With the financing hurdle cleared this week by council, construction can now officially begin on West Vancouver’s new $36-million police services building that will adjoin municipal hall.
Exactly how West Vancouver is going to pay for the project — $7.7 million to be taken from the district’s Endowment Fund while the remaining $28.2 million will be borrowed from the Municipal Finance Authority — was unanimously agreed upon by council Monday night.
The repayment plan for West Vancouver’s 30-year loan from the MFA, outlined in the staff report presented to council, is estimated to be $1.44 million annually. Interest from the sale of the 1300-block of Marine Drive to Grosvenor development group will be used to pay down the majority of the debt, with the district also dipping into its general operating fund to cover an additional $399,000 annually starting in 2018.
Coun. Craig Cameron figured the financing model was a fair compromise in that it places some of the cost on West Vancouver taxpayers who will be benefiting from the police building for the next 30 years.
Coun. Mary-Ann Booth was equally supportive of the payment structure, saying it strikes a reasonable balance between debt financing and equity financing.
“I don’t think as a community we should be afraid of debt. We have very little of it. (It’s) a way to leverage our assets so that we can accomplish the initiatives,” said Booth.
Calling it a “very bitter pill to swallow,” Coun. Christine Cassidy said she had many hesitations with supporting the funding model.
“First of all, the monies raised from the sale of the (current) police building — the public understood that those monies were going to be used to pay for the (new) public service building,” said Cassidy sternly. “And I think their understanding was that if you got 36 million (dollars) for one, you were going to use 36 million for another.”
Cassidy supported the motion nonetheless, saying she hopes the project will turn out to be a good financial investment for the district.
Time is of the essence for the district on this project as West Vancouver’s police department needs to vacate its quarters on Marine Drive no later than Dec. 31, 2017, to make way for Grosvenor’s redevelopment plans for the 1300-block. Those plans include a mix of six- and seven-storey buildings housing 98 residential units, as well as retail and office space.
To make way for the new seismically sound Police Services Building, demolition of the old parkade on the south side of the municipal hall will begin in August, according to District of West Vancouver spokesman Jeff McDonald.
“Excavation should begin several weeks after that, and should be complete in October or November,” added McDonald. “We should see the foundation of new building begin to rise out of that excavation early next year.”
It’s anticipated West Vancouver police will begin occupying their new digs in summer 2017, with a targeted final completion date of January 2018 for the project.
Council also put their final stamp of approval Monday on exterior design plans for the 5,259-square-metre, two-storey police building with a basement and parkade level below.
A pedestrian-friendly landscaped area outside the building will feature a canopied seating area, bike racks and public art.
The interior of the police services building, meanwhile, will be connected to municipal hall through a shared atrium designed to host gathering opportunities.
