Province to Start Leasing P.G. Hotel Site April 1st
Tuesday, March 12, 2013 @ 4:12 AM
Prince George, B.C.- The hole in the ground at the corner of George Street and 5th Avenue in Prince George, that is at the core of a controversy about who knew what and who did or didn’t make promises, will soon be turned over to the Province of B.C.
The site that was the former home of the Prince George Hotel, will, as of April 1st be leased to the Province for 26 years for the sum of $1.00 per year. In exchange, the Province will build the Wood Innovation Design Centre on the site.
When the 26 years are up, the “building and all alterations, additions, changes, substitutions or improvements therto; and all fixtures in the building shall automatically pass to and become vested in the City of Prince George.”
The successful proponent, who will build what is promised to be an iconic building for B.C.’s forestry and woods sector, is expected to be announced in the days ahead.
When that announcement is made, the scope of the $25 million dollar project will be clear.
The project has been mired in controversy since the land adjacent to the old Prince George Hotel was assembled by the Commonwealth Campus Corporation in the summer of 2009. The 400 Block of George Street, and the lots which are home to the Achillion Restaurant, were assembled under the umbrella of a Downtown revitalization project. Northern Development Initiatives Trust acted as the financier for the purchase of the properties, and the former Prince George Hotel lots ( 8 in all), were purchased by the City of Prince George in early 2010 for a cost of $2.5 million.
The City would then spend a further $1 million dollars demolishing the old hotel, and preparing the site.
Following the initial site preparation , which involved filling the hole with material excavated from the new RCMP building site, the site would then see more excavation activity as all that “fill” would be removed because of contaminated material concerns. The site will soon see more fill added to the “hole”, but this time, the material will be compacted as the site is prepared for construction. The Province is picking up the tab for the fill removal, and new fill additions and compaction, but the price tag is not yet defined.
Only four of the eight lots purchased by the City will be leased to the Province for the construction of the Wood Innovation and Design Centre.
The balance of the lots assembled by Commonwealth (those adjacent to the old PG Hotel site on 4th and the two lots which are home to the Achillion restaurant) are the subject of foreclosure action launched by Northern Development Initiatives Trust in an effort to recoup the near $1.5 million loaned to Commonwealth, plus interest.
Comments
I really hope this thing goes forward, but as with all political promises, I will believe it when I see it.
April 1st. Has to be before noon though, right ?
Hopefully before the election so the NDP can’t backout of the deal.
Hopefully they have the smarts to build up the lot so the building is on a kind of mound like at the court house. George street is under the 200-year flood plain so makes sense to elevate that building somewhat from the street level.
You realize, of course, that parts of the court house are below 3rd avenue street level.
So it remains City property. The lease agreement is for $1/year. Are there any other details to the agreement – such as who pays the taxes or, in the case of the province, grants in lieu of taxes? How about charges for City services?
Is this some kind of an April Fools’ joke?
With the Government in its death throes, I cant believe that they are still going ahead with this goofy plan.
We cant even get a decent garbage system, road rehab, snow removal, or street cleaning system in the City, and we have to go and build a wood centre, so show off a hunk of wood.
It wouldn’t be so bad if there was a need for this building however there isn’t. Making it worse is having University students in the building when they should be located at (guess where)the UNIVERSITY
This is a total waste of good hard earned tax dollars, and while it may serve the interests of a vested few, it has no purpose what so ever for the majority of people in Prince George.
Gus makes some good points. What do we get for taxes or grants from the Province, not that it makes a hell of a lot of difference, because it is still tax dollars.
We have already paid out over $4 Million and the inbound revenue stream is $1.00 per year for 26 years, so this will bring in $26.00 dollars. Whoopi Ding.
Our tax dollars at work.
Cheers
The City should make sure they can assign their contract with the Province. That way they can at least try to sell it before the 26 years is up. After all, a bird in the hand is worth 2 in the bush.
Perhaps Commonwealth could start a new compnay – Commonwealth Government Offices Inc – and get a loan from NDI trust with the vote of the mayors from the north.
If Dix is going to be premier at the time the building is opened, or even the topping ceremony (not too common in this country, but another photo op) you can be sure that he will find the time to be here for the ribbon cutting. ;-)
Well if the project doesn’t move forward the City will have its money return in 2.5 million years from the lease agreement.
My thoughts exactly gus.
With an all wood building I think instead of a topping ceremony you would have a “Last Spike” ceremony….damn already taken:P
Just think how much the city could borrow against that long term income….closer to 4.5 million years if all costs are considered.
This scandal has turned into a “black hole” that is sucking the local MLAs, the BC Premier and the BC Government into it.
“A black hole is a region of space-time from which gravity prevents anything, including light, from escaping.”
[Wald R. M.(1984),General Relativity]
Speaking of scandals …. this election might be all about who can claim the most real scandal
Here is the latest
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The B.C. New Democratic Party is being accused of operating what the B.C. Liberals characterize as a political kickback scheme.
Documents obtained by CBC News show the NDP set up a fund to take money that was supposed to be used to run MLAs’ constituency offices, and instead use it for partisan purposes.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/story/2013/03/12/bc-auditor-ndp-consituency-funds.html?cmp=rss
BTW, I think that is not only a scandal, but it is illegal, if found to be true.
Actiuaklky black holes are theories for the as yet unexplainable.
I think that is also a much more appropriate analogy to scandals that are mere theories without proof.
