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Wednesday, October 6, 2010
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Happiness is . . . living on the North Shore, says survey Jane Seyd
jseyd@nsnews.com
WHETHER it’s because we can go for a hike in the mountains just minutes from home, head up the local hills in ski season or simply because we trust our neighbours, North Shore residents are apparently a very happy bunch.
Hooping it up
NEWS photo Mike Wakefield
CHARLIE Kanuka, 5, gets into the fun of Walk to School Week Monday. Montroyal elementary not only encouraged kids and parents to walk to school but emphasized various physical activities that included dancing, badminton and hula-hooping.
That’s the word from a recent Vancouver Foundation survey of Metro Vancouver residents, which found people living on the North Shore were more likely to say they are happy and more likely to be optimistic about the future than those from other areas of the Lower Mainland. Lidia Kemeny, project director for the Vital Signs report, said it isn’t clear why North Shore residents are such a satisfied lot, although factors like proximity to a spectacular natural environment and overall income levels probably play a part. It’s also possible the North Shore has managed to preserve more of a “small-town” feel (where residents usually report feeling a greater sense of belonging) than other areas of the Lower Mainland. “There is something unique about the North Shore,” she said. Environics Research completed the survey of 1,200 Metro Vancouver residents, which examined their opinions about aspects of community, for the Vancouver Foundation in July of this year. The survey results found North Shore residents were the most likely (69 per cent) to describe themselves as happy and interested in life. North Shore residents were also the most likely (79 per cent) to be optimistic about the future of their community. See Affordability page 3
Millennium marketers say Evelyn a go James Weldon
jweldon@nsnews.com
WEST Vancouver’s long-awaited Evelyn development will go ahead as planned despite the owner’s financial woes, said a representative for the developer’s marketing firm.
SAVE
After repeated delays, construction of the 349-unit complex on an eight-hectare site just north of Park Royal is slated to begin late this year or early next, said Lesli Boldt, a spokeswoman for Rennie Marketing Systems which is handling promotion for Millennium Development Corp., the company behind the project.
20%
Development company still has 2/3 of Olympic Village to sell
Presales for Evelyn’s first phase have been underway for a year and so far just 33 per cent of the 109 units have sold, but three of those sales took place just last week, said Boldt. “Things are moving along well,” she said. Millennium made headlines recently when it shorted the City of Vancouver on a $200-million loan repayment. The company, which built Vancouver’s $1-billion Olympic Village, ran into trouble in fall 2008 when its financial backer, Fortress Investment Group, pulled out of that project. In
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February 2009, Vancouver took over Fortress’s $700-million loan to the company. Millenium was supposed to repay $200 million of that in August this year, but according to the city, only $192 million arrived. The developer has since paid back at least an additional $6 million. Its next large loan payment is due in January. About 450 — roughly two thirds — of the southeast False Creek units remain unsold, according to media reports. But despite Millennium’s apparently precarious financial situation, the company has all the money it needs to start building on Evelyn Drive, said Boldt. Partial building permits for three components of the first See Different page 3
GROUSE MOUNTAIN
THE PEAK OF VANCOUVER