WIDC Enters Next Phase
Prince George, B.C.- The Wood Innovation and Deisgn Centre project is moving forward, with the selection of three proponents to a short list of those who are to submit their proposals to design and build this multi storey wood building at the corner of 5th and George Street in downtown Prince George.
( at right, Minister Bell and Mayor Shari Green make the announcement on the steps of Prince George City Hall – photo- 250 News)
Making the cut, from the 7 who made a submission during the request for qualifications phase are:
* Maple Reinders/Cree
* WIC Design + Build
* PCL Westcoast Constructors 1057 Inc.
The three will now be invited to submit their design for the project. Minister of Jobs, Tourism and Skills Development, Pat Bell, says the three are also being encouraged to include members of teams that were not selected for this phase to be part of their submission. Bell says that encouragement comes as some of those who didn’t make it to the final three, had proposed some private investment to develop the project.
The Province is putting in $25 million for the construction of the building and a further $7 million for certain elements to meet the needs of it’s projected use. That is a far cry from the $75 million that has been the development cost bandied about since the project was first announced. Bell says he never talked about a $75 million dollar price tag, and that initially it was hoped the Federal Government would come to the table with some funding, but that didn’t happen. He adds, the project has always been presented as a public private partnership, and the door is still open for private investment in this project. So the actual total investment in this project cannot yet be determined as private investors could still come forward.
The building will house some retail on the ground floor, research and academic programs and office space for industry and provincial economic development.
Construction is expected to start in February of 2013 and be complete by the fall of 2014.
Comments
This one has WIC wrote all over it!
Maybe Reinders should get it. They have the “The Gold Seal” ;)
Unbelievable, here they are going ahead with this white elephant and they don’t have all the parties – no public private partners as first planned. SHEESH
Will be interesting what we get for 32 million. Can’t see how they can make it a 7 storey for that price.
Why would private investors come forward now when they have little say in the building or contractor?
Is it possible to pile Atco trailers 10 high:)?
Is it possible to pile Atco trailers 10 high:)?
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
This is a possability. The polce station looks like an ivory tower so maybe this building will look like a poloice statioN. So they cou;d pile Atco trailers
After all this building is of an inovative design so they tell us.
Guess they didnt read Miesner’s earlier editorial on this site. It appears it a comon malignancy in our politicians the wasting of taxpayers dollars.
Cheers
Sparrow…. don’t ruin the fun. This is a hoot. George St. could become a legacy of past governments. The end of the NDP reign got us a big beautiful courthouse and now Pat bell has $32 million to spend on his legacy project. Apparently he is begging others to make it bigger and better. The only parameters for this project is that it is upright before the Canada Winter Games. Might make a nice two week home for
CBC or TSN.
And don’t try to sell my gal any clothes from JJ Springer after looking at that photo.
While I am no supporter of the Mayor, I do think the comments about her weight are uncalled for.
I wonder if there will be a reverse petition on the WIDC? Or any way for it to be stopped.
“The Province is putting in $25 million for the construction of the building and a further $7 million for certain elements to meet the needs of itâs projected use. That is a far cry from the $75 million that has been the development cost bandied about since the project was first announced.”
32 million is a lot of money! Let’s see:
>for 3.2 million I can build 10 residences costing each 320k…
>for 32 million I can build 100 residences costing 320k each…
Three blocks of new houses on both sides of the street!
All this money expended on just one single building on George Street! And the lot is already paid for!
That’s a lot of money so do some people actually think that the WIDC center should cost more (!!!) and if it doesn’t that somehow it has been cheapened down a bit?
Why is it that if it is government money (taxpayers’ money) which is being shelled out that everything seems to assume some otherwordly dimension of value for money received perspective?
It is already too expensive – why should it cost even more???
Stay classy Prince George.
Prince George :
You didn’t even mention that you and I will also be paying the heating ,electricity, maintenance, security, janitorial etc….etc…. I guess our only hope is that some people might receive an education in this facility. And that Starbucks doesn’t mind opening stores across the street from itself.
We have a community energy system that has gone sideways. There is no way we will get the benefits that the City projected when this project was started.
We have a police station (Taj Mahal) which will cost us $40 Million plus $30 million in interest charges over 20 years.
We have long term debt of over $110 Million dollars. Our debt servicing charges will exceed $17 Million per year by 2015.
We are being taxed for and are spending in excess of $15 Million on the Winter Games,
We have the Boundry Road cut off which will cost approx $20 Million in tax dollars.
We are relocating the Tennis Courts and updating the Golf Course Clubhouse which will cost us in excess of $1 Million dollars, so that some developer can get his hands on the property the Tennis Court presently sits on.
We are going to tear down the Playhouse Theatre and sell the property and use some of the money for the new performing arts centre.
