Inside the Village: Where the Olympians live in Vancouver

[Harvey Specter]

As part of a select group of international media, Yahoo! Sports had the opportunity to explore the Olympic Village in Vancouver without many restrictions. Here's part one of our series, focusing on the college-dorm-like athletes' accommodations.

The Italian building is colorful. The Russian building is appropriately foreboding. The U.S. building overlooks the courtyard, where competitors from many nations mingle. Canada's two buildings have, perhaps, the best views of Vancouver's picturesque sights. The Aussies' flags are eclipsed by a giant banner depicting a boxing kangaroo.

The Olympic Village in Vancouver houses an estimated 2,730 athletes, coaches, officials and other members of national delegations. It is a city unto itself, with food, entertainment, medical services and other amenities. But the majority of the village is dedicated to housing.

In general, the accommodations are a series of simple, no-frills rooms — small beds in small bedrooms, and a kitchen that doesn't have an oven or stove, lest a competition-weary athlete leave the gas on after a late-night snack (that's why there's a 24-hour McDonald's on site). The process of determining who lives where in the village is a meticulous and, at times, very political one.

Only national officials, coaches, trainers, technicians and athletes stay in the village; family members aren't allowed to room there, unless they are part of a delegation. There is a "host program" in Vancouver that allows athletes to stay with "citizens of Vancouver" as well.

There are 250 non-market units that are owned and maintained by the city, and roughly 850 retail units that will be on the market after the Olympics.

The dorm-style rooms that were on display to the press in the Olympic Village this week aren't necessarily indicative of all the housing — some rooms are more luxurious than others, but with a smaller square footage. Occupancy is between two and six people, but it averages out to about four per apartment.

Inside the entrance to each suite, there's a sitting area, which evidently is a significant advancement in athlete housing, according to Dan Merkley, manager of village operations and the resident know-it-all on Olympic residences (this is his fifth Olympics).

How is the housing decided? It's a process that begins a year in advance, according to Merkley. There's a village staff whose job it is to allocate the different spaces in the village to the teams.

"They consider the size of the teams, where they would like to stay, certain criteria that's unique to their teams. We drop in the big ones first, because they're going to anchor the village," he said. "It's really only the very largest teams that are aware of their allotment before their arrival. The medium-sized and smaller teams learn when they arrive."

The blocks of rooms are turned over to the respective National Olympic Committees, who then run the buildings like their own hotels. "If there are any preferences or complaints, we leave that to them," said Merkley

[IMG]The kitchen might have you flashing back to your first apartment, minus the empty pizza boxes and stacks of unpaid bills. That gap on the right is where the stove/oven would have been.[/IMG]

Other than the refreshing Official Water of the 2010 Olympics on the end tables, the bedrooms are quite bare. There were two of them in the apartment we surveyed: a double and a single. No word if the Olympic committees determine who sleeps alone or if the athletes resort to the time-honored tradition of calling "dibs."

Here's a view from the bedroom balcony, which is slender but just big enough for an athlete to stand on in order to taunt the delegation across the way, should the need arise.

The bathroom is, as expected, no palace.

Interesting that over by the commode there's this sign regarding the water and whether or not an athlete should pour a glass of water from the toilet.



This is likely because the Olympic Village is a "green" village, with trees and vegetation located on the roof. Nejat Sarp, VP of services and villages for Vancouver 2010, said the green roof "captures the [rain] water, and it's used for watering vegetation and flushing the toilets."

But green roof or no green roof: Better to just avoid drinking from the toilet.

As we said before, there are some politics in this process. Some teams lobby for exclusive access to elevators or staircases. The village organizers also have to be cognizant of lingering issues that go beyond athletic competition between nations.

"As you can imagine, there are certain cultural or political incapabilities between teams. There's not a lot of that, but it's something we consider," said Merkley. "In some cases, countries actually share resources."

http://sports.yahoo.com/olympics/van...urn=oly,218827

[vapour_lock]

are these the supposed low income housing when olympics are over?

[Nocardia]

Originally Posted by vapour_lock

are these the supposed low income housing when olympics are over?

I don't think so. I believe people have actually purchased them (but people can correct me if I am wrong)

[TOPEC]

^ exactly what i was wondering about too.

[Harvey Specter]

After the 2010 Winter Games, the buildings will become permanent residential housing, with a focus on housing for families. It will be a mixed-use community and will contribute about 1,100 residential units (250 of which will become affordable housing, and another 100 units will become modest market housing).

