HomeMy WebLinkAboutDSD-2025-067 - Proposed Changes to Kitcheners Great Places Awards ProgramDevelopment Services Department www.kitchener.ca
REPORT TO: Planning and Strategic Initiatives Committee
DATE OF MEETING: February 24, 2025
SUBMITTED BY: Rosa Bustamante, Director, Planning and Housing Policy,
519-783-8929
PREPARED BY: Oluseyi Ojurongbe, Project Manager (Planning), 519-783-8941
WARD(S) INVOLVED: All
DATE OF REPORT: February 4, 2025
REPORT NO.: DSD-2025-067
SUBJECT:
RECOMMENDATION:
That the proposed
detailed in DSD- 2025-067 be endorsed.
REPORT HIGHLIGHTS:
The purpose of this report is to recommend proposed changes to modernize and
streamline
The key findings of this report are that staff are recommending two key changes to
the KPGA, namely, an additional award category to showcase affordable housing
projects and to establish a selection process for the Mike and Pat Wagner Heritage
Awards, consistent with other award categories.
This recommendation will be accommodated in the KGPA capital budget.
This report supports the delivery of core services.
BACKGROUND:
In 2015, Council endorsed the establishment of a new comprehensive planning awards
program celebrating a broad range of categories related to excellence in urban design and
program honours outstanding development projects that show a commitment to design
excellence and innovation in urban design, sustainability and heritage conservation and
contribute to a built environment that enhances quality of life. Since inception, the program
has brought people together, fostered community pride and contributed to the quality-of-life
Kitchener residents expect. Over the years, the award ceremony has recognized awardees
across 9 categories as listed below:
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1. Future Design Leaders
2. Master Planning
3. Mike and Pat Wagner Heritage Awards
4. Neighborhood Design
5.
6. Placemaking
7. Schmalz Award for Design Leadership
8. Sustainable Kitchener
9. Urban Design Excellence
In preparation for the 2025 edition, staff identified opportunities to improve the program and
highlight additional project types. With a Council priority to build more housing including
affordable housing, a new category is proposed as detailed in this report.
REPORT:
Building on the success of previous editions and as part of the KGPA program going forward,
staff are proposing changes to modernize and enhance consistency in the program in the
two areas below:
1. To include an additional award category, the Affordable Housing Solutions Award to
:
To further showcase the efforts of housing developers across the city to address the housing
crisis, staff are proposing to include an additional award category focused on affordable
housing. Staff is of the opinion that this award category will highlight and celebrate projects
that incorporate affordable housing while sharing the story of their success, which can
encourage others and explore
creative models, programs, and partnerships to create more affordable housing in our
community. Attachment A provides an overview of the Affordable Housing Solutions Award
including eligibility requirements, jury panel composition and nomination criteria.
As detailed in Attachment A, this category seeks to recognize developments that deliver
affordable housing .Staff propose that the jury panel
for this category will include the Director of Planning & Housing Policy and up to four
professionals representing such expertise as urban planning, affordable housing, social
services, urban design and architecture.
Winning project selection will consider projects that incorporate creative or innovative
solutions that prioritize affordability, supportiveness and groups that face greater housing
challenges. Winning projects may spotlight the relationship between other orders of
government, City of Kitchener, and community partners in the successful creation of
affordable housing in our community.
Staff is of the opinion that tin celebrating the
people, and organizations who make Kitchener a great place to live, work and play,
especially through the provision of affordable housing.Projects nominated in this category
) and the
Schmalz Award for Design Leadership (given to a project that demonstrates excellence in
two or more award categories).
2. Jury Panel for award recipient selection for the Mike and Pat Wagner Heritage Awards
as recommended to Heritage Kitchener Committee in DSD-2025-037:
Staff requested and received Heritage Kitchener Committee endorsement on February 4,
2025, to update the program for the Mike and Pat Wagner Heritage Awards to establish a
heritage jury panel to select award winners.
Staff are seeking to refine the selection process of this category to align with how winning
projects are chosen in other categories. Attachment B provides an overview of the Mike and
Pat Wagner Heritage Award including existing eligibility requirements, award categories,
nomination criteria, and the proposed jury panel composition. Staff propose that the jury
panel for this category will include a representative from the Heritage Kitchener Committee,
the Director of Development & Housing Approvals and up to four other professionals with
expertise in heritage conservation, urban planning, urban design, architecture, and
landscape architecture. The jury panel will review nominated projects and may select up to
four winning projects in a program year, outlining reasons why projects were selected.
This change in process will allow a more comprehensive review of the nominations among
experts in heritage and other related fields. The representative from the Heritage Kitchener
Committee will be selected by that Committee, and staff will maintain communication
throughout the program.
Conclusions:
Staff recommend changes to modernize and streamline the KGPA program which will
continue to showcase and celebrate excellence in city-building supported by the program
enhancements. While timelines for the 2025 KGPA program are still being finalized, staff
anticipate a nomination period to be open this spring with the award event to be held in the
of the subject program updates, the timelines will be
finalized.
STRATEGIC PLAN ALIGNMENT:
through the delivery of core service.
FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS:
This recommendations in this report will be accommodated in the KGPA capital budget. The
Kitchener Great Places Awards event has steadily grown in scale and attendance over the
last few years and staff will undertake a comprehensive evaluation of the allocated KGPA
budget after the 2025 KGPA event.
COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT:
INFORM -
Committee meeting.
PREVIOUS REPORTS/AUTHORITIES:
CSD-15-083: Urban Design Awards Program Update
DSD-2025-037:s program update
REVIEWED BY: Janine Oosterveld, Manager,Customer Experience andProject
Management
APPROVED BY: Justin Readman, General Manager, Development Services Department
ATTACHMENTS:
Attachment A - Overview of the Affordable Housing Solutions Award
Attachment B - Overview of the Mike and Pat Wagner Heritage Awards
1. Delivered on or supported the vision of affordable housing units in the timeline
identified in the call for nominations.
2. Project must include units that meet the definition of Affordable Housing per the
.
3.
Awardees will be selected by ajury panel comprised of the
Director of Planning and Housing Policy (or designate)
Up to four professionals which represent such expertise as urban planning,affordable
housing, social services, urban design and architecture.
This jury panel will review the nominated projects for the Affordable Housing Solutions Award to
select one or more winning projects.
Awards selected from among various nomination categories:
Eligible Affordable Housing Solutions Award nominees will also be eligible for two other KGPA
award categories:
1.
2.
Attachment B: Overview of the Mike and Pat Wagner Heritage Awards
Eligibility Requirements
The Mike & Pat Wagner Heritage Awards are open to all individuals, businesses,
organizations and institutions that have conserved cultural heritage resources or have
demonstrated commitment to the conservation of cultural heritage resources within
Kitchener. For the award program, cultural heritage resources are defined as:
properties designated under the Ontario Heritage Act;
properties listed as a non-designated property of cultural heritage value or
interest on the Municipal Heritage Register; or
properties identified on the Heritage Kitchener Inventory of Historic Buildings.
Award Categories
Upto 4 heritage awards may be presented in a given award year, and nominations
may be received in one of three categories as follows:
Preservation / Restoration of Cultural Heritage Resources
Preservation projects involve protecting, maintaining and stabilizing the existing form,
material and integrity of a cultural heritage resource while protecting its heritage
attributes and values. Preservation projects generally relate to cultural heritage
resources that are intact and do not require extensive repair, extensive replacement,
alterations or additions.
Restoration projects involve revealing, recovering or representing the state of a cultural
heritage resource orofan individual heritage attribute asit appeared at a particular
period in its history, as accurately as possible, while protecting its heritage value.
Restoration projects are based on physical and documentary or oral evidence.
Rehabilitation / Adaptive Reuse of Cultural Heritage Resources
Rehabilitation and Adaptive Reuse projects involve the sensitive adaptation of a cultural
heritage resource or of an individual heritage attribute for a continuing or compatible
contemporary use, while protecting its heritage value. This may be achieved through
repairs, replacements, alterations and/or additions.
Individual Contributions to the Field of Heritage Conservation
Awarded to individuals, businesses, organizations, institutions who have made
exceptional and/or long-lasting contributions to the conservation of cultural heritage
resources.
Nomination Criteria
Nominations for a Mike Wagner Heritage Award must demonstrate that:
The conservation project involves a cultural heritage resource;
The conservation project conserves the heritage attributes and values
associated with the cultural heritage resource;
The conservation project is located within the City of Kitchener;
The conservation project is complete;
The conservation project obtained all required approvals such as Building
Permits and Heritage Permits;
The conservation project has not received a previous Mike Wagner Heritage
Award for the same work; and,
The individual, business, organization or institution nominated has made
exceptional or long-lasting contributions to the conservation of cultural
heritage resources within the City of Kitchener.
Awards selected from among various nomination categories
Eligible Mike & Pat Wagner Heritage Award nominees in the Preservation / Restoration
of Cultural Heritage Resources and Rehabilitation / Adaptive Reuse of Cultural
Heritage Resources categories will also be eligible tobe nominated and receive an
award under two other KGPA award categories:
1.given to a project that receives the greatest number of
votes from the community through a variety of polling options. Projects for
consideration will be short-listed to a group of up to 10 projects from those
eligible in the Urban Design, Neighbourhood Design, Placemaking, Mike & Pat
Wagner Heritage, Affordable Housing Solutions and Sustainable Kitchener award
categories that contribute to making Kitchener a great city.
2.Schmalz Award for Design Leadership: given to an exceptional project that
categories - urban design, heritage conservation, affordable housing, and
sustainable design. It represents the best overall project of the awards program.
Named after W.H.E. Schmalz, the architect who first City
Hall and clock tower (which isnow a landmark in Victoria Park) along with
numerous other buildings in the city. His father, W.H. Schmalz, was mayor when
the Town of Berlin became a city.
Jury Panel
Award winners willbe selected by a jury panel comprised of the following:
A Heritage Kitchener Committee member
Director of Development & Housing Approvals (or designate)
Upto four professionals which represent such expertise as heritage
conservation, urban planning, urban design, architecture and landscape
architecture