VSB moves forward with plan to sell land to BC Hydro for underground substation
Posted June 25, 2018 11:03 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – The Vancouver School Board is moving forward with the plan to sell BC Hydro a parcel of land beneath the Lord Roberts Annex site in the West End for development of an underground substation.
The West End is already a dense and expensive area so building an above ground substation to replace to the existing infrastructure is not an ideal situation.
BC Hydro Project Manager Andrew Leonard says that is why a proposal was made to the Vancouver School Board.
“Our proposal with the school board was to build that substation underground in exchange for property rights that would allow the school board to build up to two new schools in the downtown core.”
The financial details still need to be worked out.
Leonard says this deal has been in the works for a while and it is better than the alternatives.
“The West End is a very densely populated area. If we had to build an above ground substation, which is what our other option would be, it would definitely take away from precious housing stock.”
He says this isn’t just a good deal for BC Hydro.
“It’s a win-win for the school board, BC Hydro and the residents of downtown.”
The Vancouver School Board will still hold all of the above ground property rights.
