The digital kitchen. It’s the dream of every adult who comes home from work exhausted, stares into the fridge and fantasizes about a Star Trek food replicator.

Replicators aren’t likely in the near future, but high-tech cooking gear is taking off.

LG’s Multi-Media Refrigerator, for example, is high-tech and high-style, a stainless steel 25.5-cubic-foot fridge with a 13-inch LCD display screen, allowing midnight snackers to watch TV and surf the web while scarfing leftovers ($3,000 US; Lge.com). LG’s also developing web-ready microwaves, washing machines and air conditioners.

Toshiba’s working on getting your appliances talking with their Femininity range. The Bluetooth-enabled fridge, microwave, monitor, computer hub and washer/dryer system (now being sold in Japan) can record fridge contents, look up recipes, send shopping lists via cellphone and set the microwave and washing machine.

Beyond’s iCEBOX computer offers a similar network, with a kitchen PC that lets you control wired appliances (microwave, bread and coffee maker) and monitor other rooms in the house as you prepare dinner (from $1,800 US; Beyondconnectedhome.com).

Here are a few other innovative basics among the gourmet gizmos:

STIRCHEF: NO HANDS REQUIRED

The lazy gourmet will love the StirChef, a little machine that snaps on a saucepan and helps turn out a perfect risotto while you watch TV ($24 US; dynamic-living.com).

RIPE SENSE: ‘THIS MELON’S DONE’

Ripe Sense, a gizmo that judges the ripeness of pears (either crisp, firm or juicy) by analyzing gas they emit, may put an end to pinching, squeezing, sniffing and shaking of produce to test for freshness. Available on New Zealand produce for now, with sensors for avocados, kiwis, mangoes and melons.

WINE LABELS TELL YOU TO DRINK

No need for a wine cellar to preserve and serve your vintages. New wine labels with thermosensitive ink indicate when your Chardonnay is appropriately chilly. When William Grant and Sons’ Mar des Frades 2003 Albarino reaches 11 degrees, a blue ship appears on the label ($16 US; Grantusa.com).

SENSIBOIL: ‘A WATCHED POT . . .’

Inventors are also crafting gadgets to prevent un-watched pots from boiling over (Sensiboil), storage containers that track how much time is left before contents spoil, and all-in-one appliances that make coffee, cook eggs and make toast.

VERIFEYE: DIRTY-HANDS SCANNER

Perhaps the most useful invention for food prep is eMerge Interactive’s dirty-hands scanner, VerifEYE. It uses fluorescent light to reveal specks of organic material on hands: a boon to commercial kitchens.

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CLICK GROCERIES HOME

Online food gathering is already a reality. In the U.S., online grocery sales hit $2.4 billion in 2004 and are expected to rise to $6.5 billion by 2008, according to Jupiter Research. In Canada, the market’s not as big, but there are options for B.C. residents who want to click through grocery lists:

– Spud.ca: Small Potatoes Urban Delivery provides online ordering and delivery of organic food across the Lower Mainland, from Lions Bay to Aldergrove.

– Nestersmarket.com: The Nester’s Market in Whistler will deliver pre-ordered goods to your timeshare or condo so you don’t have to brave the cold.

– Picndel.com: Pic ‘n’ del picks up and delivers your favourite foods to your door, if you live in Victoria.

– Endlessharvest.com: This Nelson-based business delivers organics to Nelson, Castlegar, Trail, Rossland and surrounding areas.

– Greenearthorganics.com: The service brings organic fruits and vegetables weekly or bi-weekly to residents in Vancouver, Burnaby, Coquitlam, North Vancouver, Deep Cove, Port Moody, Richmond, Surrey, Tsawwassen and White Rock.

– Organicsathome.com: They deliver fresh fruits and veggies to your work or home in Vancouver, Burnaby, New Westminster, the Tri-Cities and North Shore.

