Ambleside Revitalization Commission Appointed
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Tuesday, March 22, 2011 – The District of West Vancouver’s Council has appointed five volunteer Commission members to the Ambleside Revitalization Commission. In addition to the Commission members, Joe Redmond, former president of the Whistler 2020 Development Corporation, will be the Executive Director of the Commission. Mayor Pamela Goldsmith-Jones and Councillor Michael Smith will also sit as voting members, while Grant McRadu, Chief Administrative Officer, and Nina Leemhuis, Director of Finance, will sit as non-voting members on the Commission.
The Commission will assist in the development of the AmblesideNow initiatives, review the progress of these initiatives and make recommendations to Council regarding implementation. Commission members are recognized West Vancouver residents with expertise in the area of real estate development, finance and project management. “We have an incredible group of individuals who have stepped up to serve their community by volunteering their time,” says Joe Redmond. “It’s an exciting time and we have the right team to assist Council in moving this project forward.”
Voting Commission members include: David Chard, Kirsty Farquharson, Joe Houssian, Pamela Goldsmith-Jones, David Negrin, Howard Nemtin and Michael Smith. Non-voting members include: Joe Redmond, Grant McRadu and Nina Leemhuis.
The Commission will operate from the AmblesideNow Presentation Centre located at 1408 Marine Drive. The office will serve as a project information hub and is anticipated to be open by late-April. For up to date information on AmblesideNow, please visit amblesidenow.ca.
Commission Biographies
David Chard: Founder of Chard Development Ltd., a boutique, full-service real estate development firm based in Vancouver, BC, David has over 37 year development experience, including extensive experience with real estate negotiations and development projects. David’s focus has been on the retail and multi-unit residential sectors.
David held senior positions with major Canadian real estate companies, managing shopping centre redevelopments in Western Canada prior to forming Chard Development in 1994. He has consulted to numerous corporations, such as The Hudson’s Bay, Ivanhoe Cambridge, TD Bank, Mountain Equipment Co-op and Westminster Management Corporation. These assignments involved site and financial analysis, lease/sale negotiations, shopping centre development, new retail store and mixed-use projects from conception to completion.
He served as a member of the West Vancouver Planning Committee for several years, was a member of the Ambleside Town Centre Strategy Working Group, is Past Commodore of West Vancouver Yacht Club and is currently vice-president of the Urban Development Institute (UDI) Victoria. David is a life-long resident of West Vancouver where he resides with his wife Naomi.
Kirsty Farquharson: President of Edge Training & Consulting Ltd, Kirsty has over 25 years of business management and consulting experience with Andersen, Deloitte and others. Kirsty takes a leading role in engagements focused on business transformation and service improvement. She is the vice-chair of the West Vancouver Memorial Library Board and has been a member of the Board of Trustees since 2007, most recently chairing the Advocacy and Green Committees, during which the WVML submitted its application for LEED certification.
Kirsty has been a member of the West Vancouver community since 1965, attending Pauline Johnson and West Vancouver Secondary schools. She makes her home in Ambleside, with her two sons, Jamie and Will who attend Ridgeview.
Joe Houssian: Chairman of JH Investments Inc, Joe is a successful businessman who founded Intrawest in 1976. Intrawest grew from an urban residential real estate business into an internationally renowned resort and real estate development company responsible for the success of such pre-eminent ski resorts as Whistler Blackcomb as well as dozens of award-winning golf courses, resort villages and developments around the world. Mr. Houssian was the former Chairman of Intrawest, which was sold to Fortress Investments Group in 2006 for US $ 2.8 billion.
Mr. Houssian is also the founder of Intracorp – a North American urban real estate developer with offices in Seattle, California, Vancouver and Toronto. He also co-founded Versacold Cold Storage that was taken public for approximately $1 billion. More recently Mr. Houssian has founded Replay Resorts, an integrated hospitality company as well as Elemental Energy, an alternative energy development company with operations in the USA and Canada. Mr. Houssian is the director of a number of companies and holds a Masters Degree in Business.
David Negrin: President of Aquilini Development and Construction Inc., David is an industry leader in restorative development with over 20 years experience. He is the former senior vice-president of Concord Pacific Group Inc., one of the largest residential master-planned community developers in North America. David’s experience encompasses the remarkable waterfront urban setting of Concord Pacific Place as well as the rural lakefront community of Greata Ranch Vineyard Estates, distinguished by its working vineyard and country lifestyle with urban amenities.
David has advanced the art of redeveloping brownfield sites to the point where he is in demand as a speaker and mentor. A long-time director of the Urban Development Institute he recently completed a two-year term as its Pacific Region president. His passion for sustainable development led him to work with the City of Vancouver to establish a “made in Vancouver” Green Building Strategy.
Howard Nemtin: President and owner of Nemtin Consultants Ltd., a real estate development and consulting company with over 30 years experience in British Columbia, Howard has extensive experience in real estate development consulting, business development and project management. As a real estate consultant to the Whistler Mountain Ski Corporation, he was responsible for real estate strategy, including maximizing the value of land holdings, real estate marketing and implementation of all development projects. Howards has also served as an economic development advisor to the British Columbia Ministry of Economic Development and member of the planning and development team for the new community of Tumbler Ridge and other expanding resource communities.
Howard is a member of the Board and the Chair of the Finance Committee of the Simon Fraser University Community Trust, whose mandate is the development of a sustainable community adjacent to Simon Fraser University on Burnaby Mountain. He is also active on the boards of numerous not-for-profit arts organizations and private sector companies. He is a commercial mediator, a member of the British Columbia Mediator Roster and an executive member of the Commercial Mediator’s Association. Mr. Nemtin holds a Bachelor of Science from York University and a Masters of Business Administration from the University of Western Ontario.
Joe Redmond: As the Executive Director of the Ambleside Revitalization Commission, Joe Redmond will provide direction to the Commission as they support Council in the development and implementation of the Ambleside Town Centre Strategy. From February 2008 to December 2010, Joe was the president of the Whistler 2020 Development Corporation, a company formed by the Resort Municipality of Whistler to develop the master plan and to oversee the design development, tendering and construction of the Whistler Athletes’ Village.
Prior to 2008, he was vice-president of UBC Properties Trust. The Trust was established to develop and manage the real estate assets of the University of British Columbia. His responsibilities included the development of institutional buildings on the University campus and the oversight of the planning and analysis of the non-institutional growth in the campus residential neighbourhoods.
Joe has an extensive background in development and business including past appointments to the President’s Advisory Planning Committee (University of British Columbia); the UBC Advisory Planning Committee; the Board of Directors (Homeowner Protection Office) and the Advisory Design Committee (Resort Municipality of Whistler). Joe holds both a Bachelor of Architecture and Bachelor of Arts Degree from the University of British Columbia.
About the District of West Vancouver
The District of West Vancouver is the local government led by Mayor Pamela Goldsmith-Jones and Council. Home to more than 44,000 residents, West Vancouver is a local government which strives to "inspire excellence and lead by example". Our Vision and Mission guide us to pursue our treasured quality of life and will be the measure of our success as a community. West Vancouver is a community built on innovation, a strong spirit of personal civic commitment and a deep value for relationships.
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