40-year wait to develop Vancouver’s Expo lands ‘unacceptable’: Housing Minister

Nearly 40 years after Expo 86, why hasn’t the prime waterfront real estate along Northeast False Creek been developed?

It’s a question B.C. Housing Minister Ravi Kahlon asked Friday, as he suggested it was “unacceptable” the site remained undeveloped decades after the end of the fair.

“When people in the community are struggling for housing and they see a parcel of land that is quite prominent sold to a private interest almost 40 years ago and still no action, I think people have the right to be concerned,” Kahlon told Global News.

“It’s become an example of actually how we can’t get housing built.”

1:59 False Creek development plan includes housing, retail, viaduct removal

Concord Pacific acquired the land from the province after the 1986 world’s fair, but the property has sat empty for decades.

The land is currently home to a pair of parking lots between the waterfront and the viaducts, which have occasionally played host to events like Cirque du Soleil.

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Earlier this month, Concord revealed a proposal to build 12 towers with 5,000 homes at the site.

Concord’s plan for the area, dubbed “Concord Landing,” involves tying Georgia Street directly into Pacific Boulevard as a primary thoroughfare in the area, replacing the viaducts.

It also includes a new 14-acre waterfront park.

But that project hinges on the removal of the Georgia and Dunsmuir viaducts. The city approved their removal 10 years ago — but no formal plan has ever been advanced, and their removal remains unfunded.

0:42 Deal could finally allow development of northeast False Creek

“Historically, we have not been able to develop the last 15 per cent of the Expo Lands, as it was tied up by the 2010 Olympics, the Viaduct study, and the upcoming 2026, FIFA World Cup,” Concord Pacific senior-vice president of planning Matt Meehan told Global News in a statement.

“We have delivered over 10,000 homes on the Expo Lands and we currently have about 10,000 homes under construction; primarily in the Lower Mainland. We are anxious to develop the last 15 per cent of the Expo site. We welcome any assistance from the Province to help move the project forward.”

Kahlon said the province was frustrated enough with the pace of development that was prepared to review the original agreements in the 1988 land deal between the province, city and Concord, and wasn’t ruling out litigation.

He said he wants all parties at the table to agree to a plan that could see work begin by the end of the year.

“All the pieces that are necessary are there, that is what is frustrating about this,” he said.

“BC Housing has come to the table with affordable housing options as well as a part of the plan.”

4:49 Debating the fate of the Georgia and Dunsmuir viaducts

The province, however, appears unwilling to contribute to the cost of removing the viaducts. Concord says it will contribute $110 million to the demolition, while another developer will also contribute $100 million.

The estimated cost to remove the viaducts was $438 million in 2018, before the recent bout of inflation that has seen budgets for major public works balloon dramatically.

The City of Vancouver did not offer a direct response to questions about whether the taxpayer will be left to cover the rest.