Updated: Sat Jan. 17 2009 12:44:03

ctvbc.ca

The nasty fight at Vancouver city hall over the financially troubled Olympic athletes village may have claimed another casualty with the resignation of deputy city manager Jody Andrews.

His resignation came just ahead of a special session of the B.C. legislature Saturday aimed at amending Vancouver's city charter so it can borrow more than $450 million to ensure completion of the $1-billion project.

Andrews, an 18-year city hall veteran in charge of the waterfront development, quit late Thursday but there are suggestions he was forced out.

His departure is the third "staffing change" at city hall in recent months and the second since a municipal election that reduced the ruling civic party to a single member of council, in large part concerns over the athletes village.

New Mayor Gregor Robertson fired Andrews' boss, city manager Judy Rogers late last year.

Prior to that, the city's chief financial officer, Estelle Lo, was forced out after raising concerns about the Olympic village's financial arrangements.

It's the kind of city hall soap opera Vancouver has not seen in decades, says CTV public affairs blogger Frances Bula.

"I've never really seen anything like this before," said Bula, who blogs about what goes on in the Art Deco building overlooking downtown Vancouver.

"This is unprecedented. In the 15 years that I've covered city hall to have this kind of rupture within city hall."

It's the latest twist in a drama that exploded during the municipal election campaign last fall and propelled Robertson, a former NDP MLA, and his left-leaning Vision civic party into power.

The governing right-of-centre Non-Partisan Association was left with only one of 10 seats after revelations council had secretly agreed to cover $100 million in construction costs when builder Millennium Developments ran into trouble with its U.S.-based creditor.

After taking power, Robertson discovered that in 2007 the previous administration agreed to a completion guarantee that put the city on the hook for the project's entire cost.

After the 2010 Games, the 1,100-unit athletes village will become a mix of market-priced condos, rentals and social housing.

Condo sales in Vancouver's once-sizzling real estate market were supposed to recoup that money with profit but pre-sales have stalled amid global financial uncertainty and Robertson now warns taxpayers of a loss.

Robertson, who was travelling in Ontario, was not available to comment.

Council member Geoff Meggs of the ruling Vision party said he was surprised to learn of Andrews' departure.

"He was a great contributor to the city and we wish him well but it was his decision," he said.

Andrews was primarily responsible for making sure Millennium complied with the city's design plan and had little to do with the finance issue.

Suzanne Anton, the only councillor from the formerly governing NPA to survive the November election, said she believes Andrews' was forced out, although his sterling reputation makes him a poor fall guy for the athletes village debacle.

Both council members expect the city will be able to handle the Olympic village's financial storm -- which will be easier once the province passes legislation this weekend to allow Vancouver to borrow the money to cover the costs.

Anton criticized Robertson for low-balling the project's future sales prospects instead of boosting its green, sustainable features.

"It's the most desirable real estate in North America. But he's not saying that. He's saying gloom and doom."

Meggs agreed it's a tremendous project but said Vancouver faces potentially the worst financial loss in its history.

"There's no reason to be upbeat about it," he said.

In a written statement, failed mayoral candidate and former NPA councilor Peter Ladner says no one could have predicted the factors that undermined the Olympic village project.

"The ultimate financial outcome is still unknown, and the project is still a development jewel. The bottom line on the project wont be known until the $875-million cost to complete is offset by sales of all the units."

With files from The Canadian Press and a report from CTV British Columbia

Comments are now closed for this story

Jack
"...and another one bites the dust, and another one falls, and another one falls, another one bites the dust!"

HD
Much too extravigant! The money would be better spent on the poor and not in the pockets of our US freinds.

kudo
Oh boy, looks like another Montreal Olympics. Calgary 88 was profitable bcuz of discipline spending, no risky land development project for profit. The Van gov't was greedy to approve condo development under the Olympic title.... now they burn themselves hard. I guess the opening ceremony will just be an announcement. No $ for it. haha

Harry
corrupt + sketchy + scheming + coy + shady + unethical = FAST-SINKING BC Liberal FERRY!

I never thought I'd see the fast-ferry scandal eclipsed. It has been DWARFED.

Corrupt people are sinking like the Queen of the North!

jenny
In Calgary 88, the village becomes the dorm in the University of Calgary. Less cost to build if it is not for commercial sales, right?

Vancouver was taking risk trying rip profit. well... why not invest in Lehman Brothers! Sure it will be a doom Olympic with blue, green grey colors.

Roger T
Perhaps, the Vancouver Olympics should just resign (drop out) completely since it's broke and now begging for money to complete the project. Nothing worst or embarassment for our country to beg for money to complete something that is suppose to be in the budgets and showcase to the world. But now, instead our country and showcase that we are going bankrupt like the US style.

A Guenther
The following are from CTV articles dated Oct6/08 to Nov7/08:

"credit crunch in the U.S could hit Millennium"
"project is being financed by Fortress Investment Group, a New York-based private equity company"
"even though Millennium is the developer, the city of Vancouver has made a pledge to the 2010 organizing committee"
"concerns about the ability of Fortress Investment Group to meet its obligations in relation to its Intrawest operations"
"Fortress is approaching potential and existing lenders in order to maintain the value of its investments in Intrawest"
"Intrawest's flagship assets are its ski operations in Whistler"
"Intrawest said the deal was reached after the company received unanimous support from its lender group"
"Intrawest is a unit of the Fortress Group LLC, which paid $1.8 billion for the resort firm and its 10 North American mountain resorts two years ago"
"As a vacation resort operatorm and developer of real estate at its resorts and at other locations across North America and in Europe"
"the Millennium Development Corp project"
"Millennium Development, a consortium of 17 firms"
"Under Millennium Development's contract with the city, the developer is supposed to be on the hook for any cost overruns"
"..of the Millennium project. The developers, Fortress Investment Group, agreed to pay $193 million for the land on which the village is being built"

