SUPPORTS ITEM 3
P&E COMMITTEE AGENDA
APRIL 10, 1997
ADMINISTRATIVE REPORT
Date: April 4, 1997
Dept. File: 03.26.97
C.C. File No.: 5304-1
TO: Standing Committee on Planning and Environment
FROM: Director of the Office of Cultural Affairs in consultation
with the Directors of Finance and Central Area Planning, and
the Manager of Real Estate
SUBJECT: DANCE FOUNDATION (VANCOUVER DANCE CENTRE) - Site Clarification
RECOMMENDATION
A. THAT Council withhold a City-owned site, Lots 1, 2, and 3 Block
123, DL 541, at the corner of Pacific and Granville Streets from
disposal or alternate use for a period of up to two years, and
subject to the Dance Foundation (Vancouver Dance Centre) fulfilling
the conditions outlined in the report approved by Council on March
28, 1996 to the satisfaction of the City Manager, and that Council
approve in principle a lease of the subject site to the Dance
Foundation and recommend to the Council of the day that this lease
be provided for a term of 60 years at a nominal rate ($1).
- or -
CONSIDERATION
B. THAT Council withhold a City-owned site, Lots 1, 2 , 3 and Lot 4,
Block 123, DL 541, at the corner of Pacific and Granville Streets
from disposal or alternate use for a period of up to two years, and
subject to the Dance Foundation (Vancouver Dance Centre) fulfilling
the conditions outlined in the report approved by Council on March
28, 1996 to the satisfaction of the City Manager, and that Council
approve in principle a lease of the subject site to the Dance
Foundation and recommend to the Council of the day that this lease
be provided for a term of 60 years at a nominal rate ($1).
CITY MANAGER S COMMENTS
The City Manager RECOMMENDS A, but provides B for Council s
CONSIDERATION.
COUNCIL POLICY
In December 1991 Council directed staff to assist the Dance Centre to
identify appropriate City properties as potential sites for the Dance
Centre facility.
PURPOSE
The purpose of this report is to report back as requested by Council to
clarify the boundaries of the proposed site for a dance centre facility
to be built by the Dance Foundation.
BACKGROUND
In the mid 1980's Vancouver s dance community organized itself around
the need for suitable rehearsal and production facilities. A
feasibility study and building programme analysis, undertaken with
support from the City of Vancouver, identified the need for a 37,100
sq.ft. shared-use facility. In 1991 Council directed staff to work with
Vancouver's professional dance community to identify a suitable site for
development as a dance centre facility.
In 1993, staff and representatives of the Dance Centre reviewed an
extensive range of options including City-owned sites and potential
amenity bonus opportunities. The Dance Centre identified a 10,000
sq.ft. site at the corner of Nelson and Mainland as their preferred site
and made a request to the City for a five-year option during which time
they proposed to secure the funds necessary for their project. The
site, however was, and still is owned by a third party, Larco Investment
Holdings Ltd. and the City s ability to make it available to the Dance
Centre was subject to a land swap.
On November 30, 1993, Council directed that, following the completion
of the land swap, the subject site be withheld from disposal or
alternate use for a period of five years during which time the Vancouver
Dance Centre was to meet a number of conditions including the completion
of a capital and endowment campaign to raise the funds necessary to
build and operate the facility. Notwithstanding repeated attempts over
the next 18 months by the City, Larco was unwilling to conclude the
agreement and the site therefore could not be made available for the
Dance Centre.
Having secured $3.6 million in funds from the Canada/British Columbia
Infrastructure Program in 1995, the Dance Centre requested the City to
consider alternate sites so that they could proceed with their project
within the Infrastructure time frame. Staff, working with Dance Centre
representatives reviewed a series of potential sites and the Dance
Centre identified the City-owned site at the corner of Granville Street
and Pacific Blvd. as the best available option for their future dance
centre. In March of 1996, Council directed that a site at the corner of
Granville Street and Pacific Blvd. be withheld from disposal or
alternate use for a period of five years during which time the Dance
Centre is to meet the same conditions prior to entering into a lease
with the City.
