Seven hectares of the 32-hectare Southeast False Creek development site will be transformed into the Olympic Village when Vancouver hosts the 2010 Winter Games. Seven hectares of the 32-hectare Southeast False Creek development site will be transformed into the Olympic Village when Vancouver hosts the 2010 Winter Games. (CBC)

One of the main financial controversies of 2010 Winter Olympics preparations has moved a big step towards resolution after the City of Vancouver said that it has found the money to cover the remaining construction on the Olympic Village.

The city's business manager confirmed Thursday that $550 million worth of credit — enough to carry the project for up to four years — has been secured from a Canadian banking syndicate.

The money will cover remaining construction on the village and other costs until the city can sell the units and recover the investment.

The financing for the village fell off the rails when the New York-based hedge fund Fortress Investment Group pulled out of the massive condominium project last fall, right in the middle of a civic election campaign. That left the city financially responsible for ensuring the completion of the billion-dollar project being built by Millennium Development Corp. in time for the Olympics in February.