop as we type….. I can.

0
0
alexcanuck

Re: Olympic village. Given the record of hedge funds in producing lasting social benefits (Pirate Capital says it all, some really bad thing have been done in the name of profit.), if the project is taken over by the city, probably helped by Gordo, this could perhaps be a less bad thing. The city couldn't possibly leave a worse legacy, and at least more of the money would stay here. Maybe. I'm not too hopeful. Hence less bad, not good.

0
0
Dave's Therapis

Dave is on a break.

0
0
NO -LYMPICS

Vancouver Banker…Thanks for the info and comments. I recall reading a while back Peter Wall getting scolded by his fellow developers for having the audacity to pay over $100 per sq. ft for land in the False Creek area . When I did the math for this Olympic Village raw land price, I couldn't believe it, it made Wall look like a piker. All these deals involving any level of Gov't are becoming synonymous with all sorts of bizarre contract language…but it is also a sure bet the elected officials have exposed the taxpayers to all sorts of legal and fiscal liabilites to ensure their pet project happens. I think enough is getting enough, even though I don't live in Vancouver….maybe Gordon Campbell will step in and all the rest of us in BC have to help bail Vancouver out….oh… Read more »

0
0
NO -LYMPICS

Vancouver Banker…thanks for the info and comments. I recall reading a while back Peter Wall getting scolded by his fellow developers for having the audacity to pay over $100 per sq. ft for land in the False Creek area . When I did the math for this Olympic Village raw land price, I couldn't believe it, it made Wall look like a piker. All these deals involving any level of Gov't are becoming synonymous with all sorts of bizarre contract language…but it is also a sure bet the the elected officials have exposed the taxpayers to all sorts of legal and fiscal liaibilites to ensure their pet project happens. I think enough is getting enough, even though I don't live in Vancouver….maybe Gordon Campbell will step in and all the rest of us in BC have to help bail Vancouver… Read more »

0
0
Mr. Market

Vancouver is a world-class shitty.

0
0
betamax

Even Dave,Krish & dosh realize now the market is toast

LOL. Yah, where are all the realtor trolls today? You know they have time on their hands.

0
0
james

If cope gets elected it will be social housing. They'll move all the crackheads away from the Woodwards development and into the Millenium.

0
0
BBY

Hey bdk, I think Vancouver real estate is a good bye…

0
0
bdk

It's over now isn't it? Is there anyone out there who thinks the market is a good idea? It's too bad a lot of these people didn't take a step back and think that 25 years is a long time and the huge loss that it takes to continue to "own" a rented unit downtown at a loss of $2,000/month when one wants to expand and have a family. The hidden wealth evaporation will be the baby boomer parents who've gone and put a mortgage on their principal residence in order to fund their childrens' condos "if we don't buy now they'll be priced out forever" Even Dave,Krish & dosh realize now the market is toast, there is not a single person left in Vancouver who thinks it's a good idea. Has anyone ever seen a situation where negative investor… Read more »

0
0
Eren

i think we deserve this. damn bulls and their dreams. we are going down fast and furious. we will be worse than where we started. i am very pessimistic, hmm, maybe financial meltdown.

0
0
MickeyFinn

There's a liquidity crisis out there boys & girls. Everything we could previously take as a "given" as regards investing and finance should now be questioned. Support levels for stocks have turned-out to be nothing more than road-side rest stops as stock prices have zoomed by those support levels heading further South everyday and setting new lows like politicians make election promises. The liquidity crisis is affecting the Olympic Village and it will surely affect the overall Vancouver real estate market. Remember real estate prices are like any other traded asset, so the price is set by the sale made "at the margin." Given the financial upheaval, buyers will stay "on strike" and at least some vendors are going to be forced to sell (you can count on it with all the financial turmoil… some Vancouver real estate owners will… Read more »

0
0