While the Dance Centre, now formally represented by the Dance Foundation
has not yet met these conditions, staff have been advised that they have
achieved considerable success with their capital campaign having raised
$2.5 million towards the $4.3 million private sector fund raising goal.
Once they confirm that they have raised the balance of the funds
necessary to construct and operate the facility without debt, and
satisfy the other conditions set out at the time of Council s decision,
staffwill report back to Council with terms of a lease.
DISCUSSION
In withholding the site for a period of five years, the City provided
the Dance Foundation with the opportunity to meet the challenges of
designing, funding, constructing and operating a dance centre. All
four lots were withheld to allow maximum flexibility for the Dance
Centre to fulfill their building program requirements. A site map is
attached to this report as Appendix A .
The Dance Foundation has completed a design for a dance centre facility
and submitted a rezoning application. The proposed design accommodates
the full building program of 33,446 sq.ft. within Lot 2 of the subject
site, with parking and access on the adjacent Lots 1 and 3.
The Dance Foundation has requested the City make available Lots 1, 2 , 3
and 4 with Lot 4 to be used in the short-term as open space and in the
future for unspecified future expansion. The Dance Foundation s letter
requesting Lot 4 is attached to this report as Appendix B .
Staff have reviewed the building program, design and adjacent uses and
recommended a lease of the area necessary to accommodate the building
program and parking - Lots 1, 2 and 3 only. Staff do not support a
lease of Lot 4 on the basis of need, cost and adjacent uses.
Need:
The search for a suitable site for the dance centre has been based on a
building program set by the applicant. The original (Larco) site
request was for a 10,000 sq.ft. site to accommodate a 37,000 sq.ft.
program. Their current rezoning application provides for the full
building program of 34,446 sq.ft. accommodated on Lot 2, a 22,500 sq.ft.
site.
To date, the Dance Foundation has not submitted any proposal, plan or
program requirements to support a future expansion and staff have
therefore had nothing on which to evaluate the need or viability of such
a proposal. Had such a request for future consideration been made, it
would have been evaluated in the context of unmet current needs within
the social service and cultural community.
Cost:
While it is desirable to provide for the future, the cost of securing
that possibility must be paid for now. When Council approved the site
request in March of 1996, it also directed staff to reserve $900,000
from the social service and cultural capital budget of the 1994-1996
Capital Plan to pay the Property Endowment Fund for the site. At the
time of that decision, the Director of Community Service noted that the
funds being made available for the Dance Centre in the 1994-1996 Capital
Plan had originally been allocated to several social service facilities
including child care facilities and the redevelopment of a neighbourhood
house. The projects are still in development and staff anticipate
funding requests.
The Manager of Real Estate has determined the market value of Lot 4, the
site proposed for future use, is $258,000 based on a 60-year pre-paid
lease. Given the cost to the City in providing Lot 4 as future
expansion space, staff believe that it is appropriate to review this
additional request from the Dance Foundation for future needs in the
context of the current budget and against the outstanding needs of other
social service and cultural funding requests.
Adjacent Development:
In the staff report considered by Council in March of 1996 detailing the
site issues, the Planning Department identified key issues which the
Dance Foundation would need to address for this site including a need to
reconcile with development proposals to the east and south. While
subject to a future rezoning, the adjacent development concept plans
locate non-market residential on and immediately adjacent to Lot 4 and
staff believe that public open space on Lot 4 is incompatible with this
proposed residential plan.
The Dance Foundation have not submitted designs for the proposed future
expansion and staff are unable to determine if the scope and nature of
the proposed future expansion would be appropriate or viable in the
context of the Beach Neighbourhood Area Plan.
CONCLUSION
Staff commend the Dance Foundation in meeting the design challenges of
this site, but in the context of competing current needs and very
limited resources, staff are unable to recommend the inclusion of Lot 4
for future expansion potential without any demonstrated need, source of
funds or resolution of adjacent site issues.
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