There were no dancing mascots when Mayor Gregor Robertson announced earlier this year that Vancouver taxpayers were "on the hook" for the $1-billion Olympic athletes village, which was then mired in a financial mess.

But that all changed Wednesday, as the mayor handed over the giant fake key for the village to VANOC CEO John Furlong amid life-size versions of Quatchi, Sumi and Miga, along with native drummers in elaborate costumes and a student choir singing O Canada.

"We're all feeling the momentum now," Mr. Robertson said, as he thanked not just the beleaguered private developers of the village, Peter and Shahram Malek, but also marketer Bob Rennie and his team - "the best in the city" - and even the contractors. "This is one of the most environmentally sustainable communities in the world."

With 100 days to go until the Games, people got to walk around the elegant, eight-block, 1,100-unit Millennium Project that constitutes the village. Many associated with the project said the tide of public opinion has turned.

"I think it's turning into a very good news story," said Ian Smith, a city planner who has worked with the project since the beginning. "There's a different dynamic now."

For the official handover of the village, which will house more than 3,000 athletes for the Olympic and Paralympic Games, Vancouver enjoyed another sunlit, warm, fall day. Clusters of local and foreign news media roamed the site and its broad central plaza, stopping to admire such elements as the solar-powered, GPS-rigged public garbage cans, the $1-million views from the athletes' bedrooms, and the elaborate daycare playground that sits on a balcony overlooking the city's downtown towers.

"They've heard the bad stories, but they're interested in the project and its sustainability, especially the Koreans," said Rick Graham, an official from the Canadian Tourism Commission, who was shepherding a group of foreign reporters around as part of a government-funded tour.

Hundreds of people, including a couple of dozen former Olympic athletes, turned out for the official ceremony held at the city's restored Salt Building, which faces the main plaza.

Like the village, the onetime industrial building was another project - this time a city one - that went millions of dollars over budget as it was converted for use as a brewpub and coffeehouse. Now, the city is getting praise for the sensitive renovation of a structure that, three years ago, was covered in pigeon droppings.

The village's new image may take some getting used to.

For the past year, Vancouverites have been bombarded with news about the village's financial problems, after the Maleks had to be bailed out by the city when their recession-battered New York hedge-fund lenders stopped payments because of concerns about cost overruns.

The city ended up taking over the financing of the project - a move that still carries some risk if the condos don't sell for the amount it cost to build them. As well, it also took a stronger role in managing the project, amid concerns from inside city hall that the village was behind schedule.

But, behind the scenes, the village's project managers and promoters worked tirelessly to change public opinion. For five months, Mr. Rennie, the condo marketer, did tours of the project every Friday for city opinion-makers, selling them on the village's best points: the waterfront, the green features, and the urban design that features European-style narrow streets and low buildings.

He has also worked out a new launch date for the approximately $750-million worth of condos that remain unsold - including the one shown off to media on Wednesday, a two-bedroom-and-den suite that will sell for around $2-million. The prices haven't been set yet, but Mr. Rennie is convinced the city won't lose any of its money.

Peter Malek used the occasion of the handover to invite everyone to that next round of presales on May 8.

Then people will have a chance to buy "the ultimate Olympics souvenir," he said.

Special to the Globe and Mail