The City of New Westminster's decision to carry on with construction of an office tower above the civic centre is being met with a mix of optimism and pessimism - and everything in between.
The city announced Monday that it would proceed with construction of the office tower component of the new multi-use civic centre facility on Columbia Street. Although the Uptown Property Group had planned to build the office tower, it later withdrew from the project.
City council believes the office component is integral to downtown revitalization and economic development and will build the office tower - with or without a partner. The decision has caused quite a stir among local residents on Twitter.
"This kind of thing is best left to the private sector - when will we learn," tweeted resident Patrick O'Connor.
Some residents speculated the decision would lead to higher property taxes.
"City of New West is cornered here," tweeted Chad Leaman. "They have to follow through, but I'm estimating huge cost overruns. Stay tuned."
James Crosty, who ran for mayor in the November 2011 election and voiced concerns about the civic centre project during his campaign, told The Record that he believes the project was "in trouble" before the civic election. He said the electorate hasn't given city council the mandate to spend an extra $60 million of taxpayers' money.
"During the election I made it clear vision projects should not be started when we had a huge infrastructure deficit in New Westminster, the biggest being Canada Games Pool," he said.
Fellow mayoral candidate Vance McFadyen is also concerned about the city's decision.
"This is a very scary decision," he wrote on The Record's Facebook pages. "It is definitely one I would not have agreed on."
Crosty feels New Westminster should be the first city selected for review when the new municipal auditor is selected for British Columbia.
A staff report presented to council Monday stated that the city needs to move forward with the public process needed to borrow $59 million for the project as soon as possible. In addition to using $43 million of casino revenues to cover the entire cost of the civic centre, the city's plan is to borrow up to $11 million from the Municipal Finance Authority for the city's costs related to the multi-use civic facility and parking structure, up to $33 million related to traditional capital programs, and up to $15 million to interim finance the costs related to development assistance compensation funding until the development assistance compensation (DAC) funds are received.
When the city agreed to allow a destination casino to open, it negotiated a financial package known as DAC. The DAC funding agreements provide up to $60.5 million for five projects: Queensborough parkland improvements - $5 million; a multiuse civic facility - $35 million; Queensborough Community Centre expansion - $6.2 million; a Queensborough pedestrian crossing - $10.3 million; and Fraser River dock improvements - $4 million.
New Westminster resident Jason Lesage and his wife bought a home in New Westminster last year. While he supports paying taxes needed to ensure quality services, he's concerned that the city is taking on debt that could burden the city for many years to come.
"It's a lot of money for a small community like New Westminster," he said.
Lesage said many communities would have a referendum before taking on a project of this magnitude.
"There seems to be a complete lack of consultation on this," he said. "I hope everything works out well."
New Westminster resident Matthew Laird fully supports the city's decision to proceed with the office tower.
"We have heard for years about the lack of Class A office space in the downtown area and the desire from the business community to have more of it," he said. "I think this is going to be a tremendous success."
Laird said New Westminster doesn't want to be a bedroom community and needs employment opportunities, particularly near SkyTrain stations. He believes the city is taking a risk that's worth taking.
"There is always a risk," he said. "I think in this case it is going to come out well for the city."
Will Tomkinson said he sympathizes the position the city was left in after the Uptown Property Group withdrew from the project. He said councillors Bill Harper and Jonathan Cote have provided reasoned opinions in support of the city's decision to build the office tower, but he'll keep his fingers crossed and hope for taxpayers' sake that it turns out as hoped.
"Time will tell," he said. "There are a lot of indications the risk is a calculated one and will turn out."
Tomkinson said the project's location, proximity to local amenities and SkyTrain, and the need for Class A office space work in the city's favour, but he noted that various governments have made big investments in projects that didn't fare well financially even though they seemed positive at the time.
Coun. Chuck Puchmayr was the only councillor to vote against the city's decision to borrow money and use reserve funds to build the office tower, saying it wasn't a risk he was willing to take on behalf of citizens.
"Chuck's worry reflects my worry," Tomkinson said. "I am kind of living in that same space."
In addition to the $35 million in DAC funding negotiated to build a civic centre in downtown New Westminster, city council has also agreed to reallocate $8 million from other DAC projects to the civic centre. Those funds were to be used for a pedestrian crossing from the Quay to Queensborough and dock improvements near Fraser River Discovery Centre.
Crosty said he raised the issue of reallocating funds to the civic centre last fall and was told it was a remote possibility. He said the "likely cancellation" of the pedestrian bridge would be unfortunate, as many people had hoped for a realignment of the pedestrian bridge to Poplar Island.
