3rd Community Open House on June 15th Beats the Odds
Submitted by Deeter Schurig on Tue, 06/21/2011 - 15:28On another rainy evening in Calgary, chock-a-block full of design charrettes, award presentations, and hockey finals - our 3rd Community Open House beat the odds and saw nearly 90 in attendance despite the competition! Following a similar structure to our previous open house, local residents and artists spent time investigating the information presented on display boards at the South Calgary Reform Church before a formal presentation, informal discussion, and a question and answer period.
3rd Community Open House Presentation (VIDEO)
3rd Community Open House Presentation (PDF)
3rd Community Open House Panels (PDF)
3rd Community Open House Community Feedback (PDF)
Presented first by The Calgary Foundation (TCF) and Calgary Arts Development (CADA) were the project drivers and community impact proposed with the revitalization of King Edward School, our commitment to community engagement as a key component of our due diligence process, and a realization of the vision through the concept of the creative, learning and community 'commons' (as described in the May 20th blog post: Over 100 Attend 2nd Community Open House).
Our design consultants PNCA followed with a presentation articulating the design process and decisions made with the community and advisory committee thus far. A master plan scenario that includes the school within its broader context illustrates how specific site observations, project drivers, and design concepts continue to evolve but remain integrated in the project. Key to this discussion, were how the ‘commons’ could be a strategy to inform the site planning by maximizing an enhanced public realm, integrate parking, and provide a foundation to discuss suitable housing typologies and density that respond to the existing context.
In total the evening was filled will spirited dialogue amongst our team, local residents and representation from the South Calgary Community Association. We had plenty of insightful feedback regarding parking, density and public space from the community and how the dynamic between these components will determine the vitality and character of the project. We will continue to refine our design concepts in the months ahead based on these observations and will continue to pursue the best possible realization of our vision.
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Comments
Information on collaborations
It is my understanding that, so far at least, the major thrust of usage of the site will be built around collaborative enterprises. I'm wondering whether that has been defined as yet, and what scale is being considered, i.e., collaboration between organizations? Individual artists? Small groups of artists? Are the current ideas leaning more to the visual art side, or performance? Education? I have an interest in all three of these areas, but am curious how (or if) they might work together. FYI, my questions are rooted in my background and interests: MA Music Theory/Composition, interest in visual arts, experience performing, co-producing and teaching, and like many others, a "second" life in administration (law/engineering/oil & gas/government and governance) and technical writing.
Tenants and Incubator
cSPACE will release a Request for Proposals (RFP) later this spring/summer for prospective tenants at King Edward Arts Hub and Incubator. Based on the responses to our Expression of Interest (REOI) call in the spring of 2011 we anticipate proposals from a wide spectrum of disciplines, organizations and individuals that utilize the arts to exercise their mandates. Please stayed tuned to our homepage for an announcement in the next few weeks.
To deiliver on the intent of the Arts Incubator, cSPACE will work closely with programming partners to ensure that King Edward will incubate and accelerate the capacity for entrepreneurship of non-profit organizations and individual creators in the arts and culture sector. cSPACE facilities will provide a unique platform for partners to deliver targeted services to a broad range of practitioners and entrepreneurs like yourself - in a facilities that provide opportunties for cross fertilization, knowledge sharing and critical debate, partnering, sharing of skills and resources, continuing education and networking.
We look forward to continued cross-disciplinary exchanges in this regards!
Add new comment | King Edward Arts Hub and Incubator
An impressive share! I've just forwarded this onto a co-worker who had been doing a little research on this. And he actually bought me lunch because I discovered it for him... lol. So allow me to reword this.... Thanks for the meal!! But yeah, thanks for spending time to discuss this matter here on your web site.
King Edward Proposal
I attended your 3rd Open House and was very pleased with the proposal but completely dissatisfied with your lack of professionalism to Community members concerns regarding parking in the area and on the proposed site. Your proposal was basically given a complete "thumbs up" on the design and proposal from those of us in attendence, but then you "blew us off" concerning the parking issues and told us that comprimises would have to be made, and that the problems would sort themselves out. We all know this will not be the case and I felt insulted that our concerns were not valued or respected. It is not residents who have to make the comprimises, but rather it is the proposal is it wishes to gain access to this community.
As Past President of the Soiuth Calgary Community Association, President during the developement, planning and building of Garrison Woods, I know better than anyone that these issues do not go away, in fact they manifest themselves in a multitude of ways. We were promised many things by the developers, planners and the City during the Garrison Woods process to address our concerns of density, traffic flow, traffic patterns, parking and the like. We were also told that public transit was to play a larger roll and would therefore decrease the use of cars. We all know that public transit in this area has not changed at all and that those new residents of King Edward will have 1-2 cars and that most of those working on the King Edward site will continue to bring their cars to work. We were told then that it would all sort itself out and that it was basically moving ahead regardless. I am getting the same feeling from your organization and you as promotors and developers.
I live one block from King Edward and can see the school from my back windows. My family chose South Calgary as it provided the best of Inner City living, proximity to DT, ammenities and family facilities within the community and nearby. We have raised our family here and still continue to enjoy what the Community has to offer. We feel that through our personal envolvement with the Community we have enhanced what is offered here such as the S. Calgary Preschool, Mom and Tot's Playgroup, Beach Volleyball and other sports programs, pool and playground upgrades.
I recognize that to you as developers and planners, any developement comes down to dollars and cents. However, to those of us that currently live in this area and hope to remain here, we are looking to maintain our quality of life and one would think that a project such as this, should enhance it. Therefore I am asking you to work further with your planners, designers and certainly the developers to find a better solution to the parking issue. We residents do not want to be battling daily to park in front of our own houses with those living and working on the King Edward site. It is much easier to plan for additional on site UNDERGROUND parking now than later. I realize that this is approximately an additional $3 million but if you are asking for money for the rest of the project, this money is just as important. It WILL NOT make or break the deal from the City's perspective or the future developes of the site who can split this cost and will simply factor it into the cost of their housing solutions. It could however, and seemingly will judging by the many voices of community residents, be the major road block to getting resident approval for this undertaking.
