FACILITY NEEDS ASSESSMENT AND FEASIBILITY STUDIES
Peer Review
Commercial and Emploment Land Needs
The County of Prince Edward retained Danix Management Limited to prepare a peer review of a commercial and employment land needs analysis developed in support of an official plane amendment application to facilitate the redevelopment and transition of a WWII airfield.
Ottawa Library Facilities Investment and Growth Planning Study (for the Ottawa Public Library)
This study examined the need for library facilities by location across the City of Ottawa based on a projection of growth to 2023 and mapped out a plan for the expansion of the library network. The study also examined the capacity of the Ottawa Public Library to fund the required network expansion based on a projection of revenue from development charge revenue.
Redevelopment of Ottawa Technical High School (for Ottawa Carleton District School Board)
Daniel Nixey who serves as a real property advisor to the Ottawa Carleton District School Board, led a project that involved the preparation of several redevelopment propositions for a large school board property located in Ottawa’s downtown, testing these propositions against current zoning and official plan policy directions; most notably to mesh with a City of Ottawa “district study” prepared under the guidance of their downtown urban design plan. The key objective for the school board was to determine a form of redevelopment acceptable to the community and yielding significant financial returns. The discussion between the City, the school board and the community continues.
Market Feasibility for Intermodal Station (for the City of Ottawa)
This project was sponsored by the Mayor of the City of Ottawa to assess the opportunity for developing a subsidiary Via Rail passenger station in Barrhaven (a suburb of Ottawa), co-located with a park-and-ride lot adjacent to a City’s bus transitway station. Daniel worked in collaboration with VIA Rail to administer an “on-board” passenger survey and simultaneously undertook a residence based consumer survey. From this basic research, Daniel developed a projection of customer volume (both new and shifted demand) and developed guidelines for station facility configuration. The new Via Rail station was constructed in the Fall of 2002 and has remained in operation.
Alignment of Housing Profile in Relation to Projected Needs (for CCOC)
Danix Management Limited was retained to highlight important demographic tendencies to be considered by the Board of Centretown Citizens Ottawa Corporation in relation to the potential need for a future realignment of the CCOC housing portfolio to match future demographic demand conditions to 2031. The report was prepared as a think piece for a Board retreat. CCOC is a large non-profit housing provider.
Canadian Forces Housing Agency – Market and Industry Analyses
As a key member of a consulting team mandated by CFHA to complete housing market and industry analyses in twenty market areas across Canada, Mr. Nixey assumed direct responsibility for managing a project team delivering all project detail and serving as lead writer and editor on ten of the studies. Each study comprised: liaison with the client authority as required, site visits, meetings with local municipal officials, meeting with the base housing manager, contact with the local development industry, data gathering from Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC), Statistics Canada, the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) and other sources as required, synthesis of the above into component succinct tables, the use of Geographic Information System software to assist the market analysis, and the preparation of draft and final reports.
Chelsea Steam Train Feasibility Study (for the Community Table - CEDEC)
The study was commissioned by Community Table - CEDEC, a Quebec based non-profit organization, to investigate the feasibility for the construction and operation of a train station in Chelsea (Gatineau) dedicated to the use of the Hull Chelsea Wakefield (HCW) Steam Train, located on lands controlled by Innovation Chelsea. Daniel's input to the study was to situate the opportunity for various development components of the proposed project within the context of regional market conditions and to prepare financial proformas to test financial feasibility.
Market Feasibility of Home Renovation Business (for a national home builder)
One of Canada’s largest home builders and residential landlords was curious about the business opportunity presented by their organization’s skills base – hoping to leverage underutilized capacity to launch a warranty home renovation business. Daniel led a team to evaluate the opportunity by undertaking consumer research to determine the services most demanded by home owners and the price they were willing to pay, by completing competitive research and by estimating the overall size of the home renