By Richard Rolke - Vernon Morning Star Published: December 12, 2012 1:00 AM
A costly plan to make a downtown Vernon property attractive to developers has been abandoned. Vernon council has supported a staff recommendation to
not relocate utility lines underground at the city-owned Coldstream
Hotel site on 31st Avenue. “We don’t have the money,” said Coun. Brian Quiring of council’s goal to tighten expenditures. It was projected that the project could cost the city $570,000. “It’s not a priority. If a developer purchases the
land, they can do that (remove power poles) and gain more usable square
footage,” said Quiring. In September, council endorsed a staff proposal to
apply to B.C. Hydro for funding to move overhead utility lines
underground. The goal was to prepare the property for an eventual sale
to developers. “The removal of the works changes the site development
potential and options for multiple development,” stated a report at the
time. However, staff advice to council has now changed. “Administration and staff have been working through the
initial 2013/2014 budget. Through this process, the real estate manager
and the manager of engineering development have concluded that this
requested upgrade to the city property is not advisable given the
current spending limitations and core services review,” said Brent
Bandy, real estate manager, in a memo to council Monday. The city purchased the Coldstream Hotel site in 2004 and the plans at that time called for development of a cultural complex.
-------
See also Sept 2012 Post http://vernonblog.blogspot.ca/2012/09/council-to-debate-costly-project.html
No comments:
Post a Comment