I have been following the redevelopment of the former Little Mountain public housing project since 2007 when the provincial government first announced the property would be for sale. I subsequently advised one of Vancouver's major developers who submitted a bid on the property. However, the Holborn Group, a Malaysian-based developer with limited Vancouver experience, blew the other bidders out of the water with their excessive bid. While the bid amount wasn't made public at the time, we subsequently learned it was $334 million. However, only 10% was paid as a downpayment. Moreover, the provincial government gave Holborn $211 million in interest free loans for 18 years.
https://gellersworldtravel.blogspot.com/2011/03/so-whats-happening-at-little-mountain.html
It concluded with the following: "
A year later, I spoke with a Vancouver Sun reporter who wondered why there was so little progress with the development. After his story appeared, the developer complained to the Urban Development Institute about my criticism of them. https://vancouversun.com/news/metro/developers-inexperience-may-be-behind-little-mountain-delays
https://news.gov.bc.ca/releases/2021AG0134-001778
I subsequently spoke to others knowledgeable about the situation who assured me that while they too were extremely disturbed by Holborn's request, they had concluded that it was the best solution to ensure the social housing units are built and the province receives some or all the outstanding land payment.
(A rezoned property is excepted from the EHT, where either:
- a complete development permit application has been submitted
for at least one parcel of residential property which is part of the
phased development and is under review by the City in the
vacancy reference period; or
- a development permit has been issued by the City for at least one
parcel of residential property which is part of the phased
development and work under the development permit is, in the
opinion of the General Manager of Development, Buildings and
Licensing or the General Manager’s delegates, being diligently
pursued and without unnecessary delay
Hopefully the city will again review wThether a DP has been diligently pursued and without further delay. If it is determined they are liable to pay the tax, I estimate it to be $9.9 million for 2023.
And hopefully Holborn will now be able to borrow the private funds it claims it needs to install infrastructure so that both the balance of the social and market housing can be built.
But if I might be allowed another prediction, before this project is completed, Holborn will be back to Council asking for greater height and density, without which they won't be able to complete the project. Let's again hope I'm wrong.
One final thought
Throughout this discussion, many have suggested that governments must never sell land to private developers. And all the other public housing projects should only be redeveloped by non-profits with only social housing. I disagree.
While I agree that long term leases, such as those used at UBC and SFU's University may offer more control than a land sale, I hope that other public housing projects can be regenerated with a mix of non-market and market rental and ownership housing. One of my last acts at CMHC, where I worked for 10 years, was to contribute to a paper on "The Regeneration of Older Public Housing Projects" While Little Mountain has been a disaster, there are some very successful examples of what should be done, including Regent Park in Toronto. So let's not throw the baby out with the bathwater.