After the 2010 Winter Games, the community and boating centre will have:

Community Centre

* full-size gym
* games room
* arts and crafts room
* aerobics studio and fitness centre
* multipurpose rooms
* dock for non-motorized boats
* 69-space daycare and outdoor play area
* 6,000 sq. ft. of commercial /restaurant space
* underground parkingwill be developed

By 2020, Southeast False Creek will be home to 12,000 to 16,000 people and willl have six million square feet of development. This will include:

Development of the Olympic Village

* more than 5,000 residential units
* mid-size grocery store and community serving retail/services
* full-size community centre
* non-motorized boating facility
* three to five licensed childcare facilities
* two out-of-school care facilities
* an elementary school
* interfaith spiritual centre
* restoration of five heritage buildings
* 10 hectares of park land, including habitat, playgrounds and opportunities for urban agriculture.

.

[chun]

Wow, that article really makes the village look bad. It's definitely not as bad as they make it seem. They didn't even include the athletes lounge, which is quite amazing at the center of the village with a LOT of amenities.

Btw, that pic from the balcony is in the Sweden building. There's only a handful of suites that have that crappy of a balcony. This article is garbage.

Posted via RS Mobile

[Hondaracer]

i thought all the kitchens were framed off as to keep them new for future buyers

[StylinRed]

wow... i think our jail cells are better than that

who would want to live in that after the games oO

[chun]

Originally Posted by Hondaracer

i thought all the kitchens were framed off as to keep them new for future buyers

They are. I'm not sure where they're getting these pics from but all the kitchens are boarded up with plywood to keep them new.

[sh0n]

I think the article is kinda bias.

The pictures show some pretty bad quality low income housing.

I mean I'm pretty sure the units that the Canadian team are staying are by far better then whatever is in this report.

[invader]

I can imagine an Olympic athlete, taking a HUGE dump in the morning before their event.

[EmOne]

building/parcel 5 half of it is low income housing.

Its really ridiculous how big the low income housings are compared to the ones that people are actually paying money for.

The one building with the orange cladding outside is for sale, most of the suites are 1 bedroom, while the building not even 10m across from is low income with 3 freaking bedrooms and double bathrooms.

I'd be pissed if I bought one of those <800squareft suites and waking up in the morning looking across the yard and see them bums chilling in their 3 bedroom suits w/ a large balcony having a cig. lol

[Drow]

the first pic of the village with all the italy flags reminds me of jersey shore

[StealthFighter]

if i were an athlete, i'd do a nice prank for the next people. like pissing in the toilet tank, so when they flush...pee comes out.

[RenoMan]

^ time to grow up

[TRD Rs200]

Originally Posted by RenoMan

^ time to grow up

+1

[Ch28]

I remember reading an article talking about the prices of these places once the Olympics are over. Does anybody know the pricing? I can't find the article

[J____]

lol nice, 24 mcdonalds for olympic atheletes... gg. at least make it a subway

[azzurro32]

Originally Posted by J____

lol nice, 24 mcdonalds for olympic atheletes... gg. at least make it a subway

Or a timmies
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[skyxx]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cl0vxnOMewc

[Nightwalker]

Originally Posted by skyxx

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cl0vxnOMewc

That's freaking brilliant

[124Y]

Originally Posted by skyxx

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cl0vxnOMewc

Very cool and functional idea! Sustainability FTW!

[q0192837465]

These apartments will have cum stains all over when the Olympic is done.

[skyxx]

UV Light "art".

[antonito]

Originally Posted by EmOne

building/parcel 5 half of it is low income housing.

Its really ridiculous how big the low income housings are compared to the ones that people are actually paying money for.

The one building with the orange cladding outside is for sale, most of the suites are 1 bedroom, while the building not even 10m across from is low income with 3 freaking bedrooms and double bathrooms.

I'd be pissed if I bought one of those <800squareft suites and waking up in the morning looking across the yard and see them bums chilling in their 3 bedroom suits w/ a large balcony having a cig. lol

Those low income suites are shit, the only way they are bigger is if you are comparing the 3 bedroom units to the 1 bedroom (which you seem to be doing, for whatever reason). Believe me, no one would rather be living in the social housing.

Originally Posted by chun

They are. I'm not sure where they're getting these pics from but all the kitchens are boarded up with plywood to keep them new.

The retail units had the kitchens boarded up, because they have really nice kitchens. The pictures are of the social housing, where the kitchens are made of low cost materials.

Originally Posted by Biohazard

I don't think so. I believe people have actually purchased them (but people can correct me if I am wrong)

Again, the majority of those photos are from the social housing