© The Vancouver Province 2005

The dishwasher is the unheralded hero in many kitchens, often forgotten until something goes wrong. Susan Bagwell from the service department at Trail Appliances Ltd. shares some tips to help keep this hard-working appliance running smoothly.

“The first thing I would suggest is to check your soap,” she says, especially if you buy in bulk.

“People don’t realize that it will get old, break down and form clumps in the damp environment under the sink. If it’s old, it won’t do the job it’s intended to do.”

Store it in an airtight plastic container such as a cereal-keeper.

She also suggests avoiding liquid detergents.

Trail’s technicians have found they sometimes don’t dissolve properly, producing a filmy deposit that can create problems with the pump.

Bagwell emphasizes the need for the water going into the dishwasher to be hot right from the start.

“Turn your hot water tap on in the sink first, and when it runs hot, then turn your dishwasher on,” she says.

“If you’re letting cold water into the dishwasher, it’s not getting the soap to dissolve fully.”

A milky film on your glasses or little brown granules on your top rack indicate undissolved soap.

For maintenance try the following tips, courtesy of Bagwell:

– Hard water can be tough on appliances. To help reduce the effect, place a bowl of vinegar on the top rack of an empty dishwasher, and run it through a cycle. Follow a regular vinegar schedule every three to four months.

– Mineral and other deposits can eventually block the small holes in the spray arms. Turn off the power and water supply to the dishwasher, and remove the upper and lower arms. Clean the holes with a vinegar-soaked cotton swab or a thin metal rod that will break away the deposits.

– A strainer and/or filter is often located at the bottom of the dishwasher, below the spray arm.

Remove any debris, and gently scrub the filter clean with a plastic brush.

– Check accessible hoses for loose clamps to tighten or replace. Examine the door seal for leaks or loose areas; clean it with a rag dampened in a vinegar-and-water solution. If the plastic coating on the racks is chipped, touch it up to prevent rust from transferring to your dishes.

© The Vancouver Province 2005

CREDIT: Ian Lindsay, Vancouver Sun The remains of a burned house in Surrey used for a pot-growing operation.

A house containing a marijuana-growing operation is 24 times more likely to catch fire than a normal home, according to a new study.

Police and firefighters have long complained about the fire risks posed by growing operations, many of which use electrical bypasses to conceal the massive amount of electricity they’re using.

But the precise risk posed by such operations has never been known. As part of its massive study of B.C.’s marijuana trade, researchers at the University College of the Fraser Valley reviewed the official incident reports for every fire at a single-family dwelling in Surrey from 1997 to 2003.

They found that, during that period, fires at growing operations accounted for 4.7 per cent of all house fires in Surrey — reaching a high of 8.7 per cent in 2003.

Based on projections about the total number of growing operations in Surrey, the researchers estimated that one in 22 growing operations caught fire during the study period — a rate 24 times higher than for the city as a whole.

Growing-operation fires also caused more devastation — with the average such fire resulting in twice as much damage ($59,307) as a normal house fire ($31,282).

Surrey Fire Chief Len Garis said that is partly because buildings with growing operations are often unoccupied, meaning the fire isn’t reported until a neighbour notices it.

Garis said growing operations are more likely to catch fire because the use of electrical bypasses and makeshift wiring increases the chance of wires overheating.

And growing-operation fires also pose a greater risk to firefighters, he said.

In a normal home, if an appliance catches fire, a tripping mechanism usually stops the flow of electricity into the house. But in growing operations with electrical bypasses, that tripping mechanism has been disabled — meaning electricity is often still coursing into the home when firefighters arrive.

The situation is made even more dangerous by firefighters using water to douse the fire.

“There’s a risk of electrocution for the firefighters and entrapment in these wiring mechanisms,” said Garis. “Our firefighters have been shocked from time to time.”

None of Surrey‘s firefighters have been seriously injured or killed from an electric shock, said Garis, but he fears it’s just a matter of time. “It’s a question of not if, but when, is somebody going to be hurt,” he said. And electric shocks are just one of a host of hazards firefighters confront in a growing operation.

“Everything from booby traps to weapons on site to propane — things you don’t [normally] find in a residential setting,” said Garis.

Growing-operation fires have become such a problem in Surrey that the department has had to alter some of its training policies.

“Typically, we like to fight fires offensively, meaning get into the building and extinguish it as close to the area of origin as we can,” said Garis.

However, the risks posed by growing operations means that strategy can put lives at risk — so firefighters are given more latitude in fighting such fires.

© The Vancouver Sun 2005

An artist’s depiction of the proposed Woodward’s building makeover. — THE PROVINCE

Woodward’s extreme makeover just keeps getting better.

Simon Fraser University has now committed to being the anchor tenant for the redevelopment of the former department store on West Hastings Street in Vancouver.

It will open a 150,000-square-foot School of Contemporary Arts with room for up to 1,200 students in dance, film, music, theatre and the visual arts.

The $45-million school will feature theatres, exhibition space, studios and performance space when it opens in 2008.

“We see this project as one of the most exciting and innovative inner-city urban redevelopment projects in North America,” said SFU president Michael Stevenson yesterday.

He said SFU will borrow the money and is embarking on a fundraising campaign that could bring in a major corporate sponsor for the arts school.

SFU came on board after developers swapped land at the old Woolworth’s site next door, worth $6 million, in return for heritage density from Woodward’s that can be used on a future project.

“Redeveloping Woodward’s is key to revitalizing the Downtown Eastside,” said Vancouver Mayor Larry Campbell.

“Just imagine, when they come here for the [2010] Olympics, when they see what we’ve done.”

Coun. Jim Green, who spent 20 years trying to save Woodward’s, said after a “long, torturous road,” it’s amounting to “a perfect deal.”

“We will be finished for the Olympics, and that’s what people are going to see — a city that cares about everyone.”

Next week, the City of Vancouver is putting together a community advisory committee for Woodward’s.

The $250-million project already has earmarked 200 social housing units in addition to hundreds of market condos and live-work units.

Construction is set to start this fall.

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– – –

WOODWARD’S INFO

Location: Corner of Hastings and Abbot streets.

Cost: $250 million.

SFU: $45-million School of Contemporary Arts.

Construction: Set to start fall 2005.

© The Vancouver Province 2005

GERRY KAHRMANN — THE PROVINCE

For Rien Sharma and Michael McNamara, there are signs more certain than the first tender crocus shoots, that a change of seasons is in the air.

The two men are partners in Revamp Homestaging, a Vancouver firm that specializes in helping homeowners “primp,” “style,” “fluff,” “prop” or “stage” their houses for re-sale.

So what’s the rationale for spending on a property just before selling it? Sale prices that usually soar beyond list, often by as much as five per cent.

A new RBC survey indicates three in 10 Canadians (29 per cent) plan to buy a home in the next two years and 10 per cent of them plan to act in the next six months.

At a time when more of these aspiring purchasers preview homes online long before they sally forth with a realtor, the appearance of a home and highlighting its best features, is imperative.

“Spring is always our busiest season because that’s when the real-estate market kicks into an even higher gear,” explains Sharma.

“Even in a hot market, realtors and vendors are so much more experienced. They want to trigger bidding wars, to get the absolute top price.”

Attaining that goal, however, frequently requires a professional outside eye. The No. 1 sin of most vendors, according to home stagers, is clutter.

“You have to think strategically. We walk into a house and identify its strongest, most marketable features, then figure out how to play them up, how to draw attention to the positives,” explains Amie Walton of

X-stream Staging in Halifax. “You have to remove the hurdles to broad appeal, eliminate the visual distractions.”

As part of that “editing” process, stagers work to remove much of an owner’s personal imprint on a house.

“There’s a psychological process by which you remove the personal so that potential buyers can project their lives into the space,” says Connie Williamson of Serenity Redesign in Edmonton. “You don’t want people to feel that it’s someone else’s home, you want them to just see it as an attractive space they could have.”

