How a longstanding dispute between the Musqueam First Nation and private developer Century Group gets resolved will affect developer interest in projects on land previously settled by aboriginal people.
"If we don't deal with this in the right way, it sets a bad precedent for the economy overall and for the real estate industry in particular," Century Group president Sean Hodgins told Business in Vancouver.
The Musqueam has been protesting Hodgins' Marpole Midden project since May 3, after human remains were found, indicating that the site, which Gary and Fran Hackett own, was an ancient burial ground.
A June 8 provincial order barred Hodgins from continuing work where the remains were found, which was on less than 10% of the site.
He voluntarily stopped work on the entire site as soon as the Musqueam started protesting.
Hodgins has thus far racked up "hundreds of thousands of dollars" worth of losses thanks to extra financing costs plus expenses to keep contractors standing around, unable to complete work.
Hodgins sees three possible solutions:
•he gets to complete his five-storey, 108-condo residential and commercial development in the 1300-block of Southwest Marine Drive;
•the province declares the entire property a heritage site and fairly compensates Century Group; or
•a series of land swaps gives the Musqueam the capital to buy the site.
Hodgins believes that the third option is the most likely.
Musqueam councillor Wade Grant confirmed that the band has been negotiating with Victoria regarding a series of transactions that would net the Musqueam the roughly $10 million it would need to buy the site. Both Grant and Hodgins urge the province to expedite those land sales, many of which are expected to be on land that the Musqueam have traditionally claimed.
"The longer this goes on, the risk is that more [condo] buyers will back out," Hodgins said. "Government: please show some leadership. Help us come to a resolution. Either compensate us or allow us to go forward. Don't sit idly." •
