ADMINISTRATIVE REPORT
Date: July 4, 1997
C.C. File No.: 4160
TO: Vancouver City Council
FROM: General Manager of Parks and Recreation and General Manager of
Community Services
SUBJECT: Coal Harbour Community Centre - Funding Recommendations
RECOMMENDATION
A. THAT Council allocate $4,640,000 from the Community Amenity
Contributions collected in the "Triangle West" area to fund
the City's share of the capital cost of the Coal Harbour
Community Centre.
B. THAT Council allocate $1,080,000 from the Community Amenity
Contributions collected in the Triangle West area, as a loan
to be recovered from the budget for the non-market housing
when it proceeds, to fund the underground parking for the
future 40 units of non-market housing which will be built on
the adjacent site.
CITY MANAGER'S COMMENTS
The City Manager RECOMMENDS approval of A and B.
COUNCIL POLICY
There is no specific Council resolution identifying the funding source
for the project. However the cost sharing principle is contained in the
May 1995 rezoning report for Coal Harbour Sub Area 1-B, and references
are made in various CAC reports on Triangle West developments, such as
"... it is recommended that the funds be assigned for park and/or social
amenity use within Triangle West or for facilities nearby that will
serve the people in this area". (March 1992)
PURPOSE
The purpose of this report is to identify and allocate funding for the
City's share of the development costs of the Coal Harbour Community
Centre and related parking.
BACKGROUND
As outlined in the May 2, 1995 rezoning documentation, an approximate
1,800 square metre community centre is to be built on the site between
Broughton and Jervis Streets on the seawall. This size is based on the
projected new population for Coal Harbour, the Bayshore project and the
Triangle West area. Hence the project is to be cost-shared among
Marathon Realty as the site developer, the Bayshore development, and the
City. This sharing was respectively referred to as 40%/20%/40% in the
1995 report.
The Bayshore rezoning report of 1991 set out the figure of $771,300 plus
inflation ($863,000, 1997 dollars) for their share. This estimate was
calculated on the basis of both the parkade and building construction
costs. This figure did not include consultant, furniture or
miscellaneous costs and did not anticipate the poor soil conditions
which nearly doubled the cost of the parking. Therefore Bayshore s
share will amount to about 12% while the City's will be 48%.
Council approved a change in the project parking provisions as outlined
in the enclosed report titled Marathon Coal Harbour - Phase 1B dated
June 17, 1996. As a result Marathon not only pays 40% of the community
centre cost but also 40% of the total approved parking of 110 stalls.
It is important to note that the risk of any future increases to this
cost will be shared by the City (60%) and Marathon (40%).
DISCUSSION
The Community Centre is one component of a project that will also
include a park, 806 square metres of daycare space, the Coal Harbour
School, 40 units of family social housing, and public parking. The
project is being developed in two phases because there is no current
funding for the school and the social housing. The first phase will
contain the community centre located on the waterfront walkway, with the
public parking garage behind and the park over top of both. The second
will consist of an eight storey building with the school on the first
two floors, the daycare on the third, and the social housing on the top
five storeys. The preliminary design for the project covers both phases
and has received preliminary development permit approval.
The second phase of the project will proceed when funding for the school
is available. Funding for the daycare has been provided by Marathon,
and funding for the social housing will be sought through BC Housing's
proposal call process once the school funding is approved. The project
is complex and expensive because of the mix of uses and the small size
of the site. A mixed use building, however, is the only way that these
public amenities can be provided in this high density neighbourhood.
The construction cost of the project is in part off-set by the City
receiving the site for free. The preliminary design for the project has
been costed by quantity surveyors and the cost of the project can be
covered by the budgets available.
