2016 - 2021 Development Strategy SFU Community Trust March 2016
I. II.
INTRODUCTION VISION AND MISSION A. Create Benefit for Simon Fraser University B. Create a Model Residential Community
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III. ACHIEVING THE FOUR ‘E’ GOALS
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IV.
CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES 2016-2021
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V.
STRATEGIC DIRECTIONS A. Environment B. Economy C. Education D. Equity
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VI.
KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS
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VII. TRANSITION AND SUCCESSION PLANNING
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VIII. CONCLUSION AND NEXT STEPS
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APPENDIX A: SFU Community Trust Governance and Management A1
APPENDIX B: UniverCity Awards/Recognition
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APPENDIX C: Summary of September 2015 SWOT Summary
C1
APPENDIX D: Summary of Key Performance Indicators 2016-2021 D1
TABLE OF CONTENTS
I. INTRODUCTION
This strategy, developed by the SFU Community Corporation Board of Directors and the Trust Executive, provides a framework for building out the UniverCity community between 2016 and 2021, and lays a foundation for potential future development of Simon Fraser University’s Burnaby Mountain lands beyond the currently zoned, subdivided and serviced UniverCity Highlands and Slopes neighbourhoods. SFU Community Corporation is a private corporation incorporated in British Columbia and has a single shareholder, Simon Fraser University. The corporation is the Trustee of lands owned by Simon Fraser University. The manner in which net proceeds of the development of the lands may be used is set forth in a Trust Deed dated July 29th, 2002. The Trust Deed established the powers, authorities, privileges, rights and duties of the Trustee. The corporation is governed by an independent Board of Directors appointed by SFU’s Board of Governors, comprising members of SFU’s senior administration, Governors of the University, a faculty member, a student member, the corporation’s President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO), and independent members with specific experience and expertise in urban planning and land development and related disciplines. The Trust’s President and CEO leads a team of planning, finance, and communications professionals and support staff. Staff and Board members involved in the creation of this Development Strategy Plan are identified in Appendix A. The strategy takes direction and inspiration from UniverCity’s original mandate, as presented to SFU’s Board of Governors in November 1998: • To establish a residential community which complements existing and future University development. • To establish an endowment fund and other sources of revenue to support University purposes. The mandate also directed a planning focus on “the design and development of a model community which integrates residential, commercial, and academic uses in a manner worthy of local and international acclaim.”
1 From the UN’s Brundtland Commission report, 1987
SFU’s commitment to creating a model sustainable community took root as the Trust was being created. It coincided with a growing global awareness of the importance of developing land in a way that “meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.”1
Our commitment to and success in providing leadership in sustainable community development while meeting SFU’s original dual mandates distinguishes UniverCity from other market development projects in Canada. The community is now halfway to completion. The resident population is expected to pass 5,200 this year on the way to an anticipated build-out total of over 9,000 people. In getting to this point, SFU Community Trust has developed critical civil infrastructure including underground water, sewer and shallow utilities, a comprehensive, award-winning stormwater management system, roads, paths, and a municipal park. It has partnered with other agencies in developing essential community facilities including the Early Learning Centre in Verdant, the University Highlands Elementary School, and the UniverCity Childcare Centre. Private investors have been essential to the project, leasing development sites and building 14 residential and mixed-use buildings. Five more parcels are currently under construction or in later stages of development planning.
Burnaby Mountain Official Comunity Plan neighbourhood designations.
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As shown on the following page, one more mixed-use development parcel and seven residential parcels within the subdivided and zoned lands of UniverCity remain to be leased in the next few years, leaving several on-campus parcels designated within the City of Burnaby’s Burnaby Mountain Official Community land (OCP), but not currently contemplated for development. These parcels, indicated as South Neighbourhood sites on the above map, have the potential for either future residential development or academic use. As SFU prepares to embark on its own masterplan review process, and a possible amendment of the OCP, the university and the Trust will need to work together to ensure that future residential unit capacity of approximately 1,500 units is not lost or diminished through any contemplated official community plan changes. These units could, for instance, one day be built on the current B-lot parking area adjacent to UniverCity or elsewhere in proximity to the community.
Aerial view of The Slopes Neighbourhood and SFU B-lot parking area.
