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Entries Tagged as 'Uncategorized'

The latest on Fortress, Millennium and the Olympic village

October 23rd, 2008 · 2 Comments

Not a lot to report except that, like everyone else, the city is watching the news closely to see what happens with Fortress, the lender that is financing Millennium Developments for its construction of the Olympic athletes village. Here’s my story in Thursday’s Globe.

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More bad news re Fortress

October 19th, 2008 · Comments Off on More bad news re Fortress

This story about Fortress, the US company that has provided the construction loan for Vancouver’s Olympic village developers, is making the rounds at a furious pace in financial circles.

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Peter Ladner: Strong on crime-fighting or not?

October 19th, 2008 · 6 Comments

When Peter Ladner and the Non-Partisan Association launched the party platform last week, they also kicked off a round of commentary about Ladner’s supposed new emphasis on dealing with crime and boosting police and other security measures. Some saw it as a surprise. I didn’t. I said in a story I wrote in the first […]

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One tower that’s not in any financial trouble at all

October 17th, 2008 · 1 Comment

There’s a lot of hysteria out in Developer World, with all the rumours flying about whose projects are in trouble and whose aren’t. Adding to the problems, people are transferring the details of one project to another as they pass rumours around. As a result, the news that the Infinity Towers project in Surrey has […]

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Gruelling meeting tonight a reminder of what council all about

October 17th, 2008 · Comments Off on Gruelling meeting tonight a reminder of what council all about

Those newcomers vying for a seat on Vancouver city council might want to check into the meeting that’s still going on here at 9:30 at night, to see if this is really what they want to sign up for. Councillors are grappling with what sounds like an unresolvable dilemma of trying to find new artist […]

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The campaign begins: Developers in disarray, Vision peppy, Peter sick

October 16th, 2008 · 1 Comment

Oh yes, another election. Don’t forget. The billboards are starting to go up. (There’s one a half block from my house with Peter Ladner and his smiling team saying something about creating a green and affordable city.) The Visionistas are happily out delivering lawn signs. Yes, it’s time for the main battle. Well, almost, as […]

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Peter Ladner the most house-rich mayoral candidate

October 14th, 2008 · 6 Comments

This election campaign in Vancouver is a treasure trove for research junkies, since the candidates’ full financial disclosures are listed online — sorry to all of you whose privacy feels violated. (Go to the section where the election information is kept and there’s a link in the top right to their nomination and financial-disclosure forms.) […]

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We must all give thanks …

October 14th, 2008 · 1 Comment

… that most of us got to have a couple of days without having to hear any more news that the world is coming to an end, in a financial sense. I still find it kind of strange to be bombarded with talk shows and headlines saying this bank or that country has failed and […]

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London Olympic athletes’ village having its own meltdown

October 10th, 2008 · 2 Comments

Hey, we’re not the only ones. While people here are wringing their hands over Vancouver’s problems with the Olympic village construction (developer Millennium Developments is facing significant cost overruns and the city, which is legally required to make sure the village is ready on time, is facing some pressure to provide a guarantee for the […]

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The crash doesn’t mean housing is suddenly affordable

October 10th, 2008 · 2 Comments

For many people, the news that house and condo prices are dropping and that developers are even offering things like mortgage payments for a year, discounted mortgage rates or free upgrades on finishes is great. But the reality is that, even though prices are softening, they still haven’t — and won’t — drop down to […]

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