The City of North Vancouver is working on a new financial strategy after it terminated offer to lease with Darwin Properties for not meeting a key financial contractual agreement on the new Harry Jerome Recreation Centre project.
In November 2021, the City terminated its offer to lease offer for Phase 2 of the Harry Jerome Neighborhood Lands as the developer didn’t meet a key contractual term of the agreement.
A significant portion of Harry Jerome project funding was to come through disposing of the land to the developer, but now the city is planning a new financial strategy.
“We are not able to share additional details as they are confidential,” said Pardeep Purewal, the manager of communications at CNV.
The total funding required for the HJCRC capital program is $226.3 million. This would enable the construction of a new centre, relocation and construction of the North Vancouver Lawn Bowling Club, relocation of Flicka Gymnastics Club, relocation and construction of new Silver Harbour Centre, and the delivery of a new community park on Harry Jerome Neighborhood Lands.
CNV says it has already secured 40 per cent of the required funding, about $92.2 million. CNV plans to borrowing $117 million from the Municipal Finance Authority, which will be paid off when CNV disposes of the Harry Jerome Neighborhood Lands (HJNL) in 2025 for $167 million. The money used from disposing of these lands will be used to pay off the MFA loan, CNV says. However, the value is based on current real estate market conditions and would be affected by changes in the market.
The City began collecting property taxes dedicated to a new Harry Jerome Recreation Centre in 2013, and it has $24.6 million so far. This annual contribution of $2.6 million will continue until 2025, but there are no plans to propose any new taxes for the Centre.
Council will vote on this new financial strategy in a meeting today.
Two major problems with other this plan:
1. Inconvenient though it is to admit the truth, this land belongs to the Squamish Nation as it is unceded stolen land and furthermore, according to the United Nations Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, which BC signed in 2019, there can be no development on unceded lands without the “free, prior and informed consent” of the Nation. Where is the consent, let alone the respect of consultation? This is immoral and in violation of UNDRIP which also means it is illegal under Canadian law to proceed with a project of this magnitude without consent, or to “dispose” of these lands which are unceded.
2. In a declared Code Red Climate Emergency it is criminally negligent to spend vast sums of money on recreation facilities rather than investing in rapid decarbonization of society. What would you prefer as a child? A new luxury rec centre, or a habitable planet? Time to make decisions with our children’s survival as a priority over luxury ego projects.