Meanwhile, at the Olympic Village...

What's the silver lining, if you can call it that, for Vancouver city hall after the Stanley Cup riot?

Well, none other than the Olympic Village! The billion dollar, in-receivership brat on Southeast False Creek has gone under the radar this summer.

Ernst and Young won't release the latest sales figures. At least not this week. But how good could they actually be? (Or, how bad?) I only ask that after the full-page advertisement I saw in the Sept. 3 edition of the Vancouver Sun.

The rebranded Village on False Creek is offering new buyers an offer they can't refuse: a free kayak, bicycle, barbecue, pots and pans, running shoes, one-zone transit pass for a year, coffee for a year, groceries for a year…

Or, instead of the lifestyle package, new buyers can take $5,000.



Ask yourself this: If the world-famous, world-class home of Olympic athletes in 2010 on the southeast corner of False Creek was a product that could stand on its own merits and people were beating a path to the sales centre door with cash-in-hand to get a suite while they last, would such a package be offered?

Have sales stalled, yet again?

Another question.

What happened to the Salt Building? It was supposed to be the site of Mark James's next brewpub.

James has been so successful in Yaletown, Whistler and Surrey, but walked away from the Olympic Village (which does have the top-notch Legacy Liquor Store, by the way).

A Sept. 7 listing on City of Vancouver's real estate website seeks a tenant for the Salt Building. Read it here.

Can't understand why the city hasn't been peppered with offers.

Let the sales begin again

The Vancouver Olympic Village, formerly Millennium Water, has been rebranded The Village on False Creek. Condo king Bob Rennie kicked off a low-key sales campaign Feb. 17, 2010 -- three months after it was placed in receivership over developer Millennium's $740 million debt to Vancouver city hall.

Here is the new site map and price list. What do you think?

The Village | Price Range Handout

The Village - Site Map

The Gregor All-Star XI

Mayor Gregor Robertson plays soccer. He has selected 10 of the city's property development elite to join him on a team to rescue the Vancouver Olympic Village. Cost overruns, financing, scheduling... it's a nightmare and it has to be finished Nov. 1 for handover to VANOC so it can become the temporary home of 2,800 athletes and officials in February 2010. 

Here is the lineup, including positions as chosen by me.

Forwards: Ward McAllister (Ledingham McAllister Properties) and Maureen Enser (Urban Development Institute)

Midfielders: David Podmore (Concert Properties), David Negrin (Aquilini Investment Group), Andrew Grant (PCI Development), Rob Macdonald (Macdonald Development); 

Defenders: Eric Martin (Bosa Development), Al Poettcker (UBC Properties Trust), John Mackay (Strand Properties), Peeter Wesik (Wesgroup Income Properties).

Goalkeeper: Robertson (Vision Vancouver/Happy Planet Juice Co.)

It should be noted that Concert was one of the five companies that were shortlisted to build the village, but withdrew in 2005 to avoid conflict of interest because the company's chairman is also VANOC chairman Jack Poole. Podmore is a busy fella. As chairman of B.C. Pavilion Corp., he is overseeing the construction of the $883.2 million Vancouver Convention Centre and $365 million renovation of B.C. Place Stadium. Both are Olympic venues.