In addition to removing personal items such as family photographs, fridge magnets and religious icons, stagers also tend to level with homeowners about the small things they’ve probably stopped noticing.

“Someone who lives in a house is never really aware of their own smell and the smell of their pets,” observes Sharma. “They also stop noticing dripping taps and burned-out light bulbs — which are the first things an outsider will notice and question.”

He adds it’s impossible to underscore how critical a positive emotional reaction is when selling a house.

“In the absence of other information, senses like sight, smell and sound take over. That’s what determines if they shut down or have the interest to move to the next, more practical stages of a transaction.”

The consensus among home stagers is vacant properties, whether new or old, are the toughest to sell. That’s why companies such as Revamp maintain massive warehouses filled with furniture and accessories.

“A property has to convey warmth and love — it can’t have any feeling of abandonment,” explains Walton. “The other key point is that empty spaces seem smaller. It’s an issue of perspective because there’s no context for the eye, no sense of relative proportion.”

Notes Sharma, whose company has six vacant, staged properties on it roster, “Few people are able to imagine the size of a queen-size bed in a room — you have to show them.”

Furthermore, he says, it’s important to establish the feel of a certain lifestyle in a home that’s being marketed.

“When people are moving from a rental to a first home or they’re moving up to a larger place, they need the illusion of bigger and better,” he says.

Evoking that sense is particularly important in the highest end of the real-estate market. Bob Rennie of Rennie Marketing Systems, who specializes in selling the most luxurious condominium developments in Canada, even takes pieces from his own contemporary art collection to enhance the appearance of model suites.

The budget for these displays runs from $40,000 for a single studio to $120,000 for a luxury model suite.

While few have that sort of marketing budget, Sharma insists that for $200 to $4,000 homeowners can enhance their property’s value.

© The Vancouver Province 2005

Maureen Rieder has just joined the crush of first-time condo owners who too often find some neighbours relish running other people’s lives.

While it seems the norm to pass outlandish restrictions in condo land, for this Vancouver grade-school teacher, the bylaw at her Fairview’s Slopes complex banning her from having a roommate in her two-bedroom home without strata approval, or pay a $100 fine every week, was over the top.

Especially when almost half the 13 strata units in the building are rented, with no cap on the number allowed on the rental market.

Rieder joined an estimated one million condo owners in B.C. when she bought her west-side townhome in June. And boy, was she excited. After all, it was a big investment and a major move for this single lady. But after six months on her own, Rieder figured sharing the space with a pal had definite advantages.

Don’t even go there, was the directive from the strata group, citing Bylaw 3.2: No one can have a paying resident or roomer unless the six council members say they can.

Now, this rule may not seem as out there as some, like the one asking residents to change their blinds to colour co-ordinate with the freshly painted forest green exterior, but it’s preposterous nonetheless.

“I thought this bylaw to be a violation of my human rights and infringement on me as an owner to live with whomever I choose,” Rieder told me. “What’s weird is that if a unit is designated a rental property, the owner can rent to whoever they choose without getting approval. But since I live here, this bylaw gives them control over whether someone lives with me or not and that’s intruding and wrong.

“What right does council have to tell me whether I am allowed to have someone move in with me?”

No right at all, says Tony Gioventu, head of the 50,000-member Condominium Homeowners Association. But the corporation does.

And there lies the difference. Strata corporations are made up of all the current owners of a complex. With a three-quarters “yes” vote the corporation can pass whatever usage limits it wants as long as the do’s and don’ts comply with federal or provincial statutes.

But strata councils are, by law, elected by the corporations to enforce the bylaws, not design them.

Gioventu said the corporation could call a vote on the bylaw but Rieder’s council can’t call the shots as to who in the complex can have roommates and who can’t.

“I would challenge whether that bylaw is even enforceable,” he said.

The executive director said many first-time buyers don’t bother reading the bylaws before buying in. And stratas should routinely renew and update them, anyway.

