Transit Oriented Development Panel

Join us for a candid discussion regarding Transit Oriented Development in the Lower Mainland. Speakers from TransLink, Shape Properties, and the City of Vancouver, whose projects continue to shape our cities and infrastructure will explore upcoming transit projects and their interconnectedness with Urban Planning, including Phase 3 of Cambie Corridor planning, and the impact on planning for residential, retail and office developments.

Our panel of experts will include: Guy Akester, Director of Real Estate Programs & Partnerships for Translink, Darren Kwiatkowski, Executive Vice President, Development & Design and Founding Partner for Shape Properties, and Susan Haid, Assistant Director of Planning – Vancouver South Division for the City of Vancouver.

The discussion includes:

• What are the opportunities and challenges facing a Transit Oriented Development
• What advice they have for A/E/C and other professional services firms to win Transit Oriented Development work
• The City of Vancouver’s vision, draft plans and progress of Phase 3 of the Cambie Corridor planning

Our panelists will also answer questions from the audience in an open Q&A format.

Who should attend:

• Firm principals responsible for business growth
• Business development leads
• Marketing professionals
• Proposal coordinators – including Administrative Assistants involved in proposal assembly

Speakers

Guy Akester
Director, Real Estate Programmes & Partnerships at TransLink

Guy is responsible for the real estate portfolio at TransLink which includes retail, parking, telecom, commercial partnerships, acquisitions, development, and surplus land sales. In addition to this, he is responsible for the development approvals for some 60 million square feet of mixed use projects with close proximity to SkyTrain and transportation assets. Guy has lived and worked based out of Vancouver, Toronto, London UK, Edinburgh, Hong Kong and Shanghai. A seasoned real estate professional, he has over 18 years of experience in Real Estate Portfolio Management across the Americas, EMEA and AsiaPacfic.

Darren Kwiatkowski
Executive Vice President, Development & Design and Founding Partner at Shape Properties

Darren has 25 years of real estate experience focused on the acquisition, design and development of large scale retail and mixed use projects.

In 2005, Darren and three partners founded Shape Properties, a real estate investment, development and management company which takes a collaborative approach to working with local communities and governmental approving agencies to deliver high quality projects that integrate with and enhance the surrounding community.

Under Darren’s leadership, Shape has become an industry leader in the transformation and densification of suburban shopping malls into vibrant, mixed-use city centres that are seamlessly integrated with major transit facilities. These projects include The Amazing Brentwood, The City of Lougheed and Destination Deerfoot City which are among the largest real estate projects underway in North America.

Susan Haid
Assistant Director of Planning – Vancouver South Division

Susan Haid is the Assistant Director of Planning for Vancouver South at the City of Vancouver, where she leads a team in developing long-range community plans, policy and rezonings. She has 25 years of experience in community, regional, sustainability and environmental planning including with District of North Vancouver, Metro Vancouver and the City of Burnaby. Susan has a Masters degree in Community and Regional Planning and honours undergraduate degrees in Landscape Architecture and Biology. She is a member of the Canadian Institute of Planners, Planning Institute of BC and the BC Society of Landscape Architects. She is passionate about integrating long-range planning, sustainability, place-making, and effective engagement in building great cities.