Building & Investment Committee (BIC) Meeting - January 20, 2014

Public Agenda

1. Chair’s Poll re: Conflict of Interest

Action: Declaration

Pre-read

• Agenda
• Conflict of Interest Policy

Presenter: All

2. Approval of Public Meeting Agenda and Review of Agenda Order 

Action: Committee Approval

Pre-read: Agenda

Presenter: All

3. Confirmation of the Public Meeting Minutes of November 20, 2013

Action: Committee Approval

Pre-read: Minutes

Presenter: All

4. Business Arising from the Minutes and Committee Action Items Update

Action: Discussion

Pre-read: Action Item List

Presenter: Chair

Reports from Building and Investment Committee Chair

5. Chair’s Report and Remarks

Action: Information

Pre-read: -

Presenter: Chair

Reports from Management

6. Regent Park Phase 2: Rental Block 24 South Anchor Business Plan

Action: Board Approval

Pre-read: BIC:2014-01

Presenter: Chief Development Officer

7. Regent Park Phase 3: Pre-development Spending Authority

Action: Committee Approval

Pre-read: BIC:2014-02

Presenter: Chief Development Officer

8. 2014 BIC Work Plan and review of 2013 Work Plan

Action: Information

Pre-read: BIC:2014-03

Presenter: Chief Development Officer

9. Stand-Alone Properties – Resident Relocation Plan

Action: Information

Pre-read: BIC:2014-04

Presenter: Director, Strategic Planning & Stakeholder Relations

10. Stand-Alone Properties – Resident Relocation Plan

Action: Information

Pre-read: BIC:2014-05

Presenter: Director, Strategic Planning & Stakeholder Relations

11. Update on Putting People First Recommendations

Action: Information

Pre-read: BIC:2014-06

Presenter: Director, Strategic Planning & Stakeholder Relations

TERMINATION

Public Meeting Minutes

The Building and Investment Committee of the Toronto Community Housing Corporation held a public meeting on January 20, 2014 at 3:06 p.m. in the Main Floor Conference Room at 931 Yonge Street, Toronto, M4W 2H2 and via teleconference.

Directors in Attendance:

Brian Kwan, Chair 

Karen Newman

Jennifer Wood (via teleconference)

Audrey Wubbenhorst

Directors Absent:

Councillor Maria Augimeri

Councillor Ana Bailao

Also present:

Marta Asturi, Legal Counsel and Assistant Corporate Secretary

Christine Burke, Senior Development Manager

Lisa Davies, Senior Legal Counsel

Heather Grey-Wolf, Development Director

Jason Gorel, Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer

Hugh Lawson, Director of Strategic Planning & Stakeholder Relations

Graham Leah, Vice President of Asset Management

Bruce Malloch, Director of Strategic Communications

Laurie Payne, Development Director

Sheila Penny, Vice President of Facilities Management

Liz Reid, Vice President of Information Technology

Ken Scott, Senior Director of Procurement

Greg Spearn, Chief Development Officer

Pamela Spencer, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary

A quorum being present, Mr. Brian Kwan, Chair, called the meeting to order, and Ms. Marta Asturi served as recording secretary.

Approval of Agenda and Review of Agenda Order

Motion carried

ON MOTION DULY MADE by Ms. Audrey Wubbenhorst, seconded by Ms. Karen Newman and carried, the Building and Investment Committee unanimously approved the agenda as presented.

Declaration of Conflict of Interest

The Chair requested members of the Building and Investment Committee to indicate any agenda item in which they have a conflict of interest, together with the nature of the interest. No conflicts of interest were declared.

Deputations

The Chair polled for any deputations to be heard at the meeting. No deputations were received by the Secretary and none were declared at the meeting.

Item 3 - Confirmation of Building and Investment Committee Public Minutes – November 20, 2013

The Building and Investment Committee had before it the draft minutes for the November 20, 2013 public meeting.

Motion carried

ON MOTION DULY MADE by Ms. Karen Newman, seconded by Ms. Jennifer Wood and carried, the Building and Investment Committee unanimously confirmed the above-captioned minutes without amendment.

Item 4 - Business Arising from the Minutes and Committee Action Items Update

Motion carried

ON MOTION DULY MADE by Ms. Audrey Wubbenhorst, seconded by           Ms. Karen Newman and carried, the Building and Investment Committee unanimously received the report for information.

Item 5 - Chair's Reports and Remarks

The Committee Chair thanked all staff for their hard work and assistance to residents during the ice storm crisis.

Item 6 - Regent Park Phase 2: Rental Block 24 South Anchor Business Plan, BIC:2014-01

The Building and Investment Committee had before it the above-captioned report (BIC:2014-01) from the President and Chief Executive Officer.  

Management presented a summary and a discussion ensued, including the following highlights:

• In April 2011, the Board of Directors approved the Regent Park Phase 2 Anchor Business Plan. The development program for Phase 2 consists of 1,298 market units, 137 new affordable units funded by the Federal-Provincial Investment in Affordable Housing Program (“IAHP”) program and 309 Rent-Geared-to-Income (“RGI”) replacement units. 
• To date, 789 market condominium units have been sold in Phase 2 at the Paintbox (Block 24 North), One Park Place North (Block 25 North) and One Park Place South (Block 25 South) projects. The 416-unit One Park Place South will have its full public sales launch in the spring of 2014.  
• There remain two market projects to be developed and marketed in Phase 2, Blocks 21 and 23, for a total of 242 units. 
• In February 2012, City Council approved the allocation of $16.4 million in program funding for Toronto Community Housing under the new affordable rental component. The Block 24S ABP requires that Toronto Community Housing enter into a Contribution Agreement with the City of Toronto prior to November 30, 2014 for the remaining $5,640,000 in IAHP funding towards the development of 47 new Affordable Rental Housing units at Block 24S. To secure IAHP under the current program, the project must begin construction by March 30, 2015.
• Rezoning application to be submitted to the City in March, 2014. Management does not anticipate issues regarding the zoning application.
• Management points out three priorities in the development of a phase 3 business plan: 1. To complete relocation process of residents into new housing as quickly as possible and to accelerate development of rental building; 2. To demonstrate financial accountability and sustainable footing; and 3. To maintain communication with residents.
• With regard to the Regent Park Master Plan, the Official Plan Amendment and Rezoning application is under review for the balance of Phases 3, 4, 5.
• Preliminary project schedules were discussed. Reference was made to table 2 (page 5, BIC 2014-01) with regard to Block 24 S Major Project Milestones and management advised that occupancy is scheduled for the 2nd quarter in 2017.
• With regard to the source of funding, management provided a summary of the Block 24S Anchor Business Plan for approval as outlined in table 3 (page 6, BIC 2014-01).
• The proposed cash flow and funding of Block 24 S Anchor Business Plan was summarized in table 4 (page 7, BIC 2014-01).  Management pointed out that table 4 showed a small variance in hard costs. The project soft cost of 27% is higher than anticipated; as the figures included costs not reported previously such as relocation and third party costs with respect to project management. The overall increase in hard and soft costs is 4%.
• Costs for Phase 2 for Block 24S were validated by an independent consultant.
• With regard to condo sales for Block 25N, all but 18 units were sold.  
• With regard to the Community Centre, the services will be relocated in event building not ready in time. The Committee encouraged this so that residents are adequately looked after in that regard and to avoid negative feedback.  
• Management noted that a 5% variance is in line with other projects. 
• Should there be changes to the below proposed schedule, Management would advise the Committee in writing with rationale for the changes. Safeguards on potential risks of rushing the relocation would be in place if necessary.

Table 2: Block 24S Major Project Milestones    

• Site Plan approval (1st submission) - Q1 2014
• IAHP Contribution Agreement (signed)v - Q4 2014
• Construction Commencement - Q1 2015
• Occupancy - Q2 2017

 

• The Committee requested the Anchor Business Plan be revisited by the Committee if the minor variance approval is not obtained (as required) or if the total project budget exceeds the 5% threshold.  The Committee requested further information regarding the potential acceleration of the development of the rental building. 

Motion carried

ON MOTION DULY MADE by Ms. Karen Newman, seconded by Ms. Audrey Wubbenhorst and carried, the Building and Investment Committee unanimously adopted the report and recommended for approval the following amended recommendations to the Board of Directors:

1. Approve the Regent Park Rental Block 24 South (“Block 24S”) Anchor Business Plan of $48.0 million, as outlined in this report and included in the Board approved 2014 Development Capital Budget.  This authority will provide the necessary budget for the project to progress through to detailed design, construction and final building occupancy.
2. Approve full implementation of the Regent Phase 2 Rental Block 24S Anchor Business Plan (“Block 24S ABP”), provided the total project budget remains within 5% of the indicated Block 24S ABP and minor variance approval obtained (as required), as outlined in this report.
3. Authorize the President and Chief Executive Officer or his designate to take the necessary action, incur capital commitments, and execute any and all documents as may be necessary in connection with the continued development and construction of the Block 24S project as set out in the Block 24S ABP. Such commitments shall be made in accordance with the existing contractual arrangements between Toronto Community Housing and the Daniels Corporation (“Daniels”) and shall include, but not be limited to, additional consulting contracts, construction contracts, planning documents and other ancillary contracts and permits required to give effect to the above recommendations.
4. Authorize the Chief Executive Officer or his designate to enter into a Contribution Agreement with City of Toronto for $5,640,000 in grant funding towards the provision of 47 new Affordable Rental Housing units within Block 24S under the Federal-Provincial Investment in Affordable Housing Program (“IAHP”).

Item 7 - Regent Park Phase 3: Pre-development Spending Authority, BIC:2014-02

The Building and Investment Committee had before it the above-captioned report (BIC:2014-02) from the President and Chief Executive Officer.  A discussion ensued, including the following highlights:

• Reference was made to attachment 1 of the report: Regent Park Master Plan- Phase 3.  Management is asking for approval of pre-development spending which was included in the capital budget approved by the Board in December 2013.  
• Next steps include the following:  demolish, remediate and service sites as well as to begin detailed engineering work quickly in order to transfer lands and realize land value.
• Management plans to deliver new housing in Phase 3 as quickly as possible and to avoid delays experienced by relocated residents in Phase 2.
• The final stage of design of the athletic grounds is underway and funding from MLSE was secured for that project.  Construction is anticipated to commence in October 2014.  
• The Phase 3 workplan described in the report BIC 2014-02 assumes that City Council will approve the Official Plan and Zoning By-law Amendment of the Regent Park Phase 3, 4 and 5 lands in March 2014.  Demolition application for all of Phase 3 is also incorporated. 
• The business plan is expected in the next cycle with an update on Phase 2 business plan and implementation plan.

Motion carried

ON MOTION DULY MADE by Ms. Karen Newman, seconded by Ms. Audrey Wubbenhorst and carried, the Building and Investment Committee unanimously approved the following recommendations: 

1. Approve a pre-development spending authority of $2.4 million, as described in the associated work plan for Phase 3 of the Regent Park Revitalization and included in the Board approved 2014 Development Capital Budget, which will preserve the momentum of the project.
2. Authorize the President and CEO or his designate to negotiate, execute and enter into any and all contracts and ancillary documents as required to give effect to the above recommendation.

Item 8 - 2014 BIC Work Plan and review of 2013 Work Plan, BIC:2014-03

The Building and Investment Committee had before it the above-captioned report (BIC:2014-03) from the President and Chief Executive Officer.  

A discussion ensued, including the following highlights:

• The report is a guide for the Committee on what is coming forward based on the Committee’s terms of reference and strategic priorities for the Corporation.
• With regard to monitoring areas of risk (page 6, BIC 2014-03, Attachment 1), the Committee discussed how to monitor risk without a risk framework.  With respect to development projects, risk is managed on a per project basis. GRHRC has oversight of the development of an Enterprise Risk Management program that will set out a framework.  In the meantime and as noted on the Work Plan, risk will be reported on an “as required” basis.

Motion carried

ON MOTION DULY MADE by Ms. Karen Newman, seconded by Ms. Audrey Wubbenhorst and carried, the Building and Investment Committee unanimously received the report for information.

Item 9 - Stand-Alone Properties – Resident Relocation Plan, BIC:2014-04

The Building and Investment Committee had before it the above-captioned report (BIC:2014-04) from the President and Chief Executive Officer.  

A discussion ensued, including the following highlights:

• Budget for 2014 is a little over $30M and TCHC would work towards to achieving that target
• All home sales are above appraised value
• Reference was made to page 3 of the report (BIC 2014-04), and the Committee discussed the review by the procurement unit on the change of agents.  

Motion carried

ON MOTION DULY MADE by Ms. Audrey Wubbenhorst, seconded by Ms. Karen Newman and carried, the Building and Investment Committee unanimously received the report for information and recommended to forward the report to the Board of Directors for information.

Item 10 - Stand-Alone Properties – Resident Relocation Plan, BIC:2014-05

The Building and Investment Committee had before it the above-captioned report (BIC:2014-05) from the President and Chief Executive Officer.  

A discussion ensued, including the following highlights:

• The Committee discussed the Relocation Policy, including clarity on page 3 of the policy that provides if a tenant moves out of TCHC, then the tenant loses RGI and the right to return.
• The policy is translated as required and on demand.  
• Any issues arising from the relocation policy would be dealt with following the procedure in the policy.

Motion carried

ON MOTION MADE by Ms. Karen Newman, seconded by Ms. Audrey Wubbenhorst and carried, the Building and Investment Committee unanimously received the report for information.

Item 11 - Update on Putting People First Recommendations, BIC:2014-06

The Building and Investment Committee had before it the above-captioned report (BIC:2014-06) from the President and Chief Executive Officer.  

A discussion ensued, including the following highlights:

• TCHC is working with the Affordable Housing Office.
• TCHC also participates in the Housing Roundtable with Federation of Canadian Municipalities (“FCM”).  A roundtable conference is scheduled for January 28th with the Chair of the Board and the CEO. FCM is keen on this and is organizing similar round tables across the country.  This would be a broad campaign and the focus would be on the strategy for 2014. 
• A meeting with the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing in future is being planned.

Motion carried

ON MOTION MADE by Ms. Audrey Wubenhorst, seconded by Ms. Karen Newman and carried, the Building and Investment Committee unanimously received the report for information.

TERMINATION

Motion carried

ON MOTION DULY MADE by Ms. Karen Newman, seconded by Ms. Jennifer Wood and carried, the Building and Investment Committee terminated the public meeting at 4:19 p.m.