OWWED BY PRINCIPAL GROUP artment tenants band to buy buildin MEMBERS OF a Lynn Valley apartment complex owned by the Principal Group’s First Investors Corp. and Associated Investors of Canada Ltd. subsidiaries have formed a co-op in a bid to buy the apartment from the property's receiver. Mountain Village Housing Cooperative (MVHC) president Barbara Oh! said the co-op sign- ed up 28 new members Oct. 20 at its first meeting and now has a membership of 38. The co-op was established with advice and guidance from the Columbia Housing Advisory Associaton (CHAA). CHAA executive director Shirley Schmid said the co-op was formed te make an offer to purchase the 170-unit Mountain Village Apartments property from receiver Coopers & Lybrand Ltd. By TIMOTHY RENSHAW News Reporter “The whole purpose (of the offer) is to ensure that people liv- ing there now can continue to af- ford to do so,** Schmid said. “It's a way to provide some se- curity (for residents).”’ Coopers & Lybrand is current- Sy appraising the property. Schmid said the receiver has in- formed the co-op that it is cur- rently considering a number of offers for Mountain Village. One of Principal Group Lid.’s assets, the apartment block had sold for $8 million three years ayo. Principal Group Ltd., an Ed- monton-based financial company controlling assets worth more than $1 billion, filed for bankruptcy Aug. 10. The move came 41 days after the collapse of First Investors Corp, and Associated Investors of Canada Lid. whose assets were frozen June 30 by the Alberta government after doubts were raised over the companies’ abilities to make full payments to investors holding $467 million worth of uninsured investment contracts. Monthly rent at the 2558 Whitely Court Mountain Village complex currently ranges from $425 to $775 for one to four- bedroom suites. NEWS photo Tom Burlay RESIDENTS OF a Lynn Valley apartment met recently to discuss forming a co-op and buying their own building. The building is owned by the bankrupt Principal Group’s First Investors Corp. and Associated Investors of Canada Ltd. subsidiaries. Seymour res cents seek end to services squeeze OVER 500 SEYMOUR area residents packed the hall at St. Pius X Church Wednesday looking for solutions to the cur- rent squeeze on community services aggravating many in the community. High on the residents’ agenda are appeals for a new elementary school in the Indian River neighborhood, replacement of the 40-year-old Burrard View Com- munity School, and additional rec- reational facilities. “We feel very good about the meeting. There was a tremendous turnout and an accurate update on the schools and recreation centre,”’ said meeting organizer Jim Cuthbert, interim president of the Deep Cove, Dollarton, Indian River Community Association. MORE DOLLARS Residents plan to turn up the heat on the overtaxed schools situ- ation at a Nov. 25 meeting which will select a delegation to take the case for more education dollars to Victoria. Cuthbert would like to see dele- gation representation from the municipality, the North Vancouver School District and community organizations. “The school issue had the most interest at the meeting,’’ Cuthbert said. ‘Because of the momentum built by the community support, we felt there should be a major follow up. We'd like to see a meeting with senior officials of the Ministry of Education in early December."’ DECISION PENDING North Vancouver Schoo! District superintendent of schools Dr. Leo Marshall said the schoo! board has yet to discuss the issue of par- ticipating in the delegation. ‘‘The decision to take part has to be taken by the board as a whole. Jf the group wants to make repre- sentation to the board, then the board will consider the request,’’ said Marsball. He said the school board has submitted requests to the Ministry of Education for funding for both the Indian River School and Bur- tard View. A decision by the ministry on the requests would be made sometime in the early spring along with requests for funding from school districts throughout the province for inclusion in the ministry’s 1988-89 expenditures budget. MILLIONS NEEDED Marshall said the cost for upgrading the Burrard View school is contingent upon ‘‘what we are allowed, if we are allowed.’’ The estimated cost for a new 400-pupil school at Indian River is $4.7 million for land and building. The school district is currently negotiating with the municipality for purchase of a parcel of desig- nated land in the new Indian River neighborhood. The school district has owned a parcel of land at the corner of Raeburn Street and Banbury Road since before 1970 to accommodate a replacement school for the old Burrard View school. “The original plan in 1982 was to gradually move to an annex there but the provincial restraint program stopped that,”’ said Mar- shall, 3 - Sundays, Navember 8, 1987 - North Shore News Weather: Sunday through Tuesday, periods of rain. Highs near 12°C. INDEX Doug Collins Comics Lifestyles Mailbox LARCO DEVELOPMENT GROUF ETD. V firm buys andarin Klote/ THE NORTH Vancouver-based Larco Development Group Inc. is the new owner of Varncouver’s Mandarin Hotel. The deal to sell the luxury hotel, which was approved Jast week, has been in the works for the past eight months. Mandarin director of food and beverage Stephen Darling said Fri- day the decision to sell the Man- darin is ‘‘a positive step for the hotel. We have all been waiting for something to happen for :0 long. Now at least a decision has been made and people can get on with their lives.’” Built for an initial cost of $42 million in 1984, the hotel failed to raeet expectations, and, after being baled out financially by the Hongkong Land Co., was apprats- ed in 1986 at $33.6 million and put up for sale for a reported $10 mil- lion. Larco declined to comment on the sale and declined to release the By TIMOTHY RENSHAW News Reporter sale price. The Delta Hotel chain will manage the Mandarin under a contract with the new owner. Larco, which has offices in the International Plaza complex, owns a number of hotels in the United States. An effort by minority share- holders to block the sale of the Mandarin to Larco failed in Oc- tober after B.C. Supreme Court Chief Justice Allan McEachern dismissed an injunction blocking the sale. Larco had already reportedly | paid the hotel's receiver-manager Clarkson Gordon Inc. a $2 million .’ deposit. LB NEWS photo Cindy Bellamy KRIS TUYSSUZIAN bandages Murray Ferpuson’s eye during a recent St. John’s Ambulance Course held at the Karen Magnussen Arena. The two teens were being graded on their ability to deal with emergency situations and proper bandaging techniques.