More cost overruns at Vancouver Olympic Village

Vancouver city council will debate a reportThursday detailing the need for almost $22 million innew funding to complete the city-backed portions of the Olympic Village.

The administrative report, which was completed May 25 andwill be presented to the standing committee on city services and budgets Thursday, outlines the additional funding needed to complete the Southeast False Creek development.

City council will be asked to approve $21,895,200 in new funding to complete the public portion of the development that will house athletes during the 2010Winter Games.

With the current budget increase, taxpayers willbe on the hook fora total of $45 million in cost overruns accumulated sincethe projectbegan in 2005, said Coun. Geoff Meggs.

"What stunned me when I read the report late yesterday was that the project office [overseeing the development]itself had gone over budget early in 2008," Meggs said.

"So, at a time when we were counting on the project office to manage the overruns in the Millennium [condominium] project and so many other areas, they themselves didn't have approval, as far as I can tell, for their own spending."

Higher budget requested

The project office is requesting aroughly 37 per centincrease in its operating budget: from $3,490,600 approved in May2005 to the $4,795,800 requested in the report. An increase of $1,305,200.

The affordable housing component of the development, 252 units in total, was originally budgeted to cost about$95 million and will now cost $110 million.

The report quotes, "escalating construction prices, change orders related to incomplete tender drawings and anticipated BC Housing financing costs."

An additional $5,520,000 will be requested to complete the civic centre, which includes a community centre, boating facility, daycare centre and restaurants. The civic centre was originally slated to cost $30.5 millionand the report estimates it will now cost just over $36 million.

Dave Cobb, senior vice-president for revenue, marketing and communications on the Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games (VANOC), said his concern is less about the cost and more that the project will be completed on time for the Games.

"I mean, obviously, we would have the same concern as any British Columbian would have, but in our role as the organizing committee, the critical issue for us is will we get the units in time to convert them for Olympic use before the athletes arrive," said Cobb.

The proposedfunding is in addition to the $100-million "bailout loan" council approvedin October 2008 for the privately fundedportion of the villagebeing built by the MillenniumDevelopment Corp. after the hedge funds financing the condominium project pulled out because of the economic downturn.