Parcel 17 Altitude
The Peak
(Parcel 16)
(Parcel 18)
Un
Altaire
ive rs
ity
(Parcels 7 & 8)
Dri
ve E
as
Parcel 20
Parcel 19
Univ ersity
Water Tower Building
WEST HIGHLANDS NEIGHBOURHOOD
Parcel 21 High
land
Cour
Highland House
t
(Parcel 23)
Richard Bolton Park
UniverCity Childcare
Cresc
(Parcel 6)
Aurora (Parcel 5)
Verdant (Parcel 11)
(Parcel 22)
t
Novo Two
ent
Serenity (Parcel 10)
Parcel 24
University Highlands Elementary School
CentreBlock
HIGH STREET NEIGHBOURHOOD (Parcel 25)
Unive
rsity
High
Novo
EAST HIGHLANDS NEIGHBOURHOOD
Street
The Cornerstone (Parcel 14)
Harmony
The Hub Corne
rstone
Mews
(Parcel 4)
(Parcel 9)
(Parcel 15)
Origin (Parcel 27)
One University Crescent
Nest (Parcel 28) Slope
(Parcels 2 & 3)
Slope
s Me ws
ad
s Me ws
Towe r Ro
Lift (Parcel 29)
Veritas
(Parcel 30)
Parcel 31 Phase 4 Park Parcel 37
Unive
rsity Cr esce
nt
Parcel 36
Parcel 33 Parcel 34
Parcel 35
SLOPES NEIGHBOURHOOD
st
ive
y
sit
er niv
Ea
Dr
U
UniverCity Parcel Plan
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To effectively plan development of the remaining parcels of land within the University Highlands and Slopes neighbourhoods, the Board of Directors undertook a planning dialogue in January 2015, followed by a half-day workshop and a Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities Threats (SWOT) exercise in September 2015. The Trust was then directed to create this strategy for Board consideration and it was adopted by the Board in March 2016. As of March 2016 eight development parcels, shown in orange on the map above, are remaining to be leased and developed.
II. VISION AND MISSION A. CREATE BENEFIT FOR SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY
SFU Community Trust’s brief in the late 1990s was founded on an ambition to identify land that was surplus to Simon Fraser University’s long-term teaching and research needs and to develop that land in a way that would support and complement University functions, generate endowment wealth, and demonstrate a standard of development worthy of local and international acclaim. To the end of 2015, the Trust had contributed $35.3 million to the SFU Community Trust Endowment Fund. The endowment fund’s interdisciplinary research program employs income from this fund to support major initiatives within the SFU Strategic Research Plan. According to the Office of the Vice President, Research, the program has transformed SFU’s research landscape and the seven current projects have “fostered interdisciplinary collaborations, trained students, leveraged internal investment to gain external funds and showcased the University’s research excellence and leadership.”
SFU Academic Quadrangle & Reflecting Pond
Further to the direct endowment contributions, the Trust has constructed several significant assets that will be transferred to SFU at completion of the Trust mandate. These include: • • • • •
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SFU Town Square
Verdant Early Learning Centre UniverCity Childcare Centre Town Square High Street commercial/retail space SFU water pump station
The Trust also supports SFU with other cash payments for a variety of purposes, and continues to build a portfolio of
revenue-producing properties that have market value and generate net revenue that will form part of the Trust legacy.
At the present pace of development and pricing of land leases, our current estimate of the Trust’s total contribution to SFU (endowment, other cash, income-producing properties and other assets) at build-out is approximately $90 million.
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B. CREATE A MODEL RESIDENTIAL COMMUNITY
In addition to the endowment and related financial wealth creation goal, SFU Community Trust has been mandated to design and develop a model community “in a manner worthy of local and international acclaim.” That acclaim has become synonymous with building an affordable, livable, and sustainable community. In this, the Trust serves a conventional role as a developer of land and a more innovative and ambitious role as a builder of community and neighbourhood, and an exemplar in the field of sustainable development. To achieve its community-building goals, the Trust convenes and manages a myriad of community engagement initiatives designed to bring SFU and UniverCity together, such as: • Hiring students and interns at the Trust. • Sponsoring the annual Warren Gill Lecture and other lectures and talks. • Providing early childhood education research space at the UniverCity Childcare Centre. • Supporting the University Highlands Elementary School as a teaching and training facility for curriculum innovation. • Leading the Adaptive Stormwater Management Committee. • Providing shared campus/community programming and animating the Town Square. • Creating and managing High Street retail and service commercial space to meet the needs of UniverCity residents and SFU students, faculty, and staff. • And more generally, providing new and varied living spaces as part of the walkable campus.
The SFU approach to developing its surplus lands and community-building at UniverCity is captured in four sustainability goal categories first identified in the 2001 Phase 1 Development Guidelines: • • • •
Environment Economy Education Equity
These four ‘E’s are incorporated into the Trust’s logo, showing a square, symbolizing SFU’s Academic Quadrangle, surrounded by a cluster of ‘E’s representing the four cornerstones of our sustainability mission.
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UniverCity’s progress in these four broad goal categories – credit for which must be shared by SFU, the SFU Community Corporation Board and Trust staff, and by public sector partners at the City of Burnaby and private sector contributors in the development industry – has been recorded in extensive media coverage and with numerous local, national, and international awards. Trust staff are frequently invited to share their expertise, including playing key roles in national and international planning and sustainability institutions and other presenting at international conferences. The Trust team is also frequently asked to present at Canadian and international conferences. A list of the many awards received by SFU Community Trust and our development partners over the past decade is in Appendix B.
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III. ACHIEVING THE FOUR ‘E’ GOALS
In pursuit of sustainability goals in environment, economy, education, and equity, UniverCity has set a high standard for other residential community development projects in Canada and beyond. UniverCity has achieved many successes, including: ENVIRONMENT:
University Highlands Elementary School
• High energy-performance and low-carbon demonstration buildings (Verdant – LEED Gold; University Highlands Elementary School – LEED Gold retrofit; UniverCity Childcare Centre – Living Building candidate; mixed-use and residential buildings – LEED certified). • First comprehensive green zoning bylaw in Canada incorporating green building requirements in a municipal zoning bylaw. • The most advanced stormwater management system in Canada, monitored and supported by a unique adaptive management plan overseen by a committee comprising academics, students, professionals, residents, and volunteer stream keepers. • Transit-oriented development that reduces reliance on private automobiles and promotes access to transportation alternatives, including pioneering of car-share programming. • Extensive tree and riparian area protection through covenants, ensuring permanent protection of environmentally sensitive and aesthetically important natural features. • A district energy system that significantly reduces greenhouse gas emissions. • Geothermal heating for mixed-use buildings and solar pre-heating of domestic hot water in some residential buildings. ECONOMY: • Support for SFU teaching and research through the SFU Community Trust Endowment Fund and other cash and asset contributions. • Support for local and regionally based retailers and service providers, creating employment opportunities for SFU students and others. The commercial space at UniverCity creates real estate asset value and cash flow. • A diversity of housing type and tenure, creating choice in affordable housing opportunities for SFU faculty, staff, and students.
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EDUCATION:
UniverCity Childcare Centre
• Collaborated with and supported the Burnaby School Board to achieve the early opening of University Highlands Elementary School, the first elementary school in Canada to have a sustainability-focused curriculum. The school partners with SFU’s Faculty of Education for teacher training. • Established the UniverCity Childcare Centre, a 50-space facility that employs the Reggio Emilia approach to early childhood education. The centre partners with SFU’s Early Childhood Education Program to support teaching and research. • Established the Verdant Early Learning Centre, a 12-space facility for children up to age three. • Hires SFU and other student interns in disciplines related to sustainable community development to undertake research in all aspects of UniverCity’s development. • Trust management and staff lecture regularly in the Faculty of Environment, Urban Studies, and other SFU programs and are occasional guest lecturers at other universities, including the University of British Columbia, McGill, and Waterloo. • The Adaptive Stormwater Management Committee engages SFU students, faculty, and staff, together with residents and others, to track performance of stormwater management plans to ensure that they adapt to changing conditions as the community develops. • Directly supports SFU teaching and research through the SFU Community Trust Endowment Fund. EQUITY
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• UniverCity provides housing and a full range of community facilities and amenities adjacent to SFU, one of Burnaby’s largest employers. Over 30 percent of UniverCity residents have a direct relationship to SFU, as faculty, staff, or students, ensuring a supply of affordable housing close to where many residents work or study. • As a transit-oriented community, UniverCity is universally accessible with or without a private vehicle. • UniverCity residents have access to SFU cultural, athletic, and other services and facilities at the same cost as SFU students. • UniverCity provides an array of housing type and tenure choices that are accessible and affordable. • Employment creation for students, UniverCity residents and others in High Street businesses, University Highlands Elementary school, and childcare centres.