If owners aren’t happy with the council, yard them out and elect a new slate, it’s cheaper than arbitration or court.

And check them out first.

“There’s lots of great homes in great neighbourhoods to choose from,” he said.

Meanwhile, Rieder says changes are coming if she’s elected at the coming annual general meeting.

© The Vancouver Province 2005

A B.C. government plan to build more lodges in provincial parks will significantly expand commercial development within park boundaries without public consultation, according to a report from concerned public service employees.

“British Columbians have strong emotional ties and attach high values to their public parks,” said the report from Public Service Employees for Environmental Ethics.

PSE, a group of past and present government employees, uses internal government documents — including ministerial briefing notes — to support its claims.

The B.C. Parks Lodge Strategy won’t be approved until late this year or early 2006, but the report says actions to promote the commercialization of B.C. parks are already well advanced.

A treasury board submission last year from three ministries — small business, sustainable resource development and water, land and air protection — said the province wanted to identify 10 new park lodge sites and issue proposal calls on the development opportunities before the end of the 2005-06 fiscal year.

The submission estimated that total investment in new lodges and existing lodge upgrades would amount to $35 million over the next three to five years.

But Water, Land and Air Protection Minister Bill Barisoff said those numbers are optimistic.

“If we were fortunate enough to get four or five of these [potential new lodge sites] identified in the next year or so, that would be great,” he said in an interview.

Barisoff said annual visits to B.C. parks have declined since 1998, when they attracted a record 26.5 million visitors, so a major thrust of the park lodge strategy is to increase visitation and make the parks accessible to more people.

“Lodges can give more of an opportunity to more of our seniors’ population and people with families to access our parks, without having to sleep in tents,” he said.

Barisoff noted several provincial parks already have lodges — including Manning, Tweedsmuir and Mount Assiniboine parks — and said any new lodge developments would have to be appropriate for the surroundings.

A November 2004 ministerial briefing note said the province had received eight written or verbal expressions of interest in building “lodge-type developments” in various B.C. parks.

Barisoff said he recalled only one — an Alpine Club of Canada proposal to build a 30-person hostel-style “eco-lodge” on the Berg Lake Trail in Mount Robson Park.

But the briefing note listed seven others, including:

– An Intrawest Corp. plan to build a series of huts along Spearhead Traverse, between Whistler and Blackcomb mountains in Garibaldi Park.

– A proposal to build a floating lodge to support kayak use in Broughton Archipelago.

– A lodge development that borders the ski area in Mount Assiniboine Park.

– An angling guide proposal to build a fixed-roof operation in Hamber Park.

Small Business and Economic Development Minister John Les said what’s considered an acceptable type of lodge development will vary throughout the B.C. park system.

“There are places where only the most rustic type of development would be appropriate,” he said. “But there are other locations, maybe not within a park but close to a park, where something much more sophisticated would be in order, including something quite commercial in nature.”

© The Vancouver Sun 2005

CREDIT: Jeff Mcintosh, Canadian Press

Jim Shaw, CEO of Shaw Communications, uses one of the company’s new Shaw digital phones, an internet based residential phone service in Calgary.

Shaw Communications Inc. launched a phone service Monday, pitting it against Telus Corp. in a bid to capture part of the coveted Western Canadian phone market.

The service, which allows consumers to make calls using the Internet, will be available today in Calgary and will be rolled out gradually over the next year in other major Western Canadian cities.

The move kicks off a new era of competition with Telus in its traditional Western Canadian market, allowing Shaw to offer a “triple-play” package of services that includes high-speed Internet, local telephony and television.

“Technology is changing. We’re not just cable guys anymore — in fact we haven’t been cable guys for quite some time,” chief executive Jim Shaw said.

The product includes a local phone line, unlimited long-distance calling anywhere in North America and features such as voice mail and call forwarding. It costs $55 a month if bundled with other Shaw offerings, and customers keep their existing phone number and use a traditional handset.

