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What we are doing
The Saanich Operations Centre – located at 1040 McKenzie Avenue – has served our community for more than 60 years. While we continue to deliver services from this bustling hub, we are looking to redevelop the site and replace the old facilities with new ones so our operations will function well into the future allowing us to continue to provide services that support our high quality of life in Saanich.
The quality of life that we often take for granted depends on the following services all of which are supported by staff who work out of the Operations Centre:
- WATER: The maintenance of the water supply and delivery system that brings drinking water to our homes and businesses as well as the pipes that take away waste for treatment.
- TRANSPORTATION: Design, management and maintenance of our streets, roads, intersections, sidewalks and bicycle paths that allow us to get to where we need to go as safely and efficiently as possible.
- PARKS: Design, management and maintenance of our boulevards, parks, beaches and natural areas.
- SOLID WASTE: Removal of residential garbage and organics.
As the facility report card shows, our ability to continue to deliver these services is at great risk due to the condition of the facilities and their capacity to support our services. We have been developing a plan that will be a template for the future site redevelopment with an objective to mitigate these risks through a facility that simultaneously reflects best practices and looks ahead into the future anticipating growth and dynamic service delivery.
This project is guided by the Strategic Facilities Master Plan, which provides a framework that helps us prioritize strategic investment in our facilities and to see projects such as this one, planned and implemented in a robust and transparent manner. The process strives to deliver value and accountability for taxpayer dollars while ensuring that the primary goal of services delivery is being met.
We hosted a Virtual Open House event in 2020. The following material was prepared for the event:
- Virtual open house boards
- Facility report card
- Information postcard
- Saanich Operations Centre handout
- Redevelopment FAQ's
Our three-fold vision:
Services Delivery: Ensuring we can continue to deliver critical services from this site long into the future that residents can rely on. The operations are required to be delivered from a safe, efficient and robust set of facilities that are built to last and accommodate changing needs decades into the future.
Healthy environment: In addition to remediating the Public Works Creek, the redevelopment will support and further our 2050 net-zero goals, climate change resiliency, energy performance and promotion of active transportation strategies.
Community vitality: Given the prime location of these facilities and the opportunity to advance the public realm of the Quadra-McKenzie Neighbourhood Centre, we are uniquely positioned to provide a template for private sector investment that strengthens the community.
What’s next?
June 2022: Council approved the Business Case, directing staff to develop the operations centre plans and to work with the private sector development community to understand the opportunities to involve external investment and other uses on the site. The District intends to engage a private sector partner to assist with the redevelopment and plan for commercial and perhaps residential opportunities that are in alignment with the District’s newly-adopted OCP and current Council lead initiatives and priorities.
February 2024: We acquired a property near the operations centre site that will become the new Parks Operations Centre. This will allow us to continue to make progress on the redevelopment project, reduce overall project costs and plan for smooth operations into the future. Read more about this update.
October 2024: We hosted an in-person drop-in event on Saturday, October 26 at the bucket shed on-site at 1040 McKenzie Avenue to share more about the Saanich Operations Centre Redevelopment Project and rezoning process. District staff and consultants from CitySpaces and Colliers were available to answer questions. Colliers Project Managers is the project manager consultant and City Spaces is the re-zoning consultant.
Information Session Material:
- View the display boards
Up next: The District consultant will submit an application for re-zoning of the property. We intend to borrow money to fund the project and will share information regarding a proposed process and timeline for public assent in late 2024/early 2025.
The District consultant will issue Request for Qualifications to the private sector development community later this fall, which will begin the procurement to find a private sector partner for investment in the project to both build the District’s Operations Centre and to construct residential development on the site.
Read more: