The never ending Olympic Village debacle

Ever since the Olympics were over, it seems every week there is another piece of bad news about the Olympic Village. Its sad that such an amazing project has had a hard time selling. What's frustrating is that had the real estate market remained as hot as it was 2 years ago, no one would even be thinking about the place, except to comment on how well the city made out on the deal. Unfortunately, the units are simply too expensive for the average person to even consider buying there.

I think there is one other main factor in why the place isn't selling out, and that's the location. Although the village is close to downtown, it is surrounded by nothing. There is a lot of development already happening and lots more to come, but why was the village stuck dead in the middle of a vast, empty wasteland? It's not beside either of the Skytrain stations close to it (Main Street and Olympic Village) and the only bus line runs on 2nd Ave, at least a block away. Had it been located next to Cambie Street, in addition to the adjacent Skytrain station, it also would have benefit from all the great retail that already exists on Cambie Rise. Instead, Urban Fare and London Drugs keep pushing back their opening dates because there are no customers. It's frustrating that such a great project is located where it is.

Fortunately, even if the city does end up losing money on the project (which I highly doubt, even with the whole mess that's gone on), we have to look at the bigger picture. The city will be reaping significant property taxes from the project over the decades to come. In addition, the city still owns the vacant lands to the east and west of the site, on which they will no doubt make money having learned from the experience to date. The Olympic Village has also been a huge draw for private developers, and there are now several buildings built, under-construction or in the planning phase around the entire site. In the end, with those additional property taxes coming in, the city stands to make a huge gain over the long term. We just need to get the remaining units sold and get past this mess.

Redevelopment of Marpole Safeway

Anyone who's driven from downtown to the airport knows this site at Granville and 70th...

I've been hearing about this project for a while and finally had a chance to go find the rezoning application. Safeway seems to be (finally!) redeveloping many of their urban sites, getting rid of those sprawling parking lots and densifying significantly. It's a smart move - because in the end they gain several hundred customers right overhead, and likely make a killing on the land they sell.

Anyways, go check it out here:
http://vancouver.ca/commsvcs/planning/rezoning/applications/8495granville/index.htm

The Canada Line turns 1!

This past week the Canada Line celebrated its first birthday. I'm sure many remember the ridiculously long waits on that first day to ride the new trains for free. A few months later the lines were back for the Olympics, and the Buzzer Blog has some great pics...I can't believe how long the lines were!

The Buzzer Blog: Canada Line and the Olympics

Cruise ship or floating sewer?

I can't believe it's been nearly 4 months since I posted...where has the time gone!?

Anyways, came across this article on cruise ships...I've always been very skeptical of cruises as a method of travel. With good reason, by the looks of it.

Green Cruising?
http://invw.org/green_cruising