IV. CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES 2016-2021
The achievements and milestones reached by UniverCity speak to the strength of SFU Community Trust, including its healthy financial position, its positive community relationships, its planning leadership, and the strength of its management team. It also speaks to a well-established and strong working relationship with the City of Burnaby. The Trust has earned wide recognition as a leader in green, affordable development in British Columbia, and has created a legacy of learning for SFU. UniverCity is an increasingly attractive location to live and work. Yet challenges remain. There is increasing competition from large-scale development and redevelopment projects in the Burquitlam and Brentwood neighbourhoods, so to protect Burnaby Mountain land value and to secure overall financial objectives, the Trust will have to avoid oversupplying the local market with new development parcels. It will be critical to ensure that price pressures do not undermine UniverCity’s standard for quality and sustainability. UniverCity must continue to define its competitive advantage through the combination of green building standards, a full complement of amenities, and a diversity of housing and very competitive pricing.
Verdant@UniverCity
The Lower Mainland has been a buoyant residential marketplace in recent years, giving rise to concerns about a cyclical slowdown. Market timing of available parcels should continue to reflect a long-term financial perspective consistent with the University’s own long-term planning horizon. Through a SWOT analysis conducted as part of the Fall 2015 strategic planning workshop, the Board also identified areas in which the Trust can improve its organizational and reporting structures, including: • Improving current and ongoing assessment and reporting of the financial returns to SFU. • Ensuring alignment of SFU and SFU Community Trust communications strategies and messaging. • Determining clear, University-endorsed long-term financial targets. A summary of the SWOT analysis is included in Appendix C.
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Strategic planning is not annual planning. The strategic directions that follow seek to build on the Trust’s achievements to date and strengths identified previously, while responding proactively and creatively to current and emerging challenges and opportunities. The proposed directions reflect input from the Board workshop and from the Trust management team and are grouped in three distinct time periods, including: specific plans for 2016-2018; and for 2019 to 2021; as well as a set of options and transition plans for the period beyond 2021, by which time the original SFU Community Trust mandate is expected to have been substantially fulfilled.
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V. STRATEGIC DIRECTIONS
The main challenge for the next six or so years will be to maintain UniverCity’s legacy of environmental leadership and endowment wealth creation, while adding equivalent legacies in educational leadership, housing affordability, and community-building. The overarching goal is to achieve UniverCity’s endowment objectives and maintain its sustainability performance while also showing leadership in affordability – modelling good practice in the competitive and expensive Metro Vancouver market and setting an example worthy of regional and national emulation. The following sections address the Trust’s intended strategic directions under each of the 4-E goals of environment, economy, education, and equity. The actions necessary to achieve these goals are addressed in section VI and a comprehensive set of Key Performance Indicators is included in Appendix D.
A. ENVIRONMENT
Innovation has been a key principle in fulfilling SFU Community Trust’s responsibilities to model environmental sustainability. The Trust will continue to provide leadership in green building design and construction, as demonstrated in the UniverCity Childcare Centre, University Highlands Elementary School, Verdant, and others. Further, it will ensure that onsite stormwater retention systems are more visible and accessible, as in Origin, Nest, and Lift. The Trust will also encourage commercial tenants to reduce use of non-recyclable packaging and food and beverage containers. The Trust will continue its leadership role in providing district energy, in part by supporting the inclusion of SFU as a user of the Corix district energy system to further reduce greenhouse gas emissions and allow for greater efficiency. The Trust will pursue other initiatives to reduce energy demand and greenhouse gas emissions, such as expanding the solar thermal system in the UniverCity Childcare Centre to achieve our net zero goal in this project.
