Richmond ponies up for Capstan station

Richmond has sent $ 3.5 million to TransLink to pay for the designing of a new Canada Line station at Capstan Way.

The city’s council approved the transfer at a meeting on Tuesday.

In 2012, Richmond signed an agreement with TransLink for a Capstan station, which will be at No. 3 Road between the Aberdeen and Bridgeport stations. Capstan was one of four stations that were planned for the Canada Line to be built later when they were needed.

Developers building near the proposed station get bonus density in return for contributions to the cost of Capstan station. The money is in a city bank account and the bulk of it will be delivered to TransLink when the full amount — about $ 27.8 million — is collected.

Developers pay just over $ 8,500 for each dwelling unit they build. The amount is adjusted each October based on inflation.

Over the past six years, based on Sept. 30 figures, the city has collected $ 19.36 million. It was originally believed it would take 15 years to collect the full amount, but based on development permit applications, the full amount could be in hand by next spring.

Once all of the money is collected and council approves the final transfer to TransLink, the agreement stipulates the station must be built and operational within 30 months, barring factors outside of TransLink’s control.

Any funding collected beyond what’s needed to build the station can be used for improvements to the station, roadways or other transportation infrastructure.

Derrick Cheung, vice- president of strategic sourcing and real estate for TransLink, called it “a novel collaborative arrangement.”

The agreement between the city and TransLink allows for $ 1 million for preliminary design work and $ 2 million for detailed design work. Part of the preliminary design process includes confirming land requirements for the station. In September, TransLink asked the city for the $ 1 million in preliminary design funding. Richmond released the detailed design funds as well to speed the process.

In an interview, Richmond Mayor Malcolm Brodie suggested a similar arrangement could work for stations along the planned light rail lines in Surrey and Langley and the proposed Broadway SkyTrain extension in Vancouver.

“It does beg the question as to the level of financial support that Vancouver and Surrey have to give for the rapid transit lines that are going into their communities,” Brodie said.