City of Vancouver Hopes For Fast Sales At Millennium Water
I first wrote about the Millennium Water condo complex in Vancouver, Canada in 2007, when potential residents were willing to camp out for days in order for a chance to buy condos. The condos, which were designated as an Olympic village for the athletes of the 2010 Winter Olympics ranged in price from $600,000 to $3.4 million back then. Flash forward to know and the complex was officially unveiled to the public last weekend with a big goal to meet: the Vancouver Sun reports that the City of Vancouver wants to recoup nearly $1 billion from Millennium Development Corporation.The seven-block community is a group of 16 buildings which were used by the athletes during the Olympics. Ski-cross gold medallist Ashleigh McIvor was on hand to celebrate as Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson received a ceremonial key to the village, which he handed over to Millennium principals Peter and Shahram Malek.Robertson urged the gathered crowd to buy units. There are 474 remaining units, up for sale starting at $389,000 and up to $10.5 million for a 4,000 square-foot penthouse. Another 371 units are designated for the rental market at controlled rates.
The city is hoping that Millennium will be able to sell the units quickly and payoff the $750 million in loans it owes. A total of 263 units were sold before 2008 but when the housing market veered floorward and a hedge fund that Millennium had sought to finance the development collapsed, the city was left with no other option but to make the loan in order to meet the deadline.
The buildings post eco-friendly features like green roofs, gray water recycling and energy-efficient heating.A new community center and retail stores are part of the complex.
