The Always Enjoyable, Giant Inflatable Vancouver Olympic Village Condo Controversy

I’m only sorry that the Always Enjoyable Giant Inflatable Beaver had to see this. An open house in Vancouver in which several of the Olympic Village condo units went on sale to the public was disrupted by protesters and had to be shut down on Saturday. At issue is the fact, say the protesters, that a majority of the condos had been promised to be sold as low-income rentals, but instead were being offered as luxury units; some going for as much as $5 million each. At the physical center of the controversy, but apparently escaping unscathed, was this Giant Inflatable Beaver, made famous at the closing ceremonies of the Winter Olympics after its humorous description by NBC’s Bob Costas. Oh yes, you remember.

This was supposed to be a peaceful day, a happy open house in which prospective buyers could peruse the Olympic condos and maybe take their picture next to the giant inflatable beaver. But there are some controversies that are even too big for a large, air-filled Canadian icon. From CBC:

Brandishing signs and chanting, dozens of people were there to protest what they say is a lack of social housing at the development.

“This project was once going to be used as a way to deal with the city’s issues and now it’s just making them worse,” said protester Maxim Winther.

“With real estate speculation, rents are going up and people are being moved out of the city — people that live [and] work [here], and their community is here.”

Police tangled with the demonstrators as they attempted to push their way inside the building. Police shut down the open house at about 4 p.m., an hour earlier than scheduled, and locked down the area.

The city voted last month to cut in half the number of units to be designated as lower-income housing at the $1.1-billion waterfront development. Adding to the protester’s ire is the fact that the project also had to be rescued by the city with loan guarantees so that it would be ready in time for the Olympic Games. The city also hasn’t yet been paid the $193 million it’s owed for the land.
From the comments section of the CBC story:

Have you noticed there is no money to help keep the shelters open, even with the Province offering to pay 50% of the costs, yet they can scrape together $25 million for bike lanes to service 3.7% of the commuting population? Did you know there are over 300 people at city hall make over $100K each, yet, Cadman wants to introduce a mandatory ‘living wage’ for city workers? Think about that the next time we head to the polls….and make sure you get out and vote! — MadMax1963

It’s things like this that make me wonder why I even bother to wake up and go to work, rather than sit around watching TV, collecting welfare and being offered luxury waterfront suites in downtown Vancouver. Might hafto attend the occassional protest, but I think I could handle that once a month. — ScottinOttawa.

So hey everyone, still want the Winter Olympics in your town?
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Protest shuts down Olympic Village condo sale [CBC]