Reply #7: Cost overruns continue to plague Vancouver [View All]

[KittyWampus]

Cost overruns continue to plague Vancouver
The Globe and Mail
By Frances Bula and Rod Mickleburgh, The Globe and Mail Posted Monday, June 15, 2009 10:11 PM ET
http://www.ctvolympics.ca/about-vancouver/news/newsid=11860.html

Olympic-related construction bills continue to soar over budget for beleaguered Vancouver taxpayers, with some estimates putting the total added costs at close to $45-million. That's apart from the troubled Millennium Project to house Olympic athletes, which is over its original budget by more than $100-million and has had to have its financing taken over by the city.

Not even the city's own project office set up to oversee the Millennium development has proven immune from cost overruns.

Among millions of dollars in other extras to be approved this week, Vancouver City Council will be asked to cough up an additional $1.3-million to keep its Olympic village project office operating on the south shore of False Creek.

"It's quite unbelievable that the office which has apparently been in charge of managing that project has itself been out of money for a long time," said Councillor Geoff Meggs after a municipal manager report on the latest funding problems was released late yesterday.

The report, which deals only with projects on the site of the Olympic village, asks council for money to make up previously announced shortfalls of $15-million for 250 units of affordable housing, $5.5-million for added construction costs for the on-site civic centre, including an increase of $1.3-million in just the last four months, and the project office's budget boost from $3.5-million to $4.8-million.

As well, the report outlines a huge increase of more than 100 per cent in the price of restoring the heritage Salt Building at the centre of the Olympic village, from $6.5-million to $15-million.

Previous overruns at Olympic venues built by the city have totalled at least $14-million, sources indicated, yielding a rough estimate of $45-million in total over-budget construction costs. That is apart from the high-profile multi-million-dollar debacle engulfing the Millennium development.

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