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 Protesters dressed as Vancouver City manager Penny Ballem and marketing mogul Bob Rennie demonstrators in front of the Olympic Village sales office in Vancouver Sunday. (CARMINE MARINELLI, 24 HOURS) |
The Olympic Village has shaken its reputation as a ghost town and the number of recent condo sales will “surprise” people, condo marketer Bob Rennie told 24 hours Monday.
Rennie’s assertions came on the first anniversary of the ill-fated sales launch of the condos, which is now in voluntary receivership and mired in a lawsuit.
“The population figures of the Village will really excite people. People will be surprised,” Rennie said. “We’re months ahead of schedule on sales and (the situation) is definitely being remedied so quickly,” said Rennie, who wouldn’t release figures in advance of a receiver’s report to be issued Thursday.
In February, 230 suites with Rennie confident he could sell 100 of those within two months at a discounted price. However, in March 62 unit owners sued for refunds alleging shoddy workmanship.
While Rennie celebrated Sunday’s anniversary with news that sales had bounced back, protesters marked the event by staging a parody press conference in front of the sales office.
“We’re spending millions to sell off units originally planned to be social housing,” said Stan Kupferschmidt of the advocacy group VanAct! “Meanwhile, people . . . are dealing with bed bugs issues, rat infestations or cockroaches when these units are sitting completely empty.”
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Rennie, however, said that protests and lawsuits prolong the pain for taxpayers.
“Every time people protest or do something that hurts the Village, the consumer backs off and we see less sales and less revenue for the city,” Rennie said. “It’s difficult to be in surgery when someone is tugging at your scalpel.”
The 2010 Olympics Athletes’ Village has been steeped in controversy after poor sales resulted in receivership, a city bailout and a $740-million debt to city hall. Receiver Ernst and Young took over the Village in November, vowing to fix deficiencies.