A higher dyke and buildings designed like a boat's hull will protect a massive new condominium development near the Richmond Oval from Fraser River flooding, the architect behind the project says. (River Green)

Richmond, B.C., Mayor Malcolm Brodie has given the thumbs-up to a massive luxury condominium complex that is to be built around the Olympic speedskating oval.

The 25 buildings of the River Green complex will cover 11 hectares on the south shore of the Fraser River, south of Vancouver.

Brodie said the city has owned the land for decades, but it sat vacant, surrounded by industrial land and warehouses, until the Richmond Oval was built for the 2010 Winter Games.

The Oval is being converted into a multi-sport community centre, and the surrounding land will eventually be transformed into a massive residential neighbourhood by developer ASPAC.

"It's going to be a very dynamic area," said Brodie Tuesday morning. "It's not going to be just like a stadium by itself. It's going to be right in the middle of an integrated community."

Fraser River raises construction issues

But the location — beside one of North America's largest rivers — has raised some concerns about potential flooding. Much of the city is already protected from the river by a series of dykes and special pumping stations.

Architect James Cheng said to address the problems, the dyke holding back the Fraser River will be raised, the soft soil will be reinforced and the buildings will be designed much like a boat's hull to ensure that even if there is a flood, the buildings won't be damaged.

He pointed to international examples of similar building scenarios to show that the project could be done.

"Amsterdam is exactly the same thing," said Cheng. "They've been around a lot longer than we are. Recently, in Shanghai — which is also a river delta [with] accumulations of sand and stuff like that — they've been doing 100-storey buildings."

The Richmond Olympic Oval was where speedskating events were held during the 2010 Winter Olympics. (Jonathan Hayward/Canadian Press)

Both Cheng and ASPAC were involved in the redevelopment of the Coal Harbour area in downtown Vancouver.

The same style of luxury condo living will be used to market the Richmond development, said George Wong of Magnum Projects, the company that is marketing the River Green development.

Wong said the units that will make up Phase 1 of River Green, which has already been approved by the city, will go on sale this summer, with construction expected to be completed by 2013.

Wong predicted that even though the location doesn't share the same prestigious proximity to Stanley Park as the Coal Harbour project, the first phase would sell out in 60 days. He did admit, though, that the size of the project makes it hard to be certain.

"Obviously, with anything of this size, there is anticipation and a bit of anxiety about how it's going to go," said Wong.