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Concord blames park reconfiguration on city plaza plan
Continued from page 5 The approval translates to the developer being given the green light, subject to rezoning, to build at least six highrises—three more, if the reconfiguration of the park is accepted. Those two properties, on the east side of B.C. Place and GM Place, are divided into five lots and range in value from $1.7 million to $19.5 million, according to this year’s assessment. Combined, the properties are 7.8 acres and have an assessed value of $62.7 million. Taxes are estimated to be close to $1 million. The 5.7-acre chunk of property on the east side of B.C. Place is what the city’s planning director Brent Toderian refers to as “the trigger” in getting the neighbouring park site built. That property, which is being used this Sunday for the Vancouver marathon, also contains contaminated soils. And as per an agreement with the city and Concord, the park cannot be built until that property is developed. The province agreed to pay for soil remediation, which could mean moving soil off site or treating it and using it as part of the park’s development. The province has a small soil treatment facility under the viaducts. “There’s been the suggestion that Concord or the city haven’t done what they’re supposed to have done,” said Toderian. “That’s not accurate because the original deal had always been that certain development steps would kick in the requirement to build the park. And those certain development steps haven’t happened yet.” Those steps will occur after the city consults the public in a series of forums on the possible reconfiguration of the park site. Toderian wouldn’t provide a timeframe for the public dialogue. “I wouldn’t guess how long it would take but I would say that a key message is to give it enough time for us to have a very good engagement and consultation from the public,” he said. “There’s very strong feelings about the park and so we don’t want to shortchange that process.” The debate about reconfiguring the park comes as planning staff studies whether to demolish the Georgia and Dunsmuir viaducts—a request introduced in a motion to council from Vision Vancouver Coun. Geoff Meggs, who describes the structures as “an eyesore.” Such a move could free up more space for Concord to develop but Toderian noted the developer’s proposal to reconfigure the park doesn’t consider the removal of the viaducts. Besides, he said, a decision on reconfiguring the park will likely be made before determining the future of the viaducts. He added that “you don’t necessarily need to come to a conclusion on both to have a conclusion on one.” To the question of property tax Concord pays on the park site, it is not an arbitrary number, according to Ken Bayne, the city’s general manager of business planning services. As Bayne explained it, the city sets the taxes based on the assessed value determined by the assessment office. He agreed the taxes on the park site
Concord wants the park site reconfigured to allow three new highrises (left side of model) near the Georgia viaduct. photo Dan Toulgoet “seem low” but not for the value. “We don’t say, ‘Well look there’s a market value here and it’s too high or too low and so we’re going to charge you something different.’ We don’t have the authority to do that.” But the city has the right to launch a third party appeal with the assessment office, if it believes the assessed value is too low. It hasn’t in the case of the park site. “The city hasn’t appealed and I don’t know the reason,” Bayne said. “We haven’t had specific conversations about those values and about whether they’re appropriate or not.” But Bayne pointed out focusing on one piece of property instead of all of Concord’s properties in Northeast False Creek doesn’t give proper context to what the developer pays in tax. “While one piece of property may very well appear to have a low value, and the developer is making money off it, they may be paying considerably more taxes on an adjacent piece of property that they’re not doing anything with.”
S
o what does Concord think about all this? The Courier met with Matthew Meehan, senior vice-president of planning for Concord, at the company’s sales centre, which is temporarily located on the park site. First, the company’s explanation on the assessed value of the land: “There’s no buildings [allowed to be built] on it, so it really doesn’t have any value,” Meehan said. “It may not be the answer people are looking for, but this is the anomaly you have with master plan communities. People kind of look at one piece and go, ‘What’s that all about?’ But you’ve got to look at the whole plan.” Since it bought the former Expo lands in 1988, Concord has paid millions of dollars in taxes, said Meehan, noting some of that tax money was for 41 acres of property that was turned into parks and given to the city. They include David Lam, George Wainborn
and Coopers parks. A little known fact about Concord’s development of the lands is that its first project was the construction of Andy Livingstone Park on Keefer Street, a few blocks north of the park site in question. “That was a commitment to help out the Downtown Eastside,” said Meehan of Andy Livingstone, which is largely a turf sports field. “That park was built before one tower was erected.” Concord then shifted to building highrises in Yaletown and built enough towers to accommodate 7,900 residences. As Northeast False Creek is built out, that number is expected to jump to 10,000 residences. So why reconfigure the park site? Meehan’s explanation is the city wants to build a large plaza and pier on the waterfront near the Plaza of Nations, which would effectively cut through Concord’s property and eliminate its ability to build three highrises on the land. Knowing that, Concord hired architect Gregory Henriquez to consider a reconfiguration of the park that would allow for the three highrises lost under the city’s plaza plan to be moved elsewhere. Hence, Concord’s desire to build three highrises that back up against the Georgia viaduct and reshape the park so it is longer and narrower, still with roughly the same square footage. “There’s some issues with it, but overall we think it has a lot of merit,” said Meehan, noting the reconfigured design could include a soccer field, a feature not considered in the current shape of the park. Either way, the park is estimated to cost up to $20 million to build. When built, the park is expected to include a reconstructed seawall, café, picnic area, a water play feature, washrooms, storage for dragon boats and access to a non-motorized boat dock. As Meehan tells it, the area residents could have had a park in the neighbourhood 20 years ago. Continued on page 7