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Neighbourhood Utility Service at UniverCity
The Trust will work with SFU to ensure that the proposed relocation of the SFU data centre to the water tower site is planned for optimal integration into the UniverCity community and that every effort is made to harvest data centre waste heat for the district energy system or other community use. The Trust will maintain leadership in water management by working with the multi-party Adaptive Stormwater Management Committee and by continuing to reduce in-building water consumption to 50% below National Building Code by 2021. The Trust will ensure that all new UniverCity buildings meet or exceed our already ambitious healthy building requirements relating to interior air quality, materials choices, and construction methods. In transit and transportation, the Trust proposes three Key Performance Indicators: • Continue to pursue opportunities to establish the Burnaby Mountain Link aerial rapid transit system. • Provide for continued expansion of car-share service and pursue ride-share opportunities. • Construct a new transit storage facility on parcel 24. The Trust regards the Burnaby Mountain Link aerial rapid transit system as a key element of UniverCity as a transit-oriented development, enhancing access for UniverCity and for SFU, contributing more broadly to regional accessibility, and providing better transit linkages to SFU campuses in downtown Vancouver and in Surrey. The Trust will continue to advocate for senior government support for this strategic component of regional infrastructure. In addition to the sound business case for its cost and operational efficiency, the Burnaby Mountain Link supports both environmental and economic goals of the Trust and SFU. The Trust plans further research on the degree to which the Link would attract regional jobs to the SFU Burnaby Mountain campus.
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Pond C in The Slopes Neighbourhood
B. ECONOMY
The Trust will continue to pursue its economic goals under four general themes: built form review; capital projects; succession planning; and, distributions. In reviewing built form, the Trust will continue to commission biennial Mustel Research surveys to monitor resident satisfaction and ask questions about housing product mix to ensure that housing choices continue to meet market demand. Building on past success, the Trust will also work with the City of Burnaby to optimize density and building form on remaining Slopes parcels, with particular attention to the needs of families with children. This may involve “bundling” two or more Slopes parcels into a single development site. Larger parcels with smaller unit counts and lower densities may enable developers to deliver high-demand forms that would not readily fit on smaller sites. For example, row house and townhouse forms with ground level access, storage and possibly garages could be accommodated via private laneways, which also provide outdoor space for play and gathering. These housing types can be less expensive and support larger families, while being constructed on shorter timelines, adding value that could be leveraged to integrate needed amenities such as additional childcare, home-based offices, and community gathering/recreation space. The Trust will work with the City of Burnaby to explore further reductions to residential parking standards, especially for rental buildings, as a way of reducing building and occupancy costs. The Trust will continue to work with development partners to identify lower construction cost approaches, such as six-storey wood-frame and lightweight steel construction methods. The Trust will continue to explore long-term options for cost-effective potable water storage on Burnaby Mountain, including potential replacement of the water tower with in-ground storage. One measure of a successful organization is how well it transfers its experience and knowledge base at the end of its mandate. The Trust believes it is essential to ensure an efficient and effective transition to a post-development state. This would include managing the transfer of assets, such as the commercial space along the High Street and Cornerstone Mews, the UniverCity Childcare Centre, and others that may yet be created. The Trust will prepare a UniverCity “owners’ manual” to facilitate a seamless transfer of assets and responsibilities for operations, maintenance, repair, and replacement of community amenities and infrastructure. SFU and the City of Burnaby will be the principal audiences for this manual. This is addressed further in Section VII.
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C. EDUCATION
Supporting and partnering in education remains a core value for SFU Community Trust – and it is one of the important links between UniverCity and SFU. Each of the Key Performance Indicators in this category share a common theme of engagement and communication, reflecting direction from the Board workshop and building on our past accomplishments in connecting the community to the University. The Trust will continue to work with SFU to strengthen connections between the University and UniverCity and between Burnaby Mountain and the region. This will include creating a comprehensive interpretive and wayfinding program that better tells the story of UniverCity’s principles, achievements, and unique attributes. The Trust will also document and publish the UniverCity story in order to leave behind a history of the community’s creation and early planning – an invaluable source of lessons learned for others considering similarly ambitious projects. It will be important for the Trust and SFU to establish an ongoing research and communications mandate that will allow for continued monitoring and promotion of integration opportunities between the community and SFU. The Trust will continue its hiring of SFU students from the Faculty of Environment, Urban Studies and other programs for positions that focus on sustainability, green building, energy, and other relevant research areas. This is intended to create a structural link between SFU students and researchers and the UniverCity community. The Trust proposes to work closely with SFU to better track and share the research and student work being supported by the UniverCity endowment.
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UniverCity tour for a group of Australian delegates
The Trust will continue its much-in-demand efforts to present the UniverCity story to conferences and other audiences domestically and abroad. It also will continue to advise universities, public institutions, and municipalities on the creation of land trusts as a proven form of sustainable and profitable land use.
