• On October 21, 2019, City Council approved a Disposition and Development Agreement(DDA) between Holland Acquisition Co., LLC (Holland) and the City of Vancouver to facilitate the construction of a large mixed use project on Block 10 to include Holland's corporate headquarters, located northeast of the intersection of Columbia and Eighth Streets, to be leased by Holland for up to 99 years with opportunities to purchase the property at years 60, 80 and after year 99;
• The DDA as approved stipulates a deadline for Holland to complete its due diligence of 60 days following approval of the DDA (December 20, 2019), as well as a deadline of December 31, 2019, for executing the ground lease; 
• The First Amendment to the DDA, approved by Council on December 16, 2019, extended Holland's due diligence term to January 27, 2020, and the closing date to execute the ground lease to March 31, 2020.
• Due to unforeseen delays, Holland has requested that the DDA be amended to extend the closing date to execute the ground lease;
• The proposed second amendment to the DDA would revise the date for Holland to execute the ground lease no later than May 31, 2020;
• No changes to the target dates for submitting permit applications, commencing construction or completing construction are requested or granted by way of this amendment to the DDA.

Goal 8: Strengthen commercial, retail and community districts throughout the City.

Objective 8.1: Surplus Block 10 and issue an RFP to solicit a use that will contribute to downtown vitality.

On January 10, 2020, Holland notified City staff that during the due diligence period, a minor deposit of hydrocarbon-based material was found in the soil on Block 10, which will require further investigation and potentially remediation. Nonetheless, Holland has indicated that they will assume full responsibility for the cost of any clean-up, and have accordingly submitted a Waiver of Feasibility dated January 27, 2020, along with a statement that they have authorized the escrow agent to release the $250,000 earnest money deposit to the City.

The uncertainty created by this finding has resulted in a need to postpone the closing date on the ground lease.

There will be no changes to the target dates for submitting permit applications or commencing and completing construction, therefore City staff is in support of the request to extend the closing date to May 31, 2020.

1. The requested changes to the Disposition and Development Agreement for Block 10 are needed to ensure that the lessee has an opportunity to thoroughly determine that the project is feasible;
2. The due diligence period has expired and the Developer’s earnest money will now be non-refundable in the event the project does not proceed;
3. The permitting and construction timeline as outlined in the initial DDA will remain in effect.