Report
to: General Committee Report
Date:
SUBJECT: Facilities and
Accommodation Strategic Plan
PREPARED BY:
RECOMMENDATION:
That the report
entitled “Facilities and Accommodation Strategic Plan” be received.
And that Council endorses
the concept of the Fire Department re-locating to
And that Staff be
authorized and directed to do all things necessary to give effect to this
resolution.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:
The purpose of the Facilities
and Accommodation Strategic Plan (FASP) is to provide a high-level
consolidation of the various studies done regarding current and projected demand
for civic facilities and accommodation needs over the next 15 years, note
potential conflicts, advise on criteria to assess accommodation options,
recommend preferred options and suggest how to undertake the FASP formal review
every 5 years. Of particular importance,
is the need to address the following four key short term accommodation issues.
·
Relocating
the Fire Administration Office (24 staff)
·
Maximizing
advantages of Town ownership of “8100”
·
Accommodating
growth of current Civic Centre functions
·
Expanding
the Operations Department Facility located at
The second phase
of the FASP is the detailed space planning review of the Civic Centre and “8100”
including developing new space design standards to assess the re-configuration
and future accommodation requirements. This phase will be completed on
settlement of options at “8100” for relocating current Civic Centre-based work
units and/or tenancy opportunities with outside agencies.
At the intersection of
Highway 407 and
It is anticipated
that, regardless of the settlement of occupancy options at “8100”, the Town
should plan for expansion of the Civic Centre or the construction of a new
building on the Civic Centre site within the five to 10 year time horizon.
FINANCIAL CONSIDERATIONS:
The occupancy cost for the Fire Administration Office relocation to “8100” is anticipated to be
annually $18,500 - $22,200 ($5.00 -$6.00 per square foot for 3,700 square foot
GFA). This cost would cover utilities
and maintenance. The Capital cost (renovation,
furniture and moving) would be approximately $100,000 to $200,000 and would be
submitted as part of the 2008 Budget request.
1. Purpose 2. Background 3. Discussion 4. Financial
5. Others
(Environmental, Accessibility, Engage 21st, Affected Units) 6.
Attachment(s)
PURPOSE:
The purpose of
this report is to provide a summary of the recommendations received from IBI (the
consultant retained to undertake the FASP) and identify an implementation
strategy for future accommodations for the Fire Administration re-location,
re-use of “8100”, the Civic Centre, and the Operations Department located at
Miller Avenue.
BACKGROUND:
The Town of
The Town of
The second phase of FASP is the detailed space planning review of the
Civic Centre and “8100” including developing new space design standards to
assess the re-configuration and future accommodation requirements.
OPTIONS/ DISCUSSION:
The study took a
high-level estimate of staff growth and the resulting need for
accommodation. It is strategic in nature
in that it provides for alternatives, recommends solutions without getting into
detail regarding design and financial considerations.
In addition, the study
focused on the accommodation at the Civic Centre and identified options for “8100”. Specifically, the need to address the best
use of “8100” was examined because its current tenant (PowerStream) is moving its
administration operations to its new facility in Vaughan, and there is an imminent
need to relocate the Fire Administration function from its current location at
60 Esna Park Road (scheduled to be demolished early in 2008 for the next phase
of the Rodick Road extension).
Re-locating Fire Administration Office
The Fire
Administration Office currently occupies approximately 3,700 square feet at
·
Move Fire Administration to “8100”
·
Move Fire Administration to the
Civic Centre
·
Enter into a third party lease
·
Construct addition to Civic
Centre or a new building on the Civic Centre site
Maximizing the advantages of the Town’s ownership at
With the
announced move of PowerStream from “8100” to new offices in
PowerStream will
continue to preserve a customer service presence in
Markham District
Energy currently occupies approximately 500 sq. ft., will continue to occupy
this space, and has expressed an interest in expanding their space to approximately
1000 sq. ft. The balance of the office
space that will be available to
It is proposed
that Fire Administration be moved to “8100”, which could also serve as an
alternate location for the Town’s Emergency Operations Centre (EOC). As well, Fire Dispatch, now at Fire Station
95, could require more space if partnered with its counterpart from
Staff is
considering a number of interim options for “8100” that include relocating
selected work-units from the Civic Centre, and partnership opportunities with
outside agencies. A number of expressions
of interest have been made by outside agencies
including, for
example, senior governments and the Synergy Centre (whose lease at the
At the intersection of
Highway 407 and
Accommodating growth of staff undertaking
functions currently housed in the Civic Centre
Currently, the main
wing of the Civic Centre houses some 429 staff, including summer and contract
employees, at a density of approximately 135 usable sq. ft. (usf) per
employee. The 135 usf is below planning
benchmarks of 150 usf per employee that is considered adequate in other public
and private offices. A walkthrough
concluded that there is crowding in many areas and limited ability to
accommodate new staff without major renovation cost.
Options, as noted below, were reviewed to identify how we could find
accommodations for the Fire Administration Department, accommodate new staff in
the future, and address current congestion problems at the
·
Fill in high bay space to add
floor area on the 2nd and 3rd floor of the Civic Centre. Filling in the high-bay space over the lower
and main floors would yield approximately 2,600/sf. Preliminary quotes for this work have
identified a cost of $300,000 per 875/sf bay (over the lower floor) including
structural work, finishes and fit-up (no furniture). This results in a cost of $343/sf plus it
does not provide enough additional space to accommodate our needs.
·
Build a new building on the
Civic site or an addition to the existing Civic Centre. It is estimated that a new building (
·
Relocate selected work units
off-site. Some work units could be
relocated from the Civic Centre to 8100, however this is disruptive given
possible move to new space on the Civic Centre site within five years.
Expanding the Miller Operations Function
During 2006, phase one of a two-phase
Operations Facility Master Plan study was completed. The purpose of this strategic plan is to confirm
the facilities and
infrastructure necessary to support the
evolving needs of the Operations Department over the next 15 years.
The plan identifies short and long term
objectives that will require commitment, detailed planning and the capital funding
necessary to upgrade and construct new operations facilities. The objectives identified
by staff include, but are not limited to;
- Upgrading operations facilities to ensure that they are capable
of delivering optimal operating efficiency and cost effective customer
service
- Ensuring operations facilities are strategically located and
capable of flexible service deployment adapting to an evolving urban
environment
- Mitigating the environmental impacts typically associated with
public works operations and ensuring compliance with provincial and
federal regulations
- Providing operations facilities and working conditions that are
attractive and inviting, such that recruitment activities will attract the
best candidates
The existing operations facilities portfolio
has evolved over time and it is now evident that not all sites are
strategically located or provide the capacity or functionality necessary to
meet current and future needs. The
existing inventory includes one main yard (
In the short term (< 5 years), there is
an immediate requirement to expand the main facility located at
The long term (5 > 15 year) objectives,
include yet to be evaluated options regarding potential facility partnerships
and the land acquisition / disposition activities necessary to facilitate expansion,
renovation, or consolidation of existing sites. During 2007, phase-two of the
Operations Facility Master Plan will be initiated with the objective of
completing the detailed review and cost benefit analyses necessary to provide
informed strategic planning and decision making.
Conclusions
The tenant at the
Town owned
At the intersection of Highway 407 and
During 2007, phase-two of the Operations
Facility Master Plan will be initiated with the objective of completing the detailed
review and cost benefit analyses necessary to provide informed strategic
planning and decision making. The
preferred option for Operations in the short term (< 5 years) would be to expand
the main facility located at
It is anticipated
that within the 5 year time horizon the Town should plan for expansion of the
Civic Centre or the construction of a new building on the Civic Centre
site. As previously noted, interim
partnerships opportunities at “8100” could provide significant revenue that
could be used for this purpose.
ACCESSIBILITY CONSIDERATIONS:
Any applicable
accessibility issues will be examined in the course of the review and reported
upon in the recommendation of the final strategic plan.
ENGAGE 21ST CONSIDERATIONS:
The project
aligns with the following key Town of
BUSINESS UNITS CONSULTED AND AFFECTED:
A technical
advisory committee (TAC) was formed with representatives from Town Commissions
(Asset Management, Strategic Services, Development Services, Operations,
Strategic Initiatives, Finance and Legal).
This report has been reviewed by the TAC members.
RECOMMENDED
BY: ________________________ ________________________
Don Taylor John
Livey
Acting
Director, Chief
Administrative Officer
Strategic
Initiatives
ATTACHMENTS:
None