1. Design:
While the parking for the housing can be built separately from the
parking for the community centre and school, there is a significant
cost efficiency in enlarging the parking for the community centre
to include the housing parking, rather than build it underneath the
school. Staff recommend that the 40 stalls for the social housing
be built as part of the phase one garage, bringing the total number
of stalls to 150. These stalls cost $26,900 each for a total of
$1,080,000 for the 40 social housing units. Funding for these
stalls would be paid out of the Community Amenity Contributions
raised from the Triangle West rezonings to date. Some of these
funds were to be spent on replacement housing for the rental units
that may be lost in the area. While some rental units in Triangle
West have been demolished recently, demolition of the remainder is
not expected in the near future. Hence rental replacement funds
are not needed now in Triangle West and could be available as a
loan to pay for the 40 stalls for the social housing in this
project. They would be paid back from the social housing project
budget when funding is received through provincial housing
programs. The repayment of this loan to the CAC fund is affected
by both the provincial program and the school construction. As the
housing and daycare are on top of the school, the latter must be
built prior to the housing. The Province will only provide the
construction funding after the potential new pupils have
materialized. Project build out could take a decade and there are
no guarantees that enough children will move into the area to
trigger school development. The school is designed for 375
students. However, the City will own this site and, if after this
time there is no school demand apparent, the City may choose to
develop the site in a different fashion. The 40 stalls could be
assigned to the new development. Currently, $7.4 million is in the
Triangle West CAC account. If the additional parking, as well as
the community centre, are funded from this account, $1.7 million
will remain for other projects. Also, the net revenue from the 40
parking stalls (used in the interim as public parking) will be
credited back to the CAC fund until the phase two project is built.
The original concept contemplated an after school care/family place
activity room of approximately 180 square metres adjoining the
community centre space. This function has now been consolidated
with the daycare facilities above the school. Staff wish to retain
this space as valuable for additional community centre programming.
Space utilization at the West End Community Centre is among the
highest in the community centre system. Space is at a premium and
expansion possibilities are few at the Denman location. Given that
the Coal Harbour centre will in all likelihood be programmed in
conjunction with the West End Community Centre, the potential extra
multi purpose space is very desirable. As this will be a poured in
place concrete structure, it would be difficult and costly to
develop additional space in the future. The cost of this
additional space would be outside the cost sharing agreement with
Marathon and hence would also have to be borne by the City. In
addition there is more circulation space required thereby bringing
the total floor space to 350 square metres.
2. Development Costs:
The following is a breakdown of the estimated costs to complete the
first phase of the project, including the community centre, parking
structure and the park located above these two uses. The cost of
the park is entirely paid for by the developer, Marathon.
Total City Marathon
Parkade - 110 spaces $2,960,000 $1,776,000 $1,184,000
Community Centre-1,800 sm 3,376,000 2,025,500 1,350,500
Construction Contingency 400,000 240,000 160,000
Utilities/Hookup Charges 150,000 90,000 60,000
Furnishings 360,000 216,000 144,000
Consultants/Testing 730,000 438,000 292,000
Permits 100,000 60,000 40,000
Park Board Staff Time 70,000 70,000
Activity Room and
Circulation 350 sq m 587,500 587,500
Sub-Totals 8,733,500 5,503,000 3,230,500
Bayshore Contribution - 863,000
City's share-community centre 4,640,000
Parkade - 40 spaces for
future housing 1,080,000 1,080,000
Totals 9,813,500 5,720,000 3,230,500
In summary, the City share of the project costs is roughly
$5,503,000 for the community centre and related parking, less
approximately $863,000 contribution from the Bayshore
(inflation adjusted), leaving $4,640,000. In addition, $1,080,000
is required from the City for the advance funding of the 40 parking
spaces for the non-market housing, bringing the total City cost to
$5,720,000.
3. Timing:
The developer is estimating that the market housing trigger for the
community centre in areas 1-B or 3 could come into effect in
January 2000. As a result, they wish to push forward at this time
with detailed design to procure a building permit by roughly year
end.
Design work on the south/west portion of the site (school, daycare,
housing) will not proceed beyond the existing preliminary
development permit stage until the Ministry of Education is
prepared to fund the school.
4. Funding:
Funding for the City's portion of the development is being
requested from the Community Amenity Contribution collections from
the Triangle West area. Currently, there is approximately
$7,400,000 in this account. Staff are in the process of finalizing
a report recommending the establishment of a Development Cost Levy
District to provide funding for required public amenities and
replacement housing for Triangle West. This would replace CAC
contributions in the future. The Community Amenity Contribution
funds are separate from DCL funds and can be applied to amenities
which may not be DCL fundable, for instance, the Coal Harbour
Community Centre. A future report from the Planning Department
will provide various funding options for a variety of required
public amenities as part of a detailed Public Benefits Strategy for
the downtown.
At this stage, we require approximately $498,000 to cover the
City s share of consulting contracts and permits to have a
completed tender package in hand by early 1998.
5. Estimated Operating Costs:
The projected operating costs are based on the current operating
costs of similar size community centres in the system, i.e. Douglas
Park and False Creek. This envisages an annual cost of
approximately $340,000 for the new facility.
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