The Vancouver City Council approved without discussion the purchase and donation of Library Square — the grassy field south of the Vancouver Community Library — for $12 million at its meeting Monday night.
Appraisers valued the five parcels of land that make up Library Square at $18 million to $20 million. The city will accept the difference as a donation. The seller was Evergreen Investors LLC, an associate of Killian Pacific.
Killian Pacific owns the Grand Central retail center and the Columbia Business Center.
The city will pay for the land with $4 million from the real estate excise tax proceeds, $4 million from the parking fund, a short-term loan, and $4 million from the water fund, a short-term loan.
Vancouver Mayor Anne McEnerny-Ogle envisions it becoming Vancouver’s transit center, where light rail is scheduled to terminate, serving as a hub for C-Tran’s bus rapid transit lines and other routes. It would stand near the base of the proposed Interstate 5 Bridge replacement.