Dubbed Voice-over-Internet Protocol, or VoIP, the technology digitizes voices and encodes them into packets of data over a cable network. It does not interfere with your ability to watch TV or surf the Internet, and calls can be made to any regular phone regardless of who the carrier is at the other end.

Telus — planning to launch TV service in the near future — is well-prepared for Shaw’s foray into telephony, said spokesman Nick Culo. “People have been counting on Telus to connect them to family and friends for more than 100 years or so. If asked, I think most would have a hard time remembering when they last picked up their phone and didn’t get a dial tone.”

Shaw president Peter Bissonnette said that unlike some VoIP providers, reliability of service is not an issue. “We have systems in place for any kind of potential causes for service interruption, including power concerns,” he said.

Shaw is the second major cable provider to launch a digital telephone product. Last month, Montreal-based Videotron Ltee launched a similar service in Quebec, aggressively targeting Bell Canada‘s market with basic service for as low as $15.95 a month.

While promising, Shaw’s offer is unlikely to strike a chord with price-conscious consumers, said Iain Grant of telecom consultancy SeaBoard Group, noting that new VoIP entrant Vonage Canada sells its package for half the price and includes a unified messaging feature.

“Does the product make sense? Yes it does,” said Grant. “[But] I wouldn’t be surprised to see Shaw reposition it with different options and price points by the back-to-school season in September,” he said.

The Calgary-based firm, which spent $50 million to roll out the technology, said it will not slash fees to lure clients from Telus. “It’s not a low-dollar proposition, it’s a fully featured service where if you want to call New York, you can anytime you want,” Shaw said. “We’re not expecting everyone to turn over to this.”

Smaller regions, which in the past have had little alternative to Telus for phone service, will be attractive markets, added Shaw.

Shaw’s Class B shares closed Monday on the Toronto Stock Exchange at $22.68, up 53 cents.

Telus shares closed at $37.10, up 90 cents or 2.49 per cent.

PHONE WARS:

Shaw Communications new phone service takes direct aim at Burnaby-based Telus Corp. Here’s how the two companies compare:

Telus:

$13.06 billion market cap

4.8 million network access lines

3.8 million wireless customers

Shaw:

$5.23 billion market cap

3 million customers

© The Vancouver Sun 2005

Walter Harris

Walter Harris thought he’d reached the top when he walked into Rideau Hall in March 2003 to accept the Governor-General’s visual and media arts award.

The native Indian carver from Hazelton had little idea then that he would be returning to Ottawa within two years, this time to receive the country’s highest honour, officer of the Order of Canada, for lifetime achievement.

Vancouver diamond prospector and philanthropist Stewart Blusson has also been made an officer of the Order of Canada while four other Lower Mainland residents were named as members of the order.

A renowned master carver, Harris, 73, has been an inspiration to artists along B.C.’s northwest coast for more than three decades, says the citation for the award, which was announced by Gov.-Gen. Adrienne Clarkson Feb. 8.

“He has perpetuated the Gitksan Nation’s rich cultural heritage through his unique and exquisitely detailed works, which include a limestone killer whale sculpture located above the entry to the House of Commons in Ottawa, a totem pole erected in San Francisco‘s Golden Gate Park and a panel in the Canadian Embassy in Paris.”

Locally, Harris is probably known best for work on display at the Vancouver International Airport and at the University of B.C.‘s museum of anthropology.

The award also recognizes his role as a hereditary chief who is widely respected for the “wisdom and leadership he has provided to his people, and for having played a vital role in their cultural resurgence.”

After suffering a stroke in 1986, and another just last month, Harris speaks with difficulty, conveying his emotions mainly in monosyllabic sentences and facial expressions.

“There was just a big smile on his face when he found out,” his son, Rodney Harris, said. “He was overwhelmed with joy. He feels very honoured to be recognized for all the work he’s done.”

