City of Vancouver bails out Olympic Village
Remember that rumour that the construction of the Olympic Village is running into credit difficulties and the various assurances that taxpayers wouldn’t be on the hook?
Well funny thing.. It turns out the city has authorized a (until now) secret $100 million rescue for the financial troubled Olympic Village. Article in the Globe and Mail:
The new financial obligations are on top of a $190-million loan guarantee the city had to give Fortress Investment Group, which has provided a $683-million loan to Millennium to build the 1,100-unit village.
The village is destined to become a residential complex after the Olympics but most of the condominiums have yet to be sold. Meantime, the value of real estate in Vancouver has plunged in the past several months and is expected to continue to decline over the next couple of years.
This has raised questions about the future of the project and whether Millennium, which agreed to pay the city $193-million for the land on which the village is being built, can still make the venture financially viable.
The latest revelations come despite assurances over the last several weeks by civic officials that financing around the project was not a concern. Other civic officials stated publicly there had not been any changes in the agreement the city had with Millennium – even after council had secretly agreed to forward the company and/or its lender up to $100-million to keep the project afloat.
Now you’re all real estate speculators. This deal is of course, not without a bit of controversy:
Details of the city’s involvement in bailing out the project’s cash-strapped developer have until now been kept secret. Councillors are under a publication ban and have been told they face serious repercussions if they discuss publicly the decisions taken at the in camera meeting.
Growing controversy around the project also appears to be behind the yet-to-be announced resignation of the city’s chief financial officer, Estelle Lo. Ms. Lo tendered her resignation recently after months of apparently expressing concerns the city might be assuming too much financial risk in an effort to meet its obligation to get the Olympic housing built on time, according to a source.
Now that we’re all investors in this project, I find myself getting excited about the future of Vancouver real estate. I’m sure eventually this deal will pay off big – In Montreal it only took 30 years to pay off their Olympic sized debt, and just look at some of the great post-Olympic buying opportunities in Sidney!
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November 8th, 2008 at 12:48 am
Why should any city business be put under a publication ban?
If they have nothing to hide then they should be made public!
November 7th, 2008 at 8:48 pm
Bdk says “If you don’t work in a unionised capitalist warhouse, or whatever it was you said yesterday, then where do you work?”
Good job Bdk good enough to prove my point nobody every seen a dumb like you,Nobody!!!!!
November 7th, 2008 at 5:27 pm
I’m impressed krrrish…. yup… that’s a dead – on imitation of me. Seriously!
You even had me fooled….
November 7th, 2008 at 1:24 pm
ICBC: Anybody who wants private insurance (and private Hydro for that matter) only needs to look to the free-market provinces of Ontario and Alberta to see why they are bad ideas.
RRSP: I’m contributing more than ever this year, even more than my yearly limit, getting into my backlog… hooray for me.
Olympic Village: The city sold this land for something like $500/buildable square foot. Sound too good to be true? Guess what…
November 7th, 2008 at 12:36 pm
What are you trying to say browntown?
That you work in a warehouse and pay $1.60 to bc tel?
Stick with one name, it’s hard enough trying to figure out what you’re trying to say and when you start pretending to be scullboy and accusing myself of writing incoherent, stupid posts it just makes you look even stupider (if it’s possible to look stupider than you already do).
November 7th, 2008 at 11:50 am
I mean #47 is bdk in union.
November 7th, 2008 at 11:46 am
OPPS that was BDK similar to thaz waz BUZZY KE,see nobody ever seen a zumb i mean dumb like you,Nobody!!!!!
November 7th, 2008 at 11:39 am
To all the ICBC complainers… I have the 40% discount and it still works out cheaper for me to park my car and use the co-op cars whenever I want. Plug plug… they’re great!
http://www.cooperativeauto.net/
November 7th, 2008 at 11:32 am
Sincere apologies since I just posted this on yesterday’s thread, but I wanted to be absolutely sure Krrrris/SatV/Browntown/whatever read it…. I have finally come to see his usefulness, and where he’s coming from and I sincerely want to thank him:
Ah krrrrrish/nobody/brownstreak…..
Why aren’t I surprised that you are part of a union. It makes perfect sense, really. I imagine you bitterly resent paying union dues, don’t you? Yet the union is the only thing standing between you and Wal-mart type wages.
OF COURSE you’re in a union! I mean who on God’s earth would hire you? Your English is appalling. I know preschoolers who can write better then you can. I think most people here would agree that you couldn’t possibly hold down a white collar job for longer then.. 15 minutes tops.
And of course you dream of “capitalism” and being the next Donald Trump. Of course you’re a cheerleader for “the free market”. Your betters filled your head with silly notions of getting rich; they appealed to your greed and knew your stupidity would blind you. They knew how easy it would be to brainwash you, so they bought a little advertising time on the radio and put up some billboards. They knew you’re far too stupid, venal and greedy to question the possibility of getting rich not through brains and work, but through laziness and greed.
And now they have your hard work, and your money. They sold you a shitty box in Tranny Towers at a wildly inflated price. That means they control you now. You don’t have to resources to educate yourself or to go out and change your career or start your own business. You’re going to be working in that warehouse for the rest of your life…. for whatever shitty wage they can push on you.
Your family will rarely see you, as you’ll have to work double shifts to make ends meet. Your wages won’t go to them.
Those will go to:
- The condo developer, for that shitty little box they sold you
- Bob Rennie, for figuring out how to sucker you through your own greed and stupidity
- the City of Vancouver , for convincing you that you live in “The Best Place on Earth”
- The mortgage broker, for arranging the abolute highest payments you can possibly make without literally starving you to death.
God, I see it all so clearly now and it makes me laugh. You poor sucker, you dumbest of fucks. You and how many other blue – collar chumps have willingly …. EAGERLY and literally sold your working lives to your economic betters because you naively thought they were on your side. Meanwhile you bitterly resent the unions who, while imperfect, are the only ones who ever bothered to look out for you.
I want to thank you dude, and I mean that sincerely at this moment. I’ve had a tough go of it recently but thanks to you, I’m reminded of the one gift nobody can take from me: My intelligence. I was smart enough not to get caught up in foolish and greedy dreams of unearned wealth.
Thanks to my intelligence I saved as much money as I could, and invested it conservatively. That left me with the resources I needed to change careers when my own industry began to collapse and last night after months of puzzling it out, I came up with a business model that will work, is flexible, can be started with almost no capital and has an excellent change of succeeding.
Thank you Krrish / Nobody. I believe you have fulfilled your life’s one great purpose: You have served as a warning to others.
November 7th, 2008 at 11:20 am
Ah krrrrrish/nobody/brownstreak…..
Why aren’t I surprised that you are part of a union. It makes perfect sense, really. I imagine you bitterly resent paying union dues, don’t you? Yet the union is the only thing standing between you and Wal-mart type wages.
OF COURSE you’re in a union! I mean who on God’s earth would hire you? Your English is appalling. I know preschoolers who can write better then you can. I think most people here would agree that you couldn’t possibly hold down a white collar job for longer then.. 15 minutes tops.
And of course you dream of “capitalism” and being the next Donald Trump. Of course you’re a cheerleader for “the free market”. Your betters filled your head with silly notions of getting rich; they appealed to your greed and knew your stupidity would blind you. They knew how easy it would be to brainwash you, so they bought a little advertising time on the radio and put up some billboards. They knew you’re far too stupid, venal and greedy to question the possibility of getting rich not through brains and work, but through laziness and greed.
And now they have your hard work, and your money. They sold you a shitty box in Tranny Towers at a wildly inflated price. That means they control you now. You don’t have to resources to educate yourself or to go out and change your career or start your own business. You’re going to be working in that warehouse for the rest of your life…. for whatever shitty wage they can push on you.
Your family will rarely see you, as you’ll have to work double shifts to make ends meet. Your wages won’t go to them.
Those will go to:
- The condo developer, for that shitty little box they sold you
- Bob Rennie, for figuring out how to sucker you through your own greed and stupidity
- the City of Vancouver , for convincing you that you live in “The Best Place on Earth”
- The mortgage broker, for arranging the abolute highest payments you can possibly make without literally starving you to death.
God, I see it all so clearly now and it makes me laugh. You poor sucker, you dumbest of fucks. You and how many other blue – collar chumps have willingly …. EAGERLY and literally sold your working lives to your economic betters because you naively thought they were on your side. Meanwhile you bitterly resent the unions who, while imperfect, are the only ones who ever bothered to look out for you.
I want to thank you dude, and I mean that sincerely at this moment. I’ve had a tough go of it recently but thanks to you, I’m reminded of the one gift nobody can take from me: My intelligence. I was smart enough not to get caught up in foolish and greedy dreams of unearned wealth.
Thanks to my intelligence I saved as much money as I could, and invested it conservatively. That left me with the resources I needed to change careers when my own industry began to collapse and last night after months of puzzling it out, I came up with a business model that will work, is flexible, can be started with almost no capital and has an excellent change of succeeding.
Thank you Krrish / Nobody. I believe you have fulfilled your life’s one great purpose: You have served as a warning to others.
November 7th, 2008 at 2:17 am
Macronomics, micro-brain.
“People forget we used to have private insurance in BC.
Guess what. It didn’t work.
While ICBC is not the best run crown corp out there, in general, it is serving its purpose.”
Yah, if by “serving its purpose,” you mean over-charging and under-insuring.
I own an 04 Ranger and an older B2300. I pay $1200 through Alberta Motor Association for both. When I called a Victoria insurer, they quoted me $800 for the Ranger (comparable). When I sat down later with the agent, she insisted the computer was telling her I lived in a city on the island I’d never even visited, much less resided. Magically, the quote (for about half the liability coverage) went up to $1300.
I practically threw the plate at her head and told her I would be buying insurance in the Soviet Socialist Republic of BC when competition was allowed.
Anybody who thinks a government monopology provides anything other than crappy service and high prices is an economic retard.
At least you understand that when it comes to BC Ferries.
November 6th, 2008 at 11:55 pm
“But think about it, I pay $1400/yr. My car is worth $45K.”
Ya, so don’t you think that it’s a bit odd that my $2500 clunker also costs $1400 a year to insure through ICBC (36 years accident free and counting).
November 6th, 2008 at 11:40 pm
The secretive air which permeates this bail out will come back to haunt them.
November 6th, 2008 at 10:53 pm
eeeeeha!
i’m predicting the friday free-for-all is gonna have 360 posts when all is said and done……
everybody and their dog is out tonite!!
November 6th, 2008 at 10:52 pm
ICBC should only be for BC – born citizens and First Nations…the rest of you can go back to where ya came from and pay double, ya freeloaders.
November 6th, 2008 at 10:46 pm
Here’s what I said about the 2010 Olympics back two years ago:
wizardofozziejurock said…
No offence to you party animals, but that “great party” thing is really getting tired.
Personally, I manage to have great parties without having to pay the government to organize them for me. Moreover,
- several hundred thousand people jamming up public spaces isn’t a party, it’s a mob.
- any event being attended by thousands of security personnel isn’t a party, it’s a crowd control excercise for law enforcement.
- any event open to people from all walks of life isn’t a party, it’s a visit to a shopping mall
- any event with corporate sponsorship isn’t a party, it’s a public relations campaign.
- anyone who attends an event that’s going to be paid for by future generations isn’t a party-goer, they’re a freeloader.
O.k., I’m being a bit harsh…community celebrations have their place, but this one feels very scripted by the powers that be…beginning with the IOC…and it’s heavily commercialized and very, very expensive.
The fact that it’s also used to justify the housing bubble is just all the more galling.
There’s one more budget item that Vanoc forgot to include: happy pills. They better start distributing those soon — the citizenry are getting restless.”
11:37 PM, October 19, 2006
November 6th, 2008 at 10:44 pm
Looks like we have an election issue? Timing couldn’t be better:
Vancouver mayoralty candidate Gregor Robertson has called for complete public disclosure of the city’s financial obligations for construction of the multi-million dollar Olympic Village following a Globe and Mail report that the city at a recent closed-door meeting authorized lending up to $100-million to rescue the financially-strapped project.
“We need to know what is going on here exactly,” Mr. Robertson told reporters after a mayoralty campaign forum.
Whatever else you want to say about them, Robertson can’t be blamed for the deal, and Ladner can.
November 6th, 2008 at 10:00 pm
I guess the acronym B.P.O.E (best place on earth)
beat out the commities first choice of slogan for bc
best place own our real estate B.P.O.O.R.
November 6th, 2008 at 9:59 pm
isn’t it the olympic village is named “millenium water”? shouldn’t they now change it to “millenium under water”?
November 6th, 2008 at 9:57 pm
That site linked to by crabman elicited a low whistle from me, I tell you.
November 6th, 2008 at 9:55 pm
“The village is destined to become a residential complex after the Olympics but most of the condominiums have yet to be sold. Meantime, the value of real estate in Vancouver has plunged in the past several months and is expected to continue to decline over the next couple of years.”
From the Globe story :
http://www.theglobeandmail.com.....+vancouver
November 6th, 2008 at 9:47 pm
That was a part of Vancouver 2010 Olympics bid City has to guarantee that Olympic Village have be built,Peter Ladner says”Tax payers won’t be on the hook”CBC Gloria Macarenco hooking up Kirk William in news room
http://www.cbc.ca/mrl3/8752/bc.....LLIAMS.wmv
November 6th, 2008 at 9:29 pm
The city council has long had in-camera meetings when dealing with things like property negotiations.
Yes, but once negotiations are complete and a deal has been signed, there’s normally no reason to keep the details of the deal secret.
November 6th, 2008 at 9:20 pm
Ultersman is back now vancouver real estate will never go down,welcome back ultersman.
November 6th, 2008 at 9:11 pm
Let’s bash ICBC some more. OK, my adult family in the UK (ages range from 30-67) pay approximately C$500 per year for fully comprehensive car insurance. My brother-in-law is a motorcycle fan and has 3 in his garage. He has one policy that costs about C$450 / year and covers all three – because they figure he can only ride one at a time on the public highway.
I’m in my mid 30’s here, have 43% roadstar and pay $850 JUST for the most absurdly basic $2m liability. On top of this i have to buy collision and comp. Sure, the youbg drivers in the UK pay high premiums, but guess what, they have lots of accidents.
Insurance in BC is a very expensive joke.
November 6th, 2008 at 8:52 pm
Auction deadline came and went. House still there on mls.
http://www.realtor.ca/property.....Id=7516831
November 6th, 2008 at 8:02 pm
think_first
“I have met other who had to start over at zero years/pay the full shot even though they had been accident free for years”
That would be me: accident free since day one (17 years of driving when we landed) Came here and got no discount, started from scratch.
Sometimes (I am serious here) I like to walk to our nearest busy intersection and watch the local drivers (I live in Richmond). It is better than any horror film.
Regards
arit
November 6th, 2008 at 7:54 pm
Speaking of Olympics..Vanoc just announced a new downhill sport
November 6th, 2008 at 7:42 pm
Perhaps ICBC has changed their practice? I moved here approximately 6 years ago from Alberta. If I recall correctly, once you get 8 years accident free you end up at the highest roadstar rating with ICBC (43%???). I ended up being able to claim 7 years accident free because of documentation from prior insurance companies. This meant I was paying about the same in both provinces.
One problem with this “system” is that there is no regulation stating that an insurance company has to keep your records once you leave them. I got lucky with my documenation. I have met other who had to start over at zero years/pay the full shot even though they had been accident free for years. They just couldn’t prove it.
November 6th, 2008 at 7:38 pm
Check out this Q and A for olympic rentals from here.
Q3) When is the right time to start marketing my property?
A3) NOW. There are over 10,000 condominium properties under construction in downtown Vancouver that will be ready before the Olympic Games commence. There is a real possibility that there will be an oversupply of accommodations available by the time the games commence. There is no real advantage to waiting.
This gets better every day!
November 6th, 2008 at 7:36 pm
there are pros and cons to public auto insurance, but regardless the private insurers would not be able to raise enough capital right now to expand into bc. auto insurance is a low margin business dependant on investment income (ouch); i wouldn’t be suprised if icbc is changed to a no-fault system like saskatchewan in the near/mid future. appears the economic situation could be grave enough for the government to look outside the box for revenue.
November 6th, 2008 at 7:29 pm
Further to markx above…wouldn’t a publication ban on discussing the details of the investment of public funds constitute a violation of some law or other?
There is no publication ban. The council has imposed a media blackout, which means nobody on the council or city employees can talk about it. The city has no authority to stop anyone else from talking about it.
