CALL FOR INTEREST
Concordia University – UC-2019-13
Student residence project for the Sir George Williams (SGW) campus
Note: This call for interest is not subject to the Act respecting contracting by public bodies (c.‑65.1). It does not constitute a call for tenders, an invitation to bid or a qualification process, and it does not commit Concordia University to issue a call for tenders in the future.
Concordia University (“Concordia”) invites any interested party (“Proposer”) to propose a site and deliver a “turnkey” student residence that will be operated by Concordia.
The Proposer may be a for-profit legal entity under private law, a corporation, a partnership, a limited partnership or joint venture, a natural person who operates a sole proprietorship, or a consortium consisting of a group of such persons or companies.
Expressions of interest for the student residence project must meet the following basic requirements:
Location: The site proposed for the student residence must be located within the perimeter indicated on the map provided in the appendix and delimited by:
- Dr. Penfield Avenue to the north;
- Notre-Dame Street to the south;
- Atwater Avenue to the west;
- Peel Street to the east.
Site type: The proposed site can be new construction or a renovation of an existing building and may not include any accessible balconies. It may also be a multi-purpose site (e.g. with businesses on the ground floor, or with other rental apartments or condominium units), provided that the student residence has its own independent dedicated entrance.
Residence type: A residence of the independent Apartment type with closed bedrooms, including a kitchen, living space, toilet(s) and bath/shower room(s).
Apartments: Apartments are to include no more than 4 closed bedrooms, and 10% of apartments must feature universal access with no obstacles. Sketches and previous examples of student residence apartments are provided in the appendix, and are intended only as examples.
Number of beds: Minimum 250 beds, maximum 400 beds, each in a closed bedroom.
The minimum area of a closed bedroom is 9.4 m2 with a minimum width of 2 m.
The minimum area of a closed universal-access bedroom is 12 m2 with a minimum width of 2.8 m.
Other residential spaces: The proposed site must include spaces for reception and administration, common living areas for students (multi-purpose room, game room, study room, laundry room, etc.), spaces for operations, and spaces for information-technology and communications equipment, as well as the safety features required for a student residence.
Proposer’s experience: The Proposer must (i) have sufficient financial capacity to complete the student residence project, and (ii) have completed residential projects of a similar nature and scale in Canada within the past 10 years, e.g. nursing homes, rental apartments, condominiums, hotels, student residences, etc.
Sustainable development: The student residence project must incorporate sustainable-development measures and practices.
Delivery date: As soon as possible, for occupancy in April, May or June only, in view of the beginning of the academic year in the fall.
Legal form: The contract will take the form of a transfer of usufruct of the site containing a “turnkey” student residence delivered to Concordia. Concordia will operate the residence and derive rental income from it, in exchange for which Concordia shall pay compensation to the owner and maintain the site in good condition and return it to the owner at the end of the term. The primary advantage of the usufruct is that Concordia is considered to be the owner of the transferred site throughout the duration of the usufruct, which status endows it as an academic institution with an exemption from all property, municipal and school taxes for the site for which usufruct is transferred, pursuant to section 204(13) of the Act respecting municipal taxation (c. F-2.1).
Term: An initial term of twenty-five (25) years, with an option to renew for a term of four (4) years, at Concordia’s choice.
Work: The Proposer will perform the following work at its own expense and deliver it to Concordia on a “turnkey” basis:
(i) all preparatory and construction work relating to the outer envelope of the proposed site; (ii) all required preparatory and construction work (performance specification – base building) relating to the requirements for the apartments and other residential spaces in the student residence, as enumerated in the list of spaces and the technical specification to be provided by Concordia; (iii) all construction work relating to improvements entailed in accordance with Concordia’s requirements for the apartments and other spaces in the student residence, as enumerated in the list of spaces and the technical specification to be provided by Concordia.
Operating costs: The Proposer will assume the maintenance, repair and replacement costs for the site's outer envelope, the mechanical and electrical systems, the plumbing, the elevators, and the heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC). Concordia will perform normal and regular maintenance as well as the repair and replacement work arising from normal wear and tear on the apartments and common areas of the student residence, and will pay for its consumption of public utilities (electricity, gas, water).
Deadline for expression of interest: Any Proposer wishing to express its interest must complete the Proposer and Proposed Site forms, and send them with the required documents by 2:00 p.m. local time on Thursday, April 30, 2020, to the attention of Nadine Landry, Senior Buyer, at the following email address: nadine.landry@concordia.ca.
Negotiation for implementation of the student residence project: Concordia wishes to engage in negotiations on the implementation of its student residence project for the SGW campus with a maximum of three (3) Proposers:
- whose expression of interest meets the basic requirements listed in the call for interest;
- whose proposed site features a combination of qualities that show strong potential;
- whose experience demonstrates the ability to deliver the student residence project;
- whose proposed site includes legal aspects that will facilitate the expeditious implementation and delivery of the project;
All according to the following criteria:
PROPOSED SITE FOR THE STUDENT RESIDENCE PROJECT
- Proximity of the proposed site: (i) to the SGW campus (corner of Guy and de Maisonneuve), (ii) to a metro station within the stated perimeter, and (ii) to businesses and services;
- Quality of the immediate environment around the proposed site, compatibility and synergy with the neighbourhood and other uses in the building, if applicable, with a focus on safety and quality of life for the student clientèle;
- Physical capacity of the proposed site to meet Concordia’s needs and to accommodate a high number of beds at an affordable cost, and to provide reception and administration spaces, common living spaces and spaces for the student residence's operations.
PROPOSER’S EXPERIENCE AND ABILITY
- Proposer’s ability to ensure delivery of a student residence project based on its profile, its financial capacity and its experience in completing residential projects of a similar nature and scale.
TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF PROJECT IMPLEMENTATION
- Ability to provide expeditious delivery of the student residence, facilitated by the form of holding proposed for the site by the Proposer (property titles) and by a student residential use that is automatically permitted by the current zoning of the proposed site.
Concordia reserves the right to negotiate with more than one Proposer at a time, and shall not be required to initiate negotiations with any of the Proposers expressing an interest. Concordia agrees to preserve the confidentiality of non-public information and documents that are exchanged in the context of negotiations with a Proposer, and to sign a confidentiality agreement to that effect.
Concordia reserves the right to reject any or all of the expressions of interest received, to decline to follow up on this call for interest or on an expression of interest it receives, and, if it sees fit, to initiate a new call for tenders; under no circumstances shall Concordia be held responsible in any way whatsoever to Proposers who have submitted an expression of interest.
Furthermore, Concordia shall not be required to enter into an agreement with any Proposer with which it has engaged in negotiations, as the case may be. This call for interest may not in any way be interpreted as creating any type of legal relation between Concordia and the Proposers who express their interest. Conversely, replies to the call for interest shall not constitute contractual engagements on the part of the Proposers.
Finally, this call for interest shall not bind Concordia to pay any costs whatsoever that are incurred by a Proposer for the purpose of preparing its expression of interest.
If an agreement were entered into with a Proposer, any ensuing contract remains subject to approval by Concordia’s board of directors and any government body with jurisdiction.
Information meeting: An optional information meeting to answer Proposers’ questions about the call for interest will be held at 10:00 a.m. local time on Thursday, April 9, 2020, at the following address:
Concordia University, Sir George Williams Campus
GM Pavilion, 7th floor
1550 de Maisonneuve Blvd. West
Suite GM-720-30
Montreal, Quebec
For any questions you have about this call for interest, please contact Nadine Landry, Senior Buyer, at the following email address: nadine.landry@concordia.ca.