Before his fame, though, Harris worked in a variety of fields, from mining to commercial fishing and once owned and operated a sawmill.

In 1969, he enrolled in the Gitanmaax School of Northwest Coast Indian Art and eventually taught there, inspiring a generation of carvers, said Rodney Harris, himself a wood artist.

“The younger artists can now appreciate more that you can go somewhere in the world if you put your heart to it.” He said his father was thrilled with the 2003 award and is looking forward to returning to Rideau Hall.

Blusson was recognized for being a leader in the fields of mineral exploration and geological research. By following trails left by glaciers in an area north of Yellowknife, he and fellow geologist Charles Fipke discovered a diamond deposit in 1991, leading to the establishment of the first diamond mine in Canada.

His generosity was also noted. Blusson donated $50 million to the University of B.C. in 1998 to promote scientific research — at the time, it was the largest individual donation made to a Canadian university — followed in 2002 by $30-million worth of shares to a charitable foundation associated with the Sea to Sky University in Squamish. The university will be the country’s first private, secular, not-for-profit liberal arts and science institution and anticipates opening its doors in September 2006.

Vancouver poet, teacher and editor Robin Blaser was also honoured with an Order of Canada award for his highly regarded work.

“Professor emeritus of English at Simon Fraser University, he has drawn on his extensive knowledge of art, mythology, religion and politics to inspire and stimulate generations of students,” his citation reads, noting that he is known for originality, lyricism and critical spirit.

Marie Bourgeois, executive director of La Maison de la francophonie de Vancouver, was honoured for her commitment to the promotion of the French language and culture.

Bourgeois, of Pitt Meadows, works on the boards of various francophone organizations in B.C. and was also cited for advancing the interests and rights of francophone women and parents in the province.

The founding executive director of both the Writers’ Union of Canada and the Writers Development Trust, Alma Lee of Vancouver, was recognized as a “passionate and effective champion” of Canadian authors.

Lee is also the driving force behind the Vancouver International Writers and Readers Festival, a major literary event that attracts about 11,000 people a year.

Nancy McKinstry of Vancouver was honoured for her commitment to making a difference in the lives of women. A senior investment firm executive, she has also served as a founding member and chairwoman of the Minerva Foundation for B.C. Women, an organization dedicated to helping women realize their educational and professional goals.

© The Vancouver Sun 2005

VANCOUVER

Vancouver Olympic Village

Location: Southeast False Creek

Use: Accommodation for 2,800 athletes; permanent structures to become part of a new residential neighbourhood.

Cost: Final budget to be set by City of Vancouver, with a $30-million contribution from the Vancouver Organizing Committee.

Status: Infrastructure work to begin in early 2006, village construction in mid-2007, and completion by September 2009.

B.C. Place Stadium

Location: False Creek at Robson

Use: Opening, closing and medal ceremonies.

Cost: N/A

Status: Little work needed Vancouver Convention and Exhibition Centre expansion

Location: Burrard Inlet, foot of Burrard Street.

Use: Host 9,000 media in the Games International Broadcast Centre and Main Press Centre.

Cost: $565 million

Status: Construction started fall 2004; scheduled to open in fall 2008.

General Motors Place

Location: 800 Griffiths Way, north shore of False Creek

Use: Olympic hockey tournament.

Cost: $5 million to restructure building and ice surface to international specifications.

Status: Begin modifications in April 2007; completion date undisclosed.

UBC Winter Sports Centre

Location: UBC campus

Use: Olympic ice hockey tournament

Cost: $40.8 million

Status: Begin construction in late 2005, complete by 2007

Hillcrest/Nat Bailey Stadium Park

Location: East side of Queen Elizabeth Park

Use: Olympic curling tournament

Cost: $28 million

Status: Begin construction in April 2007; complete in August 2008.

Pacific Coliseum

Location: Hastings Park/PNE Grounds

Use: Olympic figure skating and short-track speed skating

Cost: $23 million in upgrades

Status: Renovations starting in 2005, staggered around other events and continuing for two to four years.

