City of Vancouver hands over Olympic and Paralympic Village Vancouver to
VANOC

VANCOUVER , Nov. 4 /CNW/ - Officially marking the 100 day countdown to the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games and a major milestone in the road to 2010, City of Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson handed over the keys today to the Olympic and Paralympic Village Vancouver to John Furlong , Chief Executive Officer of the Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games (VANOC).

"Today's handover of the Vancouver Olympic and Paralympic Village - with its green buildings, energy and water use reduction, sustainable transportation and remarkable public spaces - is an incredibly proud moment for our City," said Robertson. "I'd like to acknowledge all of the hard work and dedication of the thousands of City staff, contractors, architects and workers who helped to make our dream of a sustainable community a reality, and we look forward to welcoming athletes and officials from around the world for the Games in 2010."

In February and March 2010 , more than 3,000 of the world's top winter athletes and team officials will make the village their home as they go for gold at the Games. The village offers extraordinary city skyline, mountain and ocean views. It is a leading model of sustainability in North America .

"Our thanks to the City of Vancouver and our Villages team for creating one of the most spectacular villages in Olympic and Paralympic history. It's a neighbourhood where athletes from around the world can gather to prepare to compete at their highest level and feel embraced by the hospitality of the Host City of the 2010 Winter Games," said Furlong. "This home away from home is where the most lasting friendships of the Games are forged and we know the memories they experience here will last a lifetime."

VANOC will now make its final preparations of the village for the 2010 Winter Games. The village will offer an extensive number of amenities and services to athletes, a detailed list of which is available in an Olympic and Paralympic Village Vancouver backgrounder at http://www.vancouver2010.com/dl/00/18/47/villagebackgrounder_en_fr_30d-mf.pdf. VANOC's $30 million contribution to the Vancouver Athlete's Village came from the Games capital construction budget, equally funded by the Government of Canada and the Province of British Columbia.

The Southeast False Creek site, developed by the City and Southeast False Creek Properties Ltd. (Millennium Development Corporation), is a former industrial site that has been transformed into a mixed-use, mixed-income neighbourhood incorporating forward-thinking infrastructure, strategic energy use, high-performance green buildings and easy transit access.

The village will be handed back to the City and Millennium on April 7, 2010 . Condominiums will be retrofitted for sale to their purchasers. Tenants in commercial spaces, including the Salt Building, will complete tenant improvements and open their businesses to residents and visitors of Southeast False Creek in late summer of 2010, and additional condominiums will be made available for sale. The civic centre gym floor will be installed and the facility will open to users in the summer of 2010. Park spaces are anticipated to be open to the public in May 2010 .

After the Games, the site will become the newest addition to Vancouver's network of interesting neighbourhoods. It will have approximately 1,100 residential units, including 730 market condos, 120 market rental apartments, and 250 proposed affordable housing apartments. The heart of the community includes a plaza ringed by restaurants, a grocery store, community centre and daycare, and a restored heritage building. Residents and visitors will be able to enjoy these spaces along with the 11 acres of redeveloped park and waterfront.

For further information: Media contacts: City of Vancouver, Corporate Communications, [phone]; Erin Mikaluk, Vancouver 2010 Communications, [phone], [email protected]