It would truly be unfortunate to see this project stall or fail because you did not consider OUR VOICES, OUR CONCERNS and OUR VISION for our community and this site as important as your own. The past proposed projects on this site failed as they were all about developers maximizing their dollars on the site while not respecting the nature of the South Calgary Community. You have the opportunity here to achieve a highly desireable and easily intergrated project into our Community but you must listen to the residents who will ultimately make or break it's success.
We as residents are here for the long run, and quite frankly, developers come and go. Let's make this work so we can have a longlasting and positive relationship with a legacy for the King Edward site.
Anne Stollbert
South Calgary Resident
Interior Designer
Past President of South Calgary Community Association
3rd Open House
I have read the previous comment and would have to respectfully disagree with its tone and conclusions regarding how the Calgary Foundation and Calgary Arts Development have approached the community.
As current president of the Current President of the South Calgary Community Association I have to commend the Calgary Foundation and CADA for going above and beyond the call of duty when it comes to community consultation. The Association has been asked for input even before ink was put to paper on the original offer to purchase and this consultation with the SCCA and the communities at large has been ongoing.
The SCCA has fought tooth and nail against the last two proposals for the King Edward Site as we whole heartedly believed that they were not in the best interest of the community as a whole nor the residents in direct proximity of the school. From the moment those projects were announced the SCCA was inundated with letters emails and personal visits expressing disapproval of the projects. This however, was not the case when of the King Edward Transformation/ Arts Incubator. In fact the contrary has proven to be the case. As president, I have been contacted numerous times by community residents including those living in direct proximity to the KES. I am happy to report that the excitement and optimism expressed towards the project in quite palpable.
I find it interesting when the Calgary Foundation and CADA are referred to as developers. As a Realtor, I work quite often with “developers” and the approach taken by the Calgary Foundation and CADA is considerably different than the approach traditionally taken by a developers. A “developer” must work towards the “highest best use” of a property. By definition, an “Arts Incubator” lies a considerable distance away from the highest best use of the KES property. In fact we have seen 2 attempts at the “highest best use” of the land over the last 4-5 years both of which brought a considerably more intense use of the property with little to no benefit to the community.
As Community Association President, I have been exceedingly pleased by the incredible efforts undertaken by CADA and the Calgary Foundation to ensure that the current project provides a net benefit to the community at large. From the work to respect the current configuration of the surrounding properties to the work being done to ensure that the community is invited into and take part of the daily activities and operation on and in the site this partnership is focused on ensuring a community focus.
The one concern expressed has been around parking. By definition at the highest use period of the building, the site itself is mathematically short 20 parking stalls. I must first commend the CADA Calgary Foundation group on the incredible work they have done to date on parking. Instead of a large open parking lot they have managed, with a creativity of design that I have never seen before in Calgary, to organically place 50 parking stalls within the boundaries of the site. Work continues to be done on the parking file by all groups involved.
At the 3rd Open House, it was made clear that with any project that is not going for “highest best use” of the site, certain tradeoffs need to be considered. An underground parkade comes with a price tag in excess of 3 million dollars. I have no doubt that by increasing the intensity of use of the site, this 3 million dollars is attainable however the size scale and desirability of the site would have to be directly affected.
I am more than pleased by the non “developer” approach that this partnership has taken towards the future of the King Edward School. I cannot think of a more progressive group of community centred people to be undertaking the redevelopment of such an important piece of the fabric of South Calgary.
Marc Doll
President of the SCCA
Member of the Community Advisory Committee
Realtor
Community Resident
Marc - Have you seen the
Marc - Have you seen the latest renderings? This is a developers dream. CADA and the Calgary Foundation won't be involved in the development of the surroundng site. Why is it too much to ask to have the parking concerns met up front? I was at the meetings and Anne's comments are bang on. If they have communicated something else to you in private then I suggest they start sharing that information with the residents because we aren't hearing it at the meetings. My perception is that CADA and the Calgary Foundation are suffering from tunnel vision. They are so focused on converting the school into an arts office building that they have neglected parking concerns and added density to help pay for their dream. I believe that CADA and the Calgary Foundation are genuine when they present to us that they want to improve the community but I think they need to reevaluate their plans as they may have lost sight of what is important to the community somewhere along the way.
Density and Parking
From the initial stages of engagement in 2010, the development partnership has worked with the community to prepare a Master Plan that reflects the character of the existing neighbourhood. The proposed residential zoning is of low profile and low to medium density, which provides a sensitive response to the surrounding R-C2, M-CG, and M-C1 zoning that exists within the area.
Parking has been top of mind for the community through all of our consultations and the iterations of our concept (available at www.transformkingedward.com) reflect our responsiveness to these concerns. The proposed Master Plan accommodates all the parking needs of the residential uses on site (either through underground or integrated into the unit). Based on our experience with developing other Hub and Incubator projects, the tenant base includes individual artists and employees of non-profit arts and community organizations who are less likely to have access to automobiles and rely heavily on alternative modes of transportation. As a social enterprise, we are developing the site with a strong emphasis on sustainability - as such, we are providing extensive bike storage facilites and showers and will be accommodating tenants who do not require substantial parking for their operations. Our Transportation Impact Study completed in 2012 illustrates that the supply of 224 stalls would be sufficient to accommodate the typical parking needs of the site.
Thank you for your perspective and we look forward to continuing our intensive community engagement on this project.
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