Richmond Oval

Location: 6200 River Road, Richmond (location of Richmond RV Park)

Use: Olympic speed skating

Cost: $155 million

Status: Construction begins in early 2006; complete by April 2008

Richmond-Airport-Vancouver Line

Location: Waterfront Station in Vancouver, underground below downtown and Cambie Street to 63rd Avenue, then elevated to Sea Island and from there to Lulu Island.

Use: Rapid transit linking downtown Vancouver with downtown Richmond and Vancouver International Airport.

Cost: $1.72 billion

Status: Officially unrelated to the Olympics but politicially tied in. Work to begin late this year and to be completed by November 2009.

Cypress Mountain Resort

Location: Cypress Mountain, West Vancouver

Use: Olympic freestyle skiing and snowboarding

Cost: $11 million for modifications of existing runs and new facilities.

Status: Under review to ensure new facilities meet technical requirements. No construction start is set.

WHISTLER

Sea to Sky Highway upgrade

Location: West Vancouver to Whistler

Use: Principal land route from Greater Vancouver to Whistler

Cost: $600 million

Status: A provincial government project, connected to the Olympics. Work began May 2005 and is scheduled to finish in spring 2009 to widen and straighten the highway at various points, improve sight-lines, add passing lanes and reduce driving hazards.

WHISTLER

Whistler and Blackcomb Mountains

Location: Whistler-Blackcomb Resort

Use: Olympic and Paralympic alpine skiing events

Cost: $23 million for modifications to existing runs, snowmaking and chairlift upgrades and related new infrastructure.

Status: Begin work in June 2005 and complte by November 2007. However, technical events are under review and may be moved from Blackcomb to Whistler Mountain, where speed events are scheduled.

Proposed Combined Alpine Venue

Location: Whistler Creekside Village

Use: Combined speed and technical alpine skiing events.

Cost: Undetermined

Status: Under review following a request from the International Ski Federation to combine speed and technical events at one site.

Whistler Sliding Centre

Location: Blackcomb Mountain

Use: Olympic bobsleigh, luge and skeleton events

Cost: $55 million

Status: Construction to begin later this year, with completion in the fall of 2007

Whistler Nordic Centre

Location: Callaghan Valley, near Whistler

Use: Olympic and Paralympic Nordic sports, including ski jumping, cross-country skiing and biathlon.

Cost: $102 million

Status: Construction to begin in June 2005 and be completed by October 2007.

Whistler Entertainment Centre

Location: Whistler Resort

Use: Potential site for Paralympic sledge hockey, and possible permanent entertainment complex and multipurpose facility.

Cost: Unknown. The Olympic organizing committee has offered a grant of $20 million to the resort municipality of Whistler, which is working on plans and total costs.

Status: Uncertain. If the project does not proceed, the existing Meadow Park Sports Centre can be converted to host Paralympic sledge hockey in about two weeks.

Whistler Olympic and Paralympic Village

Location: Lower Cheakamus Valley, near Whistler

Use: Accommodation for 2,700 athletes and coaches

Cost: To be developed by the private sector, with $32.5 million from the Vancouver Organizing Committee that includes $6.5 million for a first nations Legacy, and additional funding of $13 million for permanent athlete accommodations.

Status: A conceptual site plan is ready. Site planning is to be completed by May 2007. Construction will be in two phases, one starting in April 2007 and the second in April 2008, with the project completed in September 2009.

Whistler Media Village

Location: Lower Cheakamus Valley.

Use: Temporary accommodation, dining facilities and other services for up to 2,000 media and 1,500 Olympics workers and volunteers.

Cost: Undetermined

Status: Temporary structures would be leased for a six-month period ending after the Olympics and Paralympics.

Whistler Conference Centre

Location, Whistler Village.

Use: Media facilities, cultural events.

Cost: Undetermined.

Status: Little or no work needed.

© The Vancouver Sun 2005