It is standard practice for all levels of government to do this sort of thing with financial issues, e.g. cabinet secrecy at the provincial and federal levels. The city council has long had in-camera meetings when dealing with things like property negotiations.
November 6th, 2008 at 7:23 pm
LOL, I didn’t make comment #45. Pope, can you clear the “Name” text field so that other people don’t accidentally use your name? Thanks!
BTW, the specuvestors who paid for Millennium should have hoped city council wouldn’t fund the developer. Now that city council is funding Millennium, it will complete as scheduled and these specuvestors are going to lose alot of $$$.
Not only will the market trash the price of their property, but drunk partying Olympians will trash their property too!
November 6th, 2008 at 7:18 pm
on topic now – the Olympic Village makes me far angrier than ICBC ever could. Though I would consider buying a unit there at ~$350/sqft. If anyone from Millenium is reading this, please write my name down for when you need it.
November 6th, 2008 at 7:12 pm
Re. ICBC: No reason why bus-takers like myself should have to pay a dime to subsidize people who drive. Especially not those who get speeding tickets and have had lots of accidents.
And anyone I know who has moved here from Alberta pays more for insurance here. However, my friends probably tend to be good drivers – so if you have lots of speeding tickets and accidents then yes, BC may be cheaper for you.
November 6th, 2008 at 7:11 pm
…Fortress Investment Group, which has provided a $683-million loan to Millennium to build the 1,100-unit village.
That comes out to $621k/unit plus interest. Rut row Shaggy!
November 6th, 2008 at 7:10 pm
OT: re ICBC and no claims – yes, after driving for 20 years in the UK and other countires with not a single accident, ICBC wanted to charge me full whack. So, I choose tot ake the bus and taxis as often as I wish, and it still works out cheaper.
November 6th, 2008 at 7:10 pm
Shame on all the RE pimps, and Olympic Pumpers who are one and the same.
But most of all shame on all of us for letting them getting away with it.
November 6th, 2008 at 7:08 pm
ICBC is great… if you’ve been insured here for several years without accidents. If you’re new (even with a long, clean driving history) you get screwed. Their ‘discounts’ are based on the number of years driving in BC only! It’s pretty messed up!
Skidmarks, your fake ESL grammar is getting pretty bad. Less quantity, more quality please!
November 6th, 2008 at 7:06 pm
brownstreak “vancouver realestate expensive because too much dumb people not enough land!”
WOWSERS gotta give you credit finally you admitted without qualification that YOU are DUMB people! Love it!
November 6th, 2008 at 6:50 pm
yeah scullboy! vancouver realestate expensive because too much dumb people not enough land! you can help by moving back to toronto! do it for team! can have mats sundin too! yeah ha ha don’t match wits with the browntown numbnuts!
November 6th, 2008 at 6:47 pm
I just got served notice that my rent is increasing $40 to $1080/mo for a 650 sq ft 1 bedroom in a nice highrise rental tower in the west end.
Oddly, I’m not upset. In fact, I’m downright gleeful considering the $100 mil (minimum) that the “owners” will have unwillingly send to the city coffers to help pay for a 10 day party. Sucks to be them. Especially when the Olympic village will be another Leaky-Condo disaster.
Mark my words!
November 6th, 2008 at 6:08 pm
2 grand for 2 beds (with someone downstairs) in East Van. On Boundary?
Good luck with that. LOL>
November 6th, 2008 at 5:48 pm
Further to markx above…wouldn’t a publication ban on discussing the details of the investment of public funds constitute a violation of some law or other? Supreme Court time?
The only time I’ve seen publication bans in Canada, it was either on:
a) election results prior to all polls closing
b) high-profile court cases (Homolka/Bernardo)
c) national security details from the Canadian military
This has nothing to do with any of those things!
November 6th, 2008 at 5:43 pm
can anyone say “Flipper” gone wild?
November 6th, 2008 at 5:42 pm
Here’s a real beaut! ONLY $2000/mo. (wink wink)
“I’m wanting to sell the house , but with this market I have decided to rent for 6-12 months. and wait and see. this is perfect for professional bachelor or bachelorette…”
http://vancouver.en.craigslist.....35351.html