The Fitzsimmon’s Walk units
may be occupied as soon as the summer of 2009, according to architect Doug
Nelson from Cressey Development.
That would make the 36
resident and price-restricted townhouse units on the property the only new
employee housing to come through before the Winter Games in 2010.
Jessica Averiss, housing
administrator with the Whistler Housing Authority (WHA) confirmed that the
Fitzsimmon’s Walk is the only new resident housing that has a definite timeline
at this point to be completed before the Olympics.
She added that the Whistler
Housing Authority has not created a waitlist for the property yet, but does not
anticipate any trouble selling the units.
Nelson announced the
potential 18-month completion date during Monday’s council meeting, following a
presentation on the form and character of the development.
“This council takes a lot of
pride in finally delivering and finally providing that increased inventory for
resident housing,” said Mayor Ken Melamed during the meeting.
Fitzsimmon’s Walk is the
first multifamily development to be built within the Whistler Green guidelines.
Bill Brown, manager of
community planning for the municipality, said the development is going a long
way in moving Whistler towards green buildings and a better environment.
Brown added that the
applicant strives to reach a Leadership in Energy and Environment Design (LEED)
rating of at least Silver standards, if not better.
The Fitzsimmon’s Walk
development also includes 41 market duplex and townhouse units, which start at
$1.9 million. More than half of these units have already sold.
Canada’s Olympic television
network moves into Whistler Village
CTV News will be occupying a
space in the Blackcomb Lodge from now until after the Olympic Games, following
approval from Council on Monday night.
The privately owned
television network will turn the rental accommodation unit into an office space
while covering Whistler and the 2010 Games. The ‘Whistler News Bureau’ will
house a reporter and a cameraperson who will create and edit their news stories
digitally with a lap top computer. CTV staff will also use this unit for
accommodation.
CTV’s request may be the
first of many applications to secure accommodation for the Games.
The Resort Municipality of
Whistler (RMOW) does not currently have policy in place that gives Council
guidance on making decisions on these type of applications.
One concern raised at Council
was that providing CTV with the unit would take away from the municipality’s
“warm bed policy”.
“CTV is the main VANOC
sponsor. We may not do this for every request that comes in,” said Mayor Ken
Melamed.
“We do want to protect all of
the accommodation that is within the village,” he added.
Municipal staff have said
that providing CTV News with a central location in the village will enhance
media coverage and exposure of Whistler leading up to and during the Games.
CTV owns the Canadian
broadcasting rights to the 2010 Winter Olympic Games, along with Quebec-based
television network TQS.