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Lady Luck smiled on Richmond, BC twice.

First, the city gained the favor of Vanoc to build of the $187 million superstructure that was used to host speed-skating events. Then good fortune came to Richmond again when ASPAC, the Hong Kong based developer purchased the land just west of the Oval for a cool $141 million in an all-cash transaction. That amount was more than three times the government of Richmond had expected and the money not only help clear any debt that Richmond had in finishing the Oval project, there was enough left over to allow Richmond to purchase a key piece of real estate in the heart of the city, the Garden City Lands.

Right now, ASPAC is working diligently to lay the preliminary foundation for what will be known as RiverGreen, a parcel of land just west of Dinsmore Bridge. ASPAC intends to build a cluster of 12 to 14 residential towers with 2,000 units to house 4,000 residents. RiverGreen will be the largest planned community housing project in Richmond.
The ASPAC housing will be restricted to 14 stories high as they will be in the direct flight path of the YVR Vancouver International Airport’s air traffic. But to compensate, if that is the right word, RiverGreen residents will have a spectacular view of the famous North Vancouver northshore mountains.

ASPAC is a real-estate developer of high-end residential living spaces that has plenty of experience with the city of Vancouver having developed the Waterfront Place and Harbour Green Place in downtown Vancouver and Wesbrock in UBC University Endowment Lands.

With the construction of the Richmond Olympic Oval and the subsequent good fortune that Richmond has gotten in just a few short years, the city is now well on its way to revive a part of the city that could as well turn into a riverside wasteland or an industrial slum and holds the promise to connect up the formerly disjointed north and south portions.

Will Richmond score a Golden Future with the Oval?


Jogger runs along Middle Arm Greenway and enters Richmond Oval Spirit Square.

The ASPAC RiverGreen development was on surplus land left over from the Richmond Olympic Oval development. The Richmond government sold the land to ASPAC Development in March 2007 for a cool $141 million in an all-cash transaction. That amount was three times what the government had previously expected ($43 million). At the time of the sale, the Richmond government was facing a shortfall of $43 million to complete the Olympic Oval project.

Some conditions of the land sale included the preservation of public “green spaces” with no net loss after development, maximizing the spectacular river views for all, increase public accessibility to the area, adherence to LEED Silver building designs etc. The development project is headed by well-known Vancouver architect James Cheng.

Although ASPAC is based in Hong Kong, it has completed a number of Vancouver real estate development projects, including Waterfront Place and Harbour Green Place in downtown Vancouver and the Wesbrock at UBC’s University Endowment Lands. Now, the company is working on RiverGreen at the Richmond Olympic Oval.

Here, on this prime riverfront property at the mouth of the Fraser River, ASPAC will construct 2,000 housing units for 4,000 residents and the company may spend up to $1 Billion to develop it over the next 10-12 years.

The ASPAC housing units will consist of 12-14 residential towers in five parcels of land in an area that is 8.6 acres large.
The buildings will be restricted to 14 stories high as the area is in the direct flight path of the YVR Vancouver International Airport’s air traffic. Facing the north side, one can see planes arriving and leaving the YVR airport with the Vancouver’s spectacular snow-capped northshore mountains as the backdrop.

The city of Richmond has also retained a half-acre of land nearby for affordable housing development.

Middle Arm Greenway Inukshuk and Speed-skater artwork

Immediately after the 2010 Olympics, the Richmond Oval is undergoing a transformation of its own in renovating the former Olympic speed-skating venue into a heath and fitness centre for the community and a high-caliber training facility for rowing and boating athletes. Next door, preliminary work is being done by ASPAC to prepare the land for a real estate development that will become Richmond’s largest planned community site.

The health and wellness dyke trail built for resident fitness runs along the Middle Arm Greenway. And with this large-scale ASPAC real estate development, the city will truly be linked up from the north and south. Richmond and even Vancouver area residents can now ride their bikes and do their shopping at a wide variety of stores along the three Canada Line Skytrain stations—Brighouse, Lansdowne and Aberdeen, then take a trip down south to the Steveston Village and other historic sites of national interest.

Richmond’s traditional industries have been fishery and agriculture, a heritage that the city government wants to preserve. Also, 1.4 million birds migrate through as part of the Pacific Flyway. So with all these natural characteristics, the city hopes to
keep up with its pro-environment image and habitat.

With the green efforts that the Richmond government is spearheading, things are falling in place. Although the Middle Arm Greenway project is far from finish, citizens are already enjoying cycling and jogging there on the raised dyke trails along the Fraser River.

It’s a new vision for Richmond, one that would likely bear fruit in the post-2010 Olympics Games era.



Public art at the Spirit Square that reflects Richmond’s fishery heritage










Richmond BC Middle Arm Greenway is far from complete in April 2010.

Like elsewhere in the Greater Vancouver area, the city of Richmond encourages its citizens to engage in a more active lifestyle such as exercise and cycling to reduce car usage and carbon emission. All that lead to the development of the Middle Arm Greenway project with a dyke trail that passed by the Richmond Oval.

The outdoor plaza that occupies the north and east sides of the Oval is lined with trees and plants to oxygenate the air. This area is also named the ‘Spirit Square’ which is actually a $20 million BC government program to improve public meeting places in communities across the province. Citizens get to enjoy the outdoor spirit and a Spirit Square reflects the unique character, heritage and cultural diversity of the area.

Slightly more than one-third (37.4%) of Richmond’s lands are Agricultural Land Reserves. So it is interesting to see how Richmond is going to eventually develop the Garden City Lands it purchased with almost $50 million, using part of the windfall from selling the surplus Richmond Oval land to ASPAC Development, a Hong Kong based company in an all-cash transaction of $141 million. That amount was more than triple the expected selling price that city of Richmond had hoped for. Luckily for those who lived there, it also meant that the Richmond government did not have to raise taxes to subsidize the cost of building the Oval in the first place.

Public art by Janet Echelman at the Richmond Oval.


First Nations art at the ‘Spirit Square’ a the north side of the Richmond Oval.


Ice Blade by Seattle artist Buster Simpson at the Richmond Oval.


An architectural perspective of a stone and the display suite at the Oval.


Photographer at the Richmond Oval Spirit Square


View of plane landing at YVR from the Richmond Oval Spirit Square.




The Richmond Oval, a green LEED building with a visitor’s eco-friendly car, a Toyota Prius.

As a sports facility and Olympic venue, sustainability was a guiding principle in the design of the building. Normally wasted energy from ice-refrigeration is recaptured and used in heating the building and hot water. Rain water collected from the building’s unique wave-roof is used for irrigation and supplement toilet flushing. Trees and other vegetation were planted to reduce carbon dioxide and oxygenate the air.

To sustain its business operation in the post-2010 Games era, the Oval aims to be a multi-use health and wellness centre for its surrounding community and a high-performance training destination for elite boating athletes. Together with the nearby John M.S. Lecky UBC Boathouse, rowing athletes can have a morning session of indoor training at the Oval and test their skills in the afternoon in the nearby water of the Fraser River.

Accessibility and inclusiveness are also important features for wheelchair users of the Oval’s many sports facilities. The energy-efficient and eco-friendly features of the Oval were designed to qualify for a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Silver standard.

Various Public art objects by such artists as Musqueam Susan Point, Janet Echelman, and American Buster Simpson also enrich the surrounding area.

Rain water collected from the wave-roof runs through this runnel for use in irrigation and supplementing toilet flushing.


Green vegetation planted at the Oval as part of sustainability.








Richmond Oval surrounding street scene

The Oval also hopes to attract professional athletes and organizations to come to the venue for competition and training.

There is an Indoor Rowing Tank with state-of-the-art apparatus that makes it the highest caliber of its kind in Canada. There is also the John M.S. Lecky UBC Boathouse nearby just a short jog away that could help in convincing Canadian boating athletes to come to Richmond to train.

After a morning training session indoors at the rowing tank, the athletes can test the water at the Middle Arm Greenway and see the improvement right away in a real world boating environment.

The new posters just outside the Richmond Oval have the slogan “Richmond – Better in Every Way” written on it. It is obvious that in the post 2010 Games era, the Richmond Oval wants to cultivate an image as a centre for professional rowing and boating sports athletes training. With the Indoor Rowing Tank at the Oval and the John M.S. Lecky UBC Boathouse just steps away, that proposition is a strong and convincing one.

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An Indoor Rowing Tank for training professional rowing and boating athletes. Photos by Ray Van Eng unless otherwise stated.


The center spine of the Indoor Rowing Tank where athletes sit and train.





A poster at the Indoor Rowing Tank adds bit of fun for athletes who train there.


The John M.S. Lecky UBC Boathouse is just a short distance away from the Richmond Oval.

New posters at the Richmond Oval

The natural progression that makes the most sense for the Richmond Olympic Oval in the post 2010 Games era is to become a premier site for fitness training and professional sports.

After renovation when it opens again this summer, the Richmond Oval will become a fitness centre for the general public, a training facilities for professional rowing and boating athletes and a venue for sports competitions large and small, both on and off the ice. In the summer or in the winter.

To thrive as a business, the Oval needs the active participation of these three groups of users. The Richmond Oval lays out its welcome mat during the renovation period. The group fitness centre remains open.

The general public, especially those who live in the surrounding area, is an important group for the Oval. They are the bread and butter of its operation. To take care of parents who have kids, the Oval provides a children minding room while you work out at the group fitness cnetre.

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The legacy of the 2010 Games is forever immortalized in this speed-skater sculpture at the Richmond Oval [Photos by Ray Van Eng unless otherwise stated]






The fitness training centre at the mezzanine level of the Richmond Oval


Many Richmond Oval visitors would be from nearby communities. Some would come by bike.


The Richmond Oval lays out its welcome mat to visitors during renovation.


The Children Minding Room

The ice track for the long and short track speed-skating that the venue was designed for was taken out and in its place, hardwood courts for basketball, volleyball, badminton, indoor soccer etc. will dominate. The renovation will go on until the summer of 2010.

There will be two public fitness centers that make use of all these equipment.

The 2010 Olympic décor will likely be gone. Personally, I like to see the Oval keeping some of these. Just for old time sake so to speak. The 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Games will create such nostalgia for many years to come.

This ball hockey net is already resting on the hardwood floor during renovation. It is a matter of where exactly to drag it into the right place.

In fact, many of the larger sports equipment fixtures such as the basketball hoop stands, goals and nets are either on wheels or portable enough so they can be easily moved around at a moment’s notice.

While French signage has been added to the exterior of the building, the real radical changes are happening inside.

The Oval is being transformed from a venue designed for long and short track speed-skating to a multi-use sports and community complex that can accommodate the many other sports that the public usually engage in — basketball, volleyball, badminton, indoor soccer, hockey etc. There will also be rinks for ice-hockey and figure skating and if the opportunities arise, the building can be turned back into a speed-skating arena for international competitions.

An ice engineer slides on the ice-track to test it just prior to its removal the next day.

Photo of the snow machine running on the speed-skating track on April 09, 2010 to prepare for the track to be removed.

Snow machine prepares ice-track to be removed the next day.

Snow machine with 2010 Olympic décor of a speed-skater hanging high above.

Lots of packing going on at the Oval while seats are already collapsed for easier storage.

The question is how much will be really left behind?

This section of the Richmond Oval will be converted into an ice-rink for hockey, figure skating and other ice sports.