Mayor Gregor Robertson is striking a volunteer committee of developers to rescue the Vancouver Olympic Village.
Robertson told Tuesday's city council meeting that he "reached out" and asked the city's development industry for expert advice on completing the $1.075 billion Southeast False Creek project.
The 10-member panel, chaired by Ledingham McAllister Properties' CEO Ward McAllister, includes Concert Properties' CEO David Podmore. Podmore is the volunteer chairman of B.C. Pavilion Corporation, the taxpayer-owned operator of B.C. Place Stadium and the Vancouver Convention Centre.
Concert was one of five companies that bid on the job to build the Olympic Village, but withdrew in October 2005 because of conflict of interest. Concert's chairman is Jack Poole, who also chairs the VANOC board of directors. Millennium Development was chosen in 2006. The cash-strapped Vancouver company's troubled Wall Street lender Fortress Credit Corporation stopped funding construction in October because of $125 million in overruns. Vancouver city hall has been the sole funder since mid-October and is seeking a $458 million loan to complete the athletes' village for the 2010 Winter Olympics by Nov. 1. Emergency borrowing powers were approved by the Legislature on Sunday.
A report recommending city council use Millennium's $29 million deposit to pay construction bills in mid-February and take over financing from Fortress was referred to Thursday's services and budget committee meeting.
"If we are going to meet our Olympic commitments and meet those deadlines, this may be the only way to ensure that can happen," said city finance director Ken Bayne.
