Article from the Tri-City News in its entirety
Tri-City News 21 February 2014, page A14
Market Housing will be part of talks on R’view
By Janis Warren
THE TRI-CITY NEWS
The CEO of the agency charged with consulting the public
on the future of Riverview Hospital in Coquitlam has vowed his organization
will go into the visioning exercise with an open mind.
And that includes the possibility of building market
housing on the 244 acres that were once home to a mental-health institution, BC
Housing’s Shayne Ramsay told The Tri-City News this week.
“Were not saying market housing is going to happen
absolutely but I expect it to be part of the conversation as we move forward in
the process,” he said.
Ramsay made his comments the week before BC Housing is to
launch its first of four open houses this year, organizing a draft
redevelopment plan for the 102-year-old grounds that contain heritage buildings
— most rated in poor” or “critical” condition — a cemetery and an arboretum.
The drop-in sessions are scheduled in Coquitlam for
Thursday, Feb. 27 from 4:30 to 7:30 p.m. at the Burquest Jewish community
centre (2860 Dewdney Trunk Rd.) and Saturday, March 1 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at
the Poirier community centre (620 Poirier St.).
Besides the open houses, Ramsay said he looks forward to
the questions and comments collected through BC Housing’s new website
(renewingriverview.com), which has background documents on Riverview’s current
assets, among other things.
Ramsay said he hopes stakeholders — including former
Riverview staff — who can’t make it to the open houses will reach out through
the social media to offer their thoughts on the next steps for Riverview.
“Really, it’s a recognition that Riverview has a
provincial perspective,” he said. “It has a lot of local interest but the site
and psychiatric hospital had an impact province- wide.”
Ramsay stressed BC Housing has no preconceived outcomes
as it develops a land-use plan for the city and he pledged transparency as more
studies and numbers are released from Shared Services BC, the current manager,
which will transfer responsibility to BC Housing over the next year.
Ramsay cited the Riverview Building Assessment Inventory,
completed in December 2013, that is now
on the website and shows the cost to upgrade the heritage buildings such as the
1913 West Lawn ($7.2 million) and the 1959 Henry Esson Young ($6.1 million).
Both are listed as in “poor” condition.
Still, Ramsay said the visioning process is guided by
principles — one of which is to ensure the investment pays for itself.
“This is not a fire sale of a provincial asset,” he said.
‘All we’re saying is that all the aspirations of the community, First Nations
and stakeholders need to be incorporated within a break- even mandate.”
In the meantime, BC Housing will continue with work with
current tenants at Riverview and the movie industry — as well as other revenue-
generating opportunities — to help lower costs.
As for the maintenance side, Ramsay has promised the
grounds will be kept up during and after the visioning process.
jwarren@tricitynews.com
“All the aspirations of the community, First Nations and
stakeholders need to be incorporated within a break- even mandate.” Shayne Ramsay
- 30 -
Two errors, the HEY building is in good condition according to the official reports not poor as reported .
And WE the public have owned this property almost 110 years, this May 30, 2014, will be that anniversary, not 102 years as reported. See my Riverview hospital blog, for more up to date information