The Squamish Oceanfront Development Corporation (SODC) won't be attending a Squamish Chamber of Commerce public forum on its joint venture union with Qualex-Landmark to develop Squamish's waterfront, choosing instead to hold their own session to introduce the community to their development partner.
The SODC board declined an invitation from the Chamber of Commerce to attend a panel forum on May 31 because a recent Chamber luncheon resulted in too few questions being asked, according to SODC board chair Larry Murray.
"When we had all the information on the table, we had the [SODC] CEO [Mike Chin] here, the chairman here, most of the board members here, we're ready to engage in some dialogue here, why did we have eight questions? We said 'How many more times do we need to go back?'" said Murray. "And our energy is really devoted towards welcoming Qualex-Landmark into our community and getting the planning underway and making sure the community is invited and feels invitational and welcoming to that. And I know that they will because this is a good community and gets behind these things." Chamber president Ron Anderson said Thursday the Chamber "is naturally disappointed" that SODC declined to participate in its forum.
"Our intent was to provide additional opportunities for our members to obtain more information on the project and to help them get a better understanding of what's going on."
When asked if the Chamber would still hold the forum, Anderson said: "I think we'll have to make that decision at a board meeting, likely next week."
Anderson said the Chamber had not heard from Qualex, "but I would welcome to talk with them with open arms. They are going to be a very important part of the community at some point."
Qualex representatives say they look forward to speaking with the community during the SODC-organized meet and greet at Totem Hall Sunday, May 28 at 3 p.m.
Qualex sales and marketing director Chris Colbeck said he realizes that there is controversy over the issue of public involvement, but is confident that once the master planning moves forward with community input "the ultimate benefit as to what can be done with the land is going to be recognized by the public."
"As we move forward with working with the SODC, we're always open to speaking to the public," said Colbeck. "We're not hiding and we're extremely excited to share the early stages of our vision, and obviously as the vision evolves, sharing that with the public."
The SODC seeks the development expertise and financial resources of Qualex to optimize the value of the lands on behalf of the community, according to a SODC news release. Colbeck said the company has never been a joint venture with a municipality, but looks to the opportunity as a benefit.
"We wouldn't get involved in a joint venture, or a marriage in a sense, if we weren't comfortable with the partner," said Colbeck. "We're flattered that we were the ones selected."
Both sides say they have grand visions for the 60 acres of Squamish oceanfront land and 40 acres of fee simple water lots, and much of it will incorporate the community's input from a 2003 charette.
"We see a mix of uses between retail, commercial, entertainment, large interconnected green spaces, paths, trails, waterways, community centres," said Colbeck. "These are a lot of visionary items that we see getting incorporated into the development: marinas, boat and watersport-related activities, restaurants. A very strong mixed use, a very strong neighbourhood feel, something that integrates well with the community. The residential component is a very integral part within the whole mixed use."
Meanwhile, a survey of residents asking their desires for the land has been organized by the Squamish Downtown Neighbourhood Association (SDNA) and will go out to the community this weekend. The survey incorporates questions from the Chamber, SODC, District of Squamish planning department, and SDNA.
Murray said the process to date has had heavy community involvement in the guise of the SODC board - a team of a dozen mostly community members from various backgrounds - and district council, who, on April 11, unanimously accepted the board's recommendation to pursue a memorandum of understanding with Qualex. The SODC has also held a community vision exercise and numerous public information sessions. "So at those three levels - council, board and the engagement with the community - we're comfortable at this point where we have reached out to a community," he said. "Now, can you please all the people all the time? Not at all."
Community involvement will continue during the master planning process, and will be "unbelievable," said Murray."The planning process that's going to be getting underway in the next couple of months is going to be open door, fully transparent and involving everybody in the community you can possibly think of."
Qualex-Landmark chosen for smaller size
The Squamish Oceanfront Development Corporation (SODC) board chose Qualex-Landmark out of four finalists and will now work closely with company representatives within the next few months to achieve a memorandum of agreement for a joint venture partnership.
The Qualex-Landmark Group of Companies has been developing, building and marketing real estate development for more than 25 years. The company has built 1,100 homes from townhouses to condos in high rises.
Their latest achievement, Calgary's Nova building, is a 27-storey glass and concrete tower holding 188 condominiums sized 581 to 1,044 square feet. It stands next to Stella, which was built 18 months earlier using concrete construction for floors and ceilings, as well as double-glazed floor-to-ceiling windows. Pomaria is a 30-storey glass residential tower in Vancouver's English Bay that features "sky gardens" and open concept units. Its penthouse recently sold for $2.95 million, or $1,100 a square foot, arguably the most expensive piece of real estate in the city.
Closer to home, Qualex is credited with building Symphony at Garibaldi Springs, a 30-unit residential low rise community completed in 2001, and Symphony at Whistler, a 50-unit townhouse community completed in 1997.
The SODC board chose Qualex partly due to the smaller size of the company, according to chair Larry Murray, who added that board members look forward to working with the same people who pitched the vision for the Qualex/SODC joint venture partnership.