Which brings up a few disturbing questions:
1. Vancouver will get Whistler ski ops if the $100 mil loan is defaulted?
2. who exactly was involved with that 1.8 billion dollar refinancing in Whistler?
3. Is Fortress still getting prime waterfront property?
4. Do we have complete dunderheads in our government?, and yes, that includes especially Campbell

A Koster - BC
aye Jenny
I'd forgotten that. Add to it the facts that the saddledome was good enough, convention centre was good enough, and how many other things were good enough.. an 'as is' Olympics that came off flawlessly.. and isn't that really what tourists want? Not to be gouged in high end shopping malls, but to see what this part of the world is really like?
But wait!.. if Campbell's precious tourists don't get their fill with the unfinished construction projects dotting Vancouver, then they can head over to the Eastide to see the sights like the Balmoral hotel... mmhhmm... yep... that's one breathtaking eyefull which doesn't take much of an imagination to think of the conditions inside.
Hmmmm... to hell with the Olympics.. put the money where our people need it ... to the residents of BC.

Marco
Andrews should have been terminated long ago for his lack "leadership" of the project and being the author of the report to council in which he states the Olympic Village project: •guaranteed, unconditional price of approximately $193,000,000 that does not ask the
City to assume any of the marketing or financing risk in the development;
• a project financing plan that is independent of pre-sales or market conditions;

M.E.
When the going gets tough the tough just up and resign. If he didn't have the intestinal fortitude to defend and run the project he should never have been put into the position. Did he think this "Olympic thing" was going to be a cake walk and no debt was going to be incurred? Did he actually believe that the taxpayers were not going to end up in this mess? What kind of extra pay and benefits did he receive for taking this job on? Sounds to me as if he was never qualified for the job from start to finish.

Don
Let the bloodletting begin! Of course the paid help (civil servants) get the push out the door and the politicos stand with their hands behind their backs whistling at the ceiling. Expect a few more senior civil service executions before this is over. By the way, keep an eye on the names of those being let go. They will resurface in senior positions before you know it.

yoshi
It made me wonder, how come it happens to BC lower mainland this often?

Convention center over budget, the village, fast ferry, sunken ferry, ferry collision, gondola collapse, etc...?

It is not that other part of Canada have no facilities or projects, but the cost overrun and failure are less likely in other parts of Canada.

Why? Why BC?

jenny
To A Koster - BC
Calgary 88
The village = dorm that provide students with low cost housing for many generations.
The Saddledome - The Flames need it anyway
The Olympic Park - tourist attraction - ski hill within City!
The Oval - speed skating training facility in U of C! Students gets to use it daily!
Olympic Plaza - skating rink in Winter in downtown!
C-Train that took tourists to saddledome, the oval - now has the highest ridership in North America

Van just don't do thing that benefit the public, but rip off money for a few rich ppl.

CGY is not as beautiful as Van, but quality of life is higher as everyone is benefit by good heart organizers.

Linda in Vancouver
These are luxury condos,to say the least.But it's nonsense to suggest we build a tent city or use the most expensive real estate in the country for low cost condos.If we did that,and even gave the homes away,low income earners couldn't even afford to maintain the places.
To Jenny.
Sea to Sky--needed anyway.
Convention centre also needed anyway.
Olympic oval-needed in Richmond as a community centre anyway.
The Village.--comes with social housing,will not be a write off,and is a needed development area.
Transit upgrades,also badly needed.
Please,don't let the truth get in the way of this witch hunt.
All of the projects being built will serve the people of Vancouver very well,for very many decades.Including the athletes village.To suggest otherwise is to assume this economic crisis will last forever.In which case,nothing we do in Canada can save any of our cities from lower standards of living.
This is the same kind of nonsense we hear whenever anyone build any thing.It's the BANANA principle in action.
As for Calgary being so great,I've lived there.It's OK,as are the people.But I left there by choice.I am staying here by choice.I think that speaks volumes.

Cristhian, Richmond
Well with all said and done and of course reported, I believe it's not incorrect to say that the city of Vancouver, and to that extent the province of British Columbia knew this was going to happen. They just needed to come up with a more rosy formula to sell the games to people so that it need not go to a referendum. If that would've happen some research would've gone into the 2010 decision and some of these so called "unforeseen" things would've come up.

Marc Coquitlam B.C.
I hate that Gregor Robertson always says he is concerned about the taxpayers. This the same MLA who resigned his seat in the legislator forcing B.C. taxpayers to foot the bill for a by-election so he could head for greener pastures as Vancouver mayor. It is time we get these politicians under contract. If they resign for any other reason then health problems, or a family sickness to deal with, they can pay for the by-election out of their own pocket. He does not care about B.C. taxpayers, why would I think his worship cares about Vancouver taxpayers?

Fastcat
Fastcats all over again.

BC likely has the highest corruption rate of any western state. We are being governed by a bunch of crooks, yet we just take it.

Munro - Brampton
The Olympics cost always goes way over the first estimate. I still say why not make 20 or so permanent sites around the world. Countries need to spend money on helping the citizens, poor and so on; not creating this circus for the rich, and advertisers. But people think Olympics and bit $ signs come up in their eyes.

Bruce
Robertson wanted the province to amend the cities charter so that the city could borrow an unlimited amount, it's a good thing that'll never happen.

Can't trust Vision.