We have a huge infrastructure debt that will eventually put us in the poorhouse, and guess what???
Pat Bell, and the Mayor announce the construction of a Wood Innovation Building, that will cost in excess of $32 Million dollars, of which at least $3 Million will come from the City, and most of the rest from Provincial taxes.
Who asked for this building??? Certainly not the people of Prince George. In fact most of them dont even know what the hell a Wood Innovation Building is, or what it would do.
This building is nothing more that Pat Bell’s pipe dream, and a thinly disquised attempt to buy votes. Problem is no one wants it, and in fact it will be viewed as a complete waste of money at a time when the City is insolvent.
Are we really going to sit on our hands and allow this total disregard for tax dollars to take place??????
I certainly hope not.
Non of you have any class! speaking about the Mayors weight. Don’t lower yourselves to Brian Skakuns standards!
JohnnyB:”Stay classy PrinceGeorge.”
Simple mathematics, JB! 32 million is a lot of cake! Too bad the truth can be disturbing, to some.
PG, I know reading comprehension isn’t your strong suit, but my comment was directed towards the tasteless and inappropriate comments directed at our mayor. Thankfully someone saw them and they were removed.
I feel no need to point out any weaknesses that I might think you suffer from! That makes me somewhat classier than you.
However, one thing you have not done (as usual) is to address facts related to the gist of the thread – the cost of the taxpayer founded WIDC! The calculation of facts I posted is in respect to how much money 32 million bucks REALLY is! Perhaps it is too small a number to raise more than two or three eyebrows?
Have YOU comprehended that by reading?
“That makes me somewhat classier than you.”
Maybe, but it appears modesty certainly isn’t your strong suit either.
“However, one thing you have not done (as usual) is to address facts related to the gist of the thread “
…said the person who spams the fluoride topic every chance they get.
Anyway, with respect to the topic at hand, if you had read my comments in the other thread in the editorial section (Ben’s column), you would know that I’m against this project. I think it is a huge waste of money. Not that it matters what you or I think, because it’s going ahead.
Is that a satisfactory response for you?
Yes it is, unless you are somehow saying it with sarcasm, i.e. you don’t mean it!
Hard to tell! Too bad.
Thank you for bringing up the needless, costly and potentially long term harmful city practice of tap water fluoridation with the industrial chemical hydrofluorosilicic acid again.
I submit that it causes cancer in the long term. Various cancers. The damage shows up decades later – just like it does with the inhalation of asbestos fibers into the lungs. It is coming home to roost! All the evidence is already here – it is buried with the unfortunate victims.
B.C. is 98% fluoride addition free! Prince George is out of step, unfortunately!
That MUST be changed for the sake of caution.
Thanks for bringing it up once more! It is appreciated!
Health Canada statement on fluoride in drinking water (June 23, 2011):
“Health Canada continues to strongly support water fluoridation as a safe, effective and cost effective public health measure to help prevent dental cavities.”
“The safety and efficacy of water fluoridation has been frequently studied and continues to be supported by current science, and the beneficial effects of fluoride in the prevention of dental cavities have been well documented in scientific literature. “
http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/ahc-asc/media/ftr-ati/_2011/2011_82-eng.php
From the US Dept. of Health:
âOne of water fluoridationâs biggest advantages is that it benefits all residents of a communityâat home, work, school, or play,â said HHS Assistant Secretary for Health Howard K. Koh, MD, MPH. âTodayâs announcement is part of our ongoing support of appropriate fluoridation for community water systems, and its effectiveness in preventing tooth decay throughout oneâs lifetime.â
http://www.hhs.gov/news/press/2011pres/01/20110107a.html
From the CDC:
âFor 65 years, community water fluoridation has been a safe and healthy way to effectively prevent tooth decay. CDC has recognized water fluoridation as one of 10 great public health achievements of the 20th century. â
[url] http://www.cdc.gov/fluoridation/%5Burl%5D
From the World Health Organization:
“Water fluoridation in low fluoride-containing water supplies helps to maintain optimal dental tissue development and dental enamel resistance against caries attack during the entire life span. Fluoride in drinking water acts mainly through its retention in dental plaque and saliva. Frequent consumption of drinking water and products made with fluoridated water maintain intra-oral fluoride levels. People of all ages, including the elderly, benefit from community water fluoridation.”
http://www.who.int/water_sanitation_health/oralhealth/en/index2.html
From the Water Fluoridation Controversy Wikipedia page:
“The weight of the scientific evidence have found that at the dosage recommended for water fluoridation, the only clear adverse effect is dental fluorosis, which can alter the appearance of children’s teeth during tooth development. This effect is mildly cosmetic and is unlikely to represent any real effect on public health.[8] Despite opponents’ concerns, water fluoridation has been effective at reducing cavities in both children and adults.”
“Opposition to fluoridation has existed since its initiation in the 1940s.[1] During the 1950s and 1960s, some opponents of water fluoridation suggested that fluoridation was a communist plot to undermine public health.”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_fluoridation_controversy
Another good page which debunks a lot of the claims made.
“You’ll also hear the claim that fluoridation has been banned in Europe. This is also completely untrue. In Europe it’s more common to fluoridate salt instead of water, thus bringing the same benefits via a different delivery method.” â¦
⦠“Let’s turn our eye onto one such community, Arcata, an idyllic coastal hamlet in northern California, that recently won this battle after a divisive and painful fight in the newspapers and in city hall. A principal champion of the science behind fluoridation is Kevin Hoover, editor of the Arcata Eye newspaper. In answering the flood of anti-fluoridation scare tactics, Hoover said:
There are no known victims. If there was a problem with municipal fluoridation, wouldn’t we have at least a few people who showed some signs of harm after 44 years? All the anti-fluoride people could say was that the victims are “undiagnosed,” but not why. They produced no victims, just lots of dubious statistics and horror stories with no provenance.”
http://skeptoid.com/episodes/4058
Canadian Cancer Society:
“On the basis of current evidence, it appears unlikely that water fluoridation increases the risk of cancer, including osteosarcoma, in humans. At the same time, we know that there are many benefits to water fluoridation, especially for people who have less access to dental care.”
http://www.cancer.ca/Canada-wide/About%20cancer/Cancer%20myths/Fluoride%20in%20water.aspx?sc_lang=EN
Canadian Cancer Society:
“On the basis of current evidence, it appears unlikely that water fluoridation increases the risk of cancer, including osteosarcoma, in humans.”
It is “unlikely” but not totally impossible.
Table salt in Europe is available as plain table salt or (as a concumer choice) with fluoride added. Here consumers have a CHOICE to purchase table salt woth iodine or plain table salt!
In Prince George which supplies ALL residents with fluoridated water ONLY – ere is NO Choice!
98% of B.C. residents now have a choice – consume non-fluoridated tap water and choose fluoridated toothpaste or plain.
“t the same time, we know that there are many benefits to water fluoridation, especially for people who have less access to dental care.”
Wrong! The best and only effective way to get fluoride to tooth surfaces is by brushing with fluoridated toothpaste and surface fluoride application at the dentist office.
Drinking and showering with the stuff does NOTHING for the surface of teeth – so say numerous scientific studies.
You can argue with the medical evidence and deny its existence all you want. It doesn’t make you right, I’m afraid.
Asbestos used to be safe, according to medical evidence. So was smoking, lead in gasoline and paint, DDT, asbestos in brake linings – until new evidence arose and caused the ‘authorities’ to ban all of them because of harm to human life, animal life.
The list of banned substances (which used to be safe according to the experts!) is growing longer every day!
Herbicides are already being banned in many places, as is chlorine in drinking water.
TFE is found in non-stick cookware, the cancer agency warns people against using teflon pots and pans….they too used to be 100% safe, remember?
You, JohnnyBelt, can argue with the LATEST evidence and deny its existence all you want. It doesn’t make you right, I’m sure of it!
The sale of fluoride to municipalities is a huge business – huge profits earned from something which is an industrial waste product and would cost a fortune to dispose of in some other way!
Pour it into the tap water! Most of it ends up in the environment, on lawns, in groundwater and through sewage treatment plants in rivers and lakes.
It kills fish, like salmon…hello!
Nobody is asking for something costly or special! All to the contrary, shutting off the fluoride saves money and makes us equal to the other 98% of B.C. residents who don’t get this poison in their water?
Doesn’t it make you wonder WHY they either never had it or why so many cities stopped using it in the last few years? Are they nuts or intentionally ignorant?
Well, that concludes my fact stating effort for now, until you are kind enough to raise the issue (apparently you take great pleasure in discussing it) once more!
“You, JohnnyBelt, can argue with the LATEST evidence and deny its existence all you want. It doesn’t make you right, I’m sure of it!”
All you have is a hunch… and not a very good one.
“Doesn’t it make you wonder WHY they either never had it or why so many cities stopped using it in the last few years? Are they nuts or intentionally ignorant?”
They probably were swayed by vocal minorities like yourself, and didn’t bother checking the evidence.
Time to find a new cause, PG. If fluoridation is so bad, where are the victims? Where are the sick people?
Asbestos obviously had its victims. Smoking has its victims.
Tell me, where are the fluoride victims? They’ve been adding fluoride for how many years now, and there are no sick people.
“Well, that concludes my fact stating effort for now, until you are kind enough to raise the issue (apparently you take great pleasure in discussing it) once more!”
This statement clearly shows how delusional you really are.
Comments for this article are closed.