“Actiuaklky” that is Cherokee for “Actually” …. ;-)
no wonder voter turnout is down each election when there is no one worth voting for anymore. We need a new system, like open the phone book, pick a random name with your eyes closed, and that person runs the country or province for a year…saw that in a movie and it seems to make more sense than all the taxpayer money spent just to elect another crook with a different slant on things.
Don’t worry lefties…Dix will have the paperwork cleaned up by end of business today(plus ink and whiteout drying time:O
Geez gus, do you really think that the NDP has a chance to run this province? I’m new to this political game but the fast ferry issues that were Adrian Dix doing should be enough to keep them out of office. I was pretty young in the 80’s but I don’t hear good things of the NDP during those times. Fill me in please.
I can visualize the next comics to be of a UNBC prof explaining black hole by pointing to a dark hole sucking Bell, Bond, Clark tied together with a rope and Falcon trying to cut himself loose from the gang by a pair of scissors.
What with global warming, a wood innovation centre and pesky termites from down south and frustrated voters/taxpayers I myself wouldn’t risk building a building like that. Termites are long term terrorists. If this town was a mini-Chicago maybe a wind-turbine could be erected on this site. What with the hot water under the street we could be a green paradise. Maybe Lizzy May would even move here.
In 26 years the building will be declared inhabitable and torn down.
I’m new to this political game but the fast ferry issues that were Adrian Dix doing should be enough to keep them out of office
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Millworker, I’ll say your new to this politcal game. The fast ferries are peanuts to how the tax dollars have been squandered since the fiberals took office.
The liberals have 15 million dollars in advertising the gloriouds things they have don for Candice by giving her a job. now they are tellin g us the NDP are using a few bucks from their consituancy offices for party use. And the NDP is now corrupt.
Cheers
And thats not all our great government of the day has stripped hospitals, schools, social sevices, education budgets and the list is endless. Yet here we are they want to provide funds to their freinds for this pink elephant called the WIDC building. If this is such a great project why dosent a private developer do this project.
This is mismanagement of our tax dollars for sure by two levels of government, Provincial and Municipal and then there is the question of who scratch who’s back.
Cheers
Lonesome Bird says “Don’t worry lefties…Dix will have the paperwork cleaned up by end of business today(plus ink and whiteout drying time.”
Yes indeed. It would appear the letters in the Pat Bell controversy were done in much the same manner by the NDI Trust at someone’s request.
millworker wote: Geez gus, do you really think that the NDP has a chance to run this province”
I think they may get the chance, although I am hoping they will not.
In mu opinion it has nothing to do whether they can run the government, it has to do with public opinion. People are fickle in the west. On top of that times are such that many do not have the faintest clue what is going on, so they do not trust anyone. I grew up in an Ontario which had a 42 year conservative dynasty. At the moment, that would be impossible in BC.
Besides, we can all sleep relatively well since the actual people who run the government are the civil servants. They stay the same, no matter who is yanking them this way or that. The British comedy “yes Minister” showed us how it works, partly with tongue in cheek … but not very firmly implanted.
I have this vision of Gordon Campbell up at the University banging on a post, Tree’s! :()
No, er pass puff, puff
Greenhouse to grow food year around. After all a housing project on that site has proven to be a failure.
Retired 02 has nailed it…”the NDP is now corrupt.”
BTW…the government is spending less on advertising than the NDP did when they were in power.
“BTW…the government is spending less on advertising than the NDP did when they were in power” .. they aren’t even officially on the campiagn trail yet. Do you honestly think that is all they are going to be spending on BS ads? Not likely.
GOVERNMENT advertising not related to election campaigns.
The court house has already had one flood… cost millions to fix. Plaza 400 and the court house have to have all their electrical rooms above the flood plain and so will the WIDC when its built.
Build a 3 story wood structure, and call it the PG Hotel. Oh wait, we already did that!
Liberals squandering BC Rail dollars again!
Palopu says…”With the Government in its death throes, I cant believe that they are still going ahead with this goofy plan.”
If we are lucky they will only be at the 4 story level when they get turfed out and we can turn it into affordable housing.
I loved the comment from Christy the other day saying this project will “revitalize the downtown”.
Too funny!
Fuzzy says….”In 26 years the building will be declared inhabitable and torn down.”
Just like the RCMP station was due to a lack of professional management and maintenance.
You’d think that the City would have at least tried to recoup over 26 years the 4 million spent on their achievement thus far ( a hole in the ground )
Without interest, about $12,820.00 dollars a month would see them break even after 26 years. Could a pothole be properly repaired for 12 G’s?
Fuzzy says….”In 26 years the building will be declared inhabitable and torn down.”
“Just like the RCMP station was due to a lack of professional management and maintenance”
Exactly right, Fuzzy and Dragonmaster, and the copshop on Brunswick is steel and concrete construction, imagine the state of an all wood building after 26 years of C.P.G. non expertise in maintenance.
metalman.
I wonder if mayor Green and Stolz had to hire a lawyer to strike such a lucrative deal on behalf of the taxpayers of PG for payment of a buck a year from the province for a piece of property that cost the taxpayers 4 million bucks and counting.
It really is no wonder PG is crime capital of Canada and we drive on pothole infested roads when you consider the captain and crew on the good ship prince george.
Watch out now, after this performance someone might try selling them a bridge.
A lefty says for those who actually believe that the NDP have a scandle going on google Alex G. Tsakumis and get the truth.
nice to see everyone so up beat about there community i wonder what the next positive thing will be that everyone complains about?
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