The Editor,
Re. “Renowned green architect takes over Ioco project” (The Tri-City News, March 8).
We have to question the admiring tenor of The Tri-City News’ profile on Brilliant Circle Group’s new “renowned” and “storied” architect for the Ioco lands project, Peter Busby, not just because it’s a flattering puff piece that might as well have come from BCG’s PR office, but because it steps around the very questions that make this shift of front man telling. A less partial reporter would have pressed BCG’s new celebrity “green” architect with some straightforward questions.
First, what’s really behind this abrupt change-up? Pushing past the excuse that BCG’s previous architect and front man, James Cheng, has suddenly become “too busy with other projects,” we have to wonder why BCG’s owner in Hong Kong has decided to pull out Mr. Cheng and install Mr. Busby as his public face, and why now. Did it have something to do with the unexpectedly strong local resistance to the builder’s project, resistance that Cheng proved unable to overcome?
Second, we know from Cheng’s presentations that his vision for the Ioco lands was already very strong on lip service to eco-sensitivity and sustainability, so what is this hire of a famously “green” architect really intended to accomplish? Does it presage a genuine change in what BCG wants to build or does it amount to just a public relations maneuver? What can Busby bring to the project that Cheng could not? Answer: a shiny new image, so that BCG can hit the restart button on its tainted public campaign to convince Port Moody to grant a rezoning of its property to allow higher-density construction and bigger profits.
Third, your reporter should have asked whether BCG’s new “green” front man brings any fresh ideas to the table for addressing two local quality-of-life concerns that stymied public enthusiasm for his predecessor’s pitch. Problem 1: Residents fear that rezoning BCG’s property at the far end of Ioco Road will hugely worsen traffic. Problem 2: Many locals oppose the decidedly un-green idea of forcing a busy new roadway through Bert Flinn Park to feed commuters to the Ioco lands. Some answers, please.
Hunter Madsen, Port Moody, co-organizer
savebertflinnpark.ca