University Highlands Elementary School Community Garden
The Trust will also work with UniverCity residents to establish a viable association that can speak for the community and work with both SFU and the City of Burnaby to continue the Trust’s community-building work, for example, by maintaining support for community gardens, public art, parks and other open space, and other community facilities and amenities. The Trust will help SFU and the City of Burnaby prepare for effective engagement with UniverCity residents once development is completed. We will work to ensure an orderly transition as the City assumes responsibility for UniverCity’s municipal services. A key part of this will be the creation of the above-noted UniverCity “owners’ manual,” including all aspects of the built environment as they relate to operation, maintenance, repair, and replacement, as well as community association-related information to help ensure a productive ongoing relationship among the community, the University, and the city.
D. EQUITY
The fourth UniverCity goal category is equity, the sharing and enhancement of the community’s social and economic assets. This aspect provides many opportunities to build on the Trust’s innovations and achievements in environmental and educational leadership. In the residential sector, the Trust will continue to explore housing diversity, including homes for growing families, more affordable homes, rental choices, housing for a full range of ages, and more flex-suites and other innovative options. The Trust will pursue opportunities to develop rental residential projects that can advance affordability and sustainability while also generating income for SFU.
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University High Street
The Trust will work to maintain a commercial tenant mix that meets the day-to-day needs of UniverCity residents and SFU students, faculty, and staff, and contributes to a more livable and complete community while providing ongoing revenue to SFU.
Eco So Mo Public Art sculpture on University High Street
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Public art and a high-quality public realm enhance a sense of community and ensure more opportunities for sharing common experiences. The Trust will continue to develop and maintain the community’s public realm, with a focus on a standard that reflects UniverCity’s 4-E goals and ensures that these spaces foster community gathering and interaction. This will also include expanding the UniverCity public art program in collaboration with our developer partners, and identifying key landmark public art projects that could be funded by consolidating public art funds from two or more projects to potentially create higher-impact installations.
VI. KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS
Aerial view of East Highlands Neighbourhood
A continued, disciplined pursuit of environmental, economic, educational, and equity goals will ensure the fulfillment of the twin mandates: • Creating endowment wealth to support teaching and research at SFU; and • Creating a livable, affordable and sustainable community that brings international acclaim to Burnaby and Simon Fraser University. In planning for the completion of UniverCity over the next six years, and for the post-development period to follow, the SFU Community Corporation Board also grappled with projects that cannot or will not be done between now and 2021. For example, development of the B-lot parking area south of The Cornerstone building will require careful analysis to establish its best use, whether that be intensive academic development, community use or ongoing surface vehicle parking. Similarly, while lands designated South Neighbourhood may one day be developed – for academic or community use, or both – it is unlikely that the future of these lands will be decided within the six-year horizon of this strategy. With that in mind, this section sets out 41 Key Performance Indicators that will help measure success in the effort to complete UniverCity in a way that best fulfills the dual mandate and meets the 4-E challenge. These indicators are recorded in full in Appendix D. When any indicator or activity supports more than one primary goal, those indicators are grouped under the goal to which they are primarily attached. The timeframe for achieving each indicator is allocated to a particular period: the first three years (2016-2018); the subsequent three years (2019-2021); or beyond 2021. The Key Performance Indicators address the points raised in the Board’s SWOT analysis and reinforce the Trust’s commitment to the three themes that emerged in the Strategic Planning Session: community-building; recognition of sustainability; and, strengthening our relationship with SFU.
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Sometime during the fourth year of this plan (2019), we expect to lease the last of the remaining development parcels in the Slopes and West Highland neighbourhoods. Assuming that the last parcel leased will require approximately two years for construction, the building of UniverCity should be done by the end of 2021. While this timeline is realistic and has been carefully evaluated for maximizing value
and development timing, every effort will be made to accelerate the build-out of UniverCity. However, given historic absorption rates for residential product on Burnaby Mountain and our ability to create value through strategic timing of parcel leasing, we do not expect to be able to shorten the proposed schedule by more than six to nine months without some downward pressure on land value and slower absorption.
City of Burnaby Mayor Derek Corrigan speaking about UniverCity to Federation of Canadian Municipalities delegates.
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The two time periods shown in the summary of Key Performance Indicators in Appendix D (2016-2018 and 2019-2021) reflect the culminating state of UniverCity development and the corresponding urgency to prepare for an orderly transition to a post-development state. As previously noted, the Trust is committed to developing an ‘owners’ manual’ for the transition of UniverCity from an SFU Community Trust led initiative to an established community and a fully integrated part of the City of Burnaby. This is a key piece of work to be done over the next four years and will need to engage and involve UniverCity residents, the City of Burnaby, SFU, and the Trust. Our proposed approach to this transition is highlighted in the next section.
VII. TRANSITION AND SUCCESSION PLANNING
SFU Community Trust has acted as a master plan development manager since 2000. As we approach completion of the UniverCity project our role will change as we manage the transition of responsibility for UniverCity to the City of Burnaby, Simon Fraser University, and the UniverCity community itself. There is much work to be done and while some is already underway, much is still needed. Of critical importance is working with the City of Burnaby and helping Burnaby work with SFU and the community through the wind down of the Trust and the transition of municipal responsibilities to the city. The transition strategy to be developed and implemented over the next few years will need to comprise at least three key elements: • The work to be done while we are still leasing the remaining development parcels. • The work to be done as we complete construction and wind down the Trust operations, and • The work that will continue especially between the City of Burnaby and the University once the Trust offices close. Among the many things needing to be documented as part of this transition are the ongoing obligations, performance requirements, legal documentations, and asset management plans for everything from municipal services infrastructure, income-producing properties and outstanding letters of credit, to public art upkeep. Over the coming year the Trust will provide the Board with a comprehensive strategy to wind down the Trust and begin producing the “owners’ manual” that addresses all aspects of UniverCity operations. As the inventory of development land is reduced, there will be a corresponding reduction in resources needed by the Trust. This is reflected in the 2016 Board-approved budget and three-year estimates. Separately, the Trust will also provide the Board with a human resources strategy that include retention strategies for key management team members along with transition strategies for all support staff. It will also track and suggest adjustments to the Trust space requirements over the next six years.
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VIII. CONCLUSION AND NEXT STEPS
Through its strategic planning process the Board identified three themes that the Trust needs to remain focused on during the final years of UniverCity’s development: continue to pursue community-building initiatives; increase awareness of and recognition for our advances in green building and sustainable development; and, continue to strengthen our relationship with SFU. This development strategy plan identifies a total of 41 individual actions and Key Performance Indicators designed to assure a successful second half of UniverCity’s overall development. They also can serve as a means to measure the performance of the president and CEO and the Trust team over the next 72 months.
Proposed Burnaby Mountain Link Aerial Rapid Transit System
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This 2016-2021 strategy plan for UniverCity and SFU Community Trust will need to be closely monitored and reviewed annually. If market conditions change or if external factors affect the rate of land leasing and development, the plan can be revised. With a population that is expected to exceed 5,000 people by mid-2016, the community is now large and robust enough to weather economic disruption better than during the 2008-2009 downturn. The Trust staff is therefore confident that UniverCity will fulfill the vision and mandate first expressed in the late 1990s and meet or exceed the financial commitments made since. This plan is therefore dedicated to the continued ambitious development of a remarkable urban community, adjacent to the SFU Burnaby Mountain campus – one that will continue to be worthy of local and international acclaim.
APPENDIX A: SFU COMMUNITY TRUST GOVERNANCE AND MANAGEMENT
SFU Community Corporation Board of Directors: (September 2015) David Gillanders, Board Chair, External member Gordon Harris, President and CEO Julia Kim, SFU Board of Governors Rajiv Kozhikode, Faculty member Barry Macdonald, External member Howard Nemtin, Chair, Finance and Audit, External member Bev Park, Chair, Governance, External member Andrew Petter, SFU President and Vice Chancellor Martin Pochurko, SFU Vice President, Finance and Administration David Poole, SFU Board of Governors Mark Roseland, External Member Philip Steenkamp, SFU Vice President, External Relations Brian Taylor, Chair, Planning, External member Cody Wicks, Student member SFU Community Trust team: Gordon Harris, President and CEO Dale Mikkelsen, Director, Development Suzan Fairfield, Controller Angela Nielsen, Director, Communications Jesse Galicz, Development Manager Cheryl Stronach, Administrative Assistant Emese Davies, Executive Assistant Pansy Hui, Community Relations Assistant SFU Community Corporation Committees:
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Finance and Audit Committee Howard Nemtin, Chair Barry Macdonald Martin Pochurko Gordon Harris
Governance Committee Bev Park, Chair Martin Pochurko Gordon Harris
Planning Committee Brian Taylor, Chair Barry Macdonald Mark Roseland Larry Waddell Eric Vance Gordon Harris
Advisory Design Committee Brian Taylor, Chair Joyce Drohan Walter Francl Eric Vance
APPENDIX B: UNIVERCITY AWARDS/ RECOGNITION
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• 2015 City of Burnaby Environment Award Planning and Development (Phase 4 of the UniverCity Masterplan) • 2015 International Living Future Institute Living Building Hero Award • 2013 Quality Urban Energy Systems of Tomorrow QUEST Community Energy Builder Award • 2013 Canadian Society of Landscape Architects Award Excellence (UniverCity Childcare Centre) • 2013 Fortis BC Award for Excellence – Excellence in Energy Efficiency in New Construction (Origin) • 2013 Canada Green Building Council (CaGBC) National Leadership Awards Green Building Champion Award (UniverCity Childcare Centre) • 2013 Greater Vancouver Home Builders’ Association Ovation Award for Best Multi-Family Lowrise Development (Origin) • 2013 Greater Vancouver Home Builders’ Association Ovation Award for Excellence in Energy Efficiency in New Construction: Multi-Family (Origin) • 2012 Vancouver Regional Construction Association Silver Award of Excellence Sustainable Construction (UniverCity Childcare Centre) • 2012 City of Burnaby Environment Award for Planning and Develop ment (UniverCity Childcare Centre) • Urban Development Institute Award for Excellence in Urban Development Best Sustainable (UniverCity Childcare Centre) • 2012 Planning Institute of British Columbia Award of Excellence (UniverCity Phase 3 Masterplan and Zoning) • 2011 Canadian Institute of Planners Award for Planning Excellence Neighbourhood Planning • 2011 Federation of Canadian Municipalities – Sustainable Communities Award for Integrated Neighbourhood Development • 2009 Urban Land Institute Award for Excellence-The Americas for Best Practice in Design, Architecture and Development • 2008 Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation Best Practices in Affordable Housing Award (Verdant@UniverCity)
• 2008 LivCom Gold Award and third place-ranking overall in the Sustainable Projects category • 2008 City of Burnaby Environment Award for Planning and Development (Verdant@UniverCity) • 2008 American Planning Association National Excellence Award for Innovation in Green Community Planning • 2007 Urban Development Institute Award for Innovations in Creating a More Livable & Sustainable Region • 2007 Urban Development Institute Award for Innovations in Creating More Affordable Housing (Verdant@UniverCity) • 2007 City of Burnaby Environment Award for Planning and Development • 2006 Planning Institute of British Columbia Award of Excellence for Site Planning and Design • 2005 Canadian Home Builders’ Association SAM Award for Best Community Development in Canada • 2005 Canadian Home Builders’ Association Georgie Award to The Cornerstone for Best Environment Consideration and Energy Efficiency • 2005 Association of University Real Estate Officials (AUREO) Award of Excellence • 2005 City of Burnaby Environment Award for Planning and Development (The Cornerstone) • 2005 Urban Development Institute Award for Excellence in Urban Development (The Cornerstone) • 2005 Burnaby Board of Trade Newsmaker of the Year Award • 2005 BC Hydro Power Smart Excellence Award – Residential Building Developer (The Cornerstone) B2
APPENDIX C: SUMMARY OF SEPTEMBER 2015 SWOT SUMMARY
The following are Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats that were recorded during an analysis conducted in the September 2015 SFU Community Corporation Board of Directors strategic planning workshop. Strengths - Management team - Location - Financial position - Reputation - Community relationship - Planning ability Weaknesses - Communication/alignment with the shareholder - Alignment with the shareholder on financial contribution to SFU so far - Absence of a long-range financial plan endorsed by the shareholder Opportunities - Ability to lead green, affordable development in B.C. - Ability to leave a strong legacy for SFU - Ability to lead affordable housing in Burnaby Threats - Lower mainland housing market downturn - Any developer failure to meet Green standards - reputational risk - Oversupply (other projects over supply our market)
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APPENDIX D: SUMMARY OF KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS 2016-2021
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APPENDIX D: SUMMARY OF KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS 2016-2021
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APPENDIX D: SUMMARY OF KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS 2016-2021
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APPENDIX D: SUMMARY OF KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS 2016-2021
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PHOTO CREDITS
SITE Photography Google Maps SFU Community Trust SFU Creative Services HCMA University Highlands Elementary Parent Advisory Council
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