Vancouver taxpayers could be on the hook for as much as $875 million to complete the Olympic Athletes Village for the 2010 Winter Olympic Games, city officials said Friday. The city is now the underwriter of the $1-billion project, developed by Millennium Development Corp., officials said. Millennium's owner, New York-based hedge fund Fortress Investment Group, has refused to pay out on the $750-million construction loan since last September. The city has been forking out money to keep construction going from a $100-million loan guarantee it approved in October. City officials held a special briefing Friday afternoon to reveal the latest financial situation on the Olympic Village project.
The $100 million will run out this month and city councillors have not decided whether they will advance any further money to the project while the city continues negotiating to have Fortress reopen the loan. Construction of the project at the Southeast False Creek development site will be halted in mid-February if the city cannot come up any new money, officials said.
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