rigHt: brian kent/vancOuver sun OctOber 2016 BCBusiness 75
with 150 hectares at Burke Mountain in
Coquitlam—sold to developer Wesbild
Holdings for $43 million less than the
appraisal price of $128 million. The prov-
ince also unloaded 15.7 hectares of prime
property at Jericho Lands last April as
part of a $480-million deal with three
First Nations. Before that sale, the federal
government sold half its 21-hectare share
of Jericho to the three First Nations for
$237 million and transferred the other
half to its crown development corpora-
tion, Canada Lands Company.
Cameron Gray worked for 25 years
as the city of Vancouver's director of the
Housing Centre before retiring in 2009.
Since council passed the Vancouver
Property Endowment Fund in 1975, the
city's practice has been to grow and hang
on to assets and long-term leases in order
to get a return on those investments.
"The province could have done a 99-year
lease if they wanted to, just like
UBC and
SFU," argues Gray. "It would have worked
in terms of redevelopment opportunity.
But for whatever reason, they wanted to
sell it and try to maximize the dollars
with a view to reinvesting that money
back into social housing. Their attitude
has been, 'maximize the "nancial return
and reinvest.'"
Universities aren't allowed to sell
freehold properties according to pro-
vincial law—though two Vancouver-
area institutions have successfully com-
bined housing projects that sell at mar-
ket and non-market prices. UBC has
its Properties Trust while SFU has
UniverCity—both of which partner with
developers to build homes on prepaid
leasehold land for 99-year terms. Gordon
Harris,
CEO of UniverCity, is overseeing a
four-phased project that is building out
SFU's lands to a planned population of
about 10,000 (this summer, they housed
their 5,000th resident). Harris is a big
believer in leasehold, and he's tried to
convince politicians of its merits.
"Over our 150-year history, there were
certain lands deemed su¬ciently impor-
tant to hang onto," he says. "And I'm not
sure that's changed. Let's ask what will
we have left that is strategically located—
publicly held lands that could be used
to the greater good? If we squander that
now, it's gone."
Outside university lands, one doesn't
have to go far to see the bene®its of
preserving public land. False Creek
South is the internationally renowned
low-rise neighbourhood adjacent to
Granville Island. It offers affordable
co-op, rental, nonpro®it and strata
housing to families, seniors and immi-
grants; it also happens to be highly
walkable and with ocean and mountain
chILdhood hoMe
(Left) Ingrid Steenhuisen grew up
at Little Mountain Housing Project;
(below) this photo from January
1971 shows the neighbourhood
once home to about 600 people
"if we can't meet current
housing needs with public
lands that we have that
are fully paid for, then how
on earth do we meet the
future housing needs if we
sell it all off?"
–Ingrid Steenhuisen
