RECOMMENDATION:
THAT the report entitled “Process for Design of
a New Amenity Feature for Markham Centre” dated February17, 2004 be received;
AND THAT the Memorandum of Understanding
executed by Remington be received (Attachment A), and the CAO be authorized to
execute the MOU on behalf of the Town;
AND THAT Town staff be authorized to proceed
with the charrette/design competition process as outlined in this report;
AND THAT Town staff be authorized to select and
retain consultants, professional advisors or jurors as required to support the
process within the RFP budgets and financial parameters outlined in this
report;
AND THAT Town staff report back to Development
Services Committee on the status and results of the charrette and design
competition prior to completing a final recommendation report for a preferred
design concept.
PURPOSE:
The purpose of this report is to provide
Committee with a detailed outline of a process to identify a new amenity
feature within The Remington Group draft plan in Markham Centre.
BACKGROUND:
Over the past number of weeks,
staff have been working with Committee, Remington and the Markham Centre
Advisory to determine a process to develop a new amenity feature within the Markham centre plan. The development of the new feature has
an impact not only on the physical relationship of the new feature to the
surrounding uses but also requires a re-examination of the core of the
Remington plan with respect to parks, the design of the tributary, approvals
previously granted and the proposed zoning by-law. Further, a determination of
the amount of capital dollars Remington will contribute to the design and
construction of the facility will need to be settled prior to proceeding with
the process. These matters amongst others are to be dealt with in a Memorandum
of Understanding executed by Remington and attached to this report as
Attachment A.
February 3, 2004 Report to
Development Services Committee
In consideration of the importance of
moving forward with determining the new amenity feature staff requested
Development Services Committee at its meeting of February 3, 2004 to authorize staff to take the initial steps to identify design
team and communications consultants to participate in the process to develop
the new feature. The report attached a letter from Ruland Properties
Inc.(Remington) agreeing to fund the retention of the consultants as well as
fund other third party costs associated with the process to a maximum
contribution of $100,000.00
DISCUSSION:
The process will involve a number of interrelated steps
Staff
recommend a process involving a number of interrelated steps to develop the new
amenity feature. The first involves the identification of design teams to
participate in the development of the new amenity, the next step involves
holding a charrette to engage the public in a direction for the new amenity,
commissioning design teams to provide design alternatives, evaluating the
concepts and recommending a preferred design
A charrette will provide an opportunity for public input
The charrette will be held to
engage the public and provide an opportunity for public participation. The
charrette is designed to provide public input into the identification of the
type of community wide focus the new facility should encompass and the key
programme elements to be incorporated into its design. The charrette should be
well publicized within the community and provide an opportunity for members of
the public to actively participate as well as to provide comments or simply
monitor the proceedings as they unfold during the event. The charrette is being
tentatively targeted for Saturday, April 3, 2004 at the Civic Centre.
Durning the charrette, breakout working
groups will be identified and tasked to develop a direction, ideas and
programme elements to be incorporated into the new amenity feature. The working
groups will involve multiple stakeholders including members of the Markham
Centre Advisory, design teams identified through the RFP process, developer
representatives, professional advisors, Town staff, Council members and members
of the public. The working groups will
be given assigned tasks and time parameters. Staff anticipate that there will
be 12-15 active participants on each team supported by professional advisors
and Town staff to help guide the proceedings. The results of the working group
deliberations will be reported back to a collective session of all
participants. Results will be displayed in the Council Chambers and members of
the public will be invited to attend and discuss the outcomes with
participants.
A
professional facilitator
will help to manage the charrette
One of the key objectives of the charrette is gain a
consensus on the direction and focus for the new amenity and on the major
programme elements to be incorporated into the design. Staff recommend that a
professional facilitator be retained to assist in managing the charrette and
helping to facilitate a publicly supported consensus on the major elements. The
costs to retain a facilitator have been accommodated in the draft budget for
the process.
The facilitator will also be required to provide a
summary report that will form part of the instructions to the design teams to
develop their alternative concepts. An
upset limit of
$ 4,000.00 plus G.S.T and reasonable disbursements is
suggested. The scope of work for the facilitator’s services will be as follows:
- Charrette advance planning
·
Attend pre-event
co-ordination meetings with Staff
·
Develop charrette
schedule and format
·
Review
expectations with Town staff
·
Assist with
development of advance materials
- Facilitation
at Charrette Event April 3, 2004
- Reporting and
Follow up
·
Meet with staff
to review outcome of day
·
Preparation of
concise written report of key messages from charrette
·
Presentation to
Development Services Committee and
Markham Centre Advisory as required
A
limited Design Competition will identify alternative concepts
Staff recommend that a
limited design competition be undertaken at the second stage of the two part
process. The design teams identified through the RFP process will attend the
charrette to participate in the public input into the new feature. Design teams
will also be required to review and familiarize themselves with background
information on Markham Centre and the Remington plan.
The summary provided by the
facilitator regarding the consensus on directions and programme elements
achieved at the charrette will be used to help provide instructions to the
design teams for the preparation of their design concepts. Staff will also
prepare a memorandum providing guidance to the teams incorporating any comments
from Development Services Committee and the Markham Centre Advisory.
Each
design team will develop and submit a design concept for the new amenity
feature and provide a written design brief outlining how the concept meets the
intent of the charrette and public expectations within the budget and timing
parameters for implementation set by the Town.
The
individual design alternatives will be reviewed with Development Services
Committee and the Markham Centre Advisory and the evaluation criteria for
identifying a preferred concept confirmed. The design concepts will be
evaluated and a preferred concept recommended to Council for endorsement.
The
alternative design concepts will be evaluated by a Jury
Following the submission of the design
alternatives and a presentation of the alternative concepts to Committee, a
professional jury, using evaluation criteria that has been confirmed with
Committee and the Markham Centre Advisory will commence its deliberations with
the goal of choosing a preferred design alternative.
The Jury will be composed of Town staff
including representatives from Planning and Urban Design and Community Services
staff, members of the Markham Centre Advisory and the Remington Group. In
addition the jury will comprise outside professionals. The invited professionals to be considered
will be distinguished practitioners, academics, and public space experts. A reasonable per diem fee has been budgeted
to reimburse professionals for their expertise in evaluating the submissions.
Council should give consideration to whether it wishes to nominate one or more
members of Council to participate in the jury evaluation process.
The process should be completed by
early June, 2004.
The following schedule of key dates
have been targeted in the process:
February 3,
2004 Development Services Committee endorses release of the
RFP’s for the identification of design and communications consulting services
February 17,
2004 Report to Development Services
Committee recommending the charrette/design competition process
February 18,
2004 Close of RFP for design and communications consulting
services
March 1-5,
2004 Interviews with proponents
March 8-12,
2004 Selection of design and communications consultants
April 3, 2004 Charrette event at the Civic Centre
April 29, 2004 Design alternatives submitted
May 3, 2004 Alternative design concepts reviewed with
Development Services Committee, Confirmation of evaluation criteria
May 6, 2004 Alternative design concepts reviewed with Markham Centre Advisory
(special meeting) Confirmation of evaluation criteria
May 7, 2004 Jury evaluation and
identification of a preferred design concept
June 1, 2004 Report to Development Services Committee recommending
a preferred design concept
FINANCIAL CONSIDERATIONS:
The process of arriving at a proposed design
for the amenity feature on The Remington Group lands in Markham Centre will be
Town-lead and developer sponsored. This
arrangement is confirmed in a letter to the Town of Markham dated January 27,
2004 from the developer, agreeing to an upset limit of $ 100,000 for costs
associated with the charrette and limited design competition
The process to determine the new feature can be
undertaken within the $ 100,000 budget parameter
A proposed breakdown of the budget incorporates
considerations for the two RFPs that were previously recommended to Development
Services Committee on February 3, 2004 as follows;
|
·
RFP for Consultant
Services for Design of Major Amenity Feature in a Limited Design Competition:
$15,000 per consultant team (total of three) for
remuneration for work and
expenses involved in producing conceptual
design alternatives
|
$ 45,000.00
|
|
·
RFP for Communications
Support for the Design Process for a new amenity feature for Markham Centre:
|
$
25,000-30,000.00
|
|
·
Charrette:
Includes expenses to host charrette
(facilities, catering, materials, hiring of a facilitator and printing) and
the
|
$ 8,000-10,000.00
|
|
·
Publication of results of
three conceptual alternatives
|
$
5,000-10,000.00
|
|
·
Honorarium to Jury Members
|
$ 3,000-5000.00
|
|
TOTAL:
|
$100,000.00
|
The consultants contracts will be with the
Town, staff will manage the process.
Arrangements will be made with Remington for the transfer of funds to
the satisfaction of the Finance Department prior to retention of the design or
communications consultants.
ATTACHMENT:
Attachment A: Memorandum of
Understanding
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|
|
|
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Valerie Shuttleworth, M.C.I.P., R.P.P.
Director, Planning and Urban Design
|
|
Jim Baird, M.C.I.P., R.P.P.
Commissioner of Development Services
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Q:\Development\Planning\Teams\Markham
Centre\Amentiy\DSC report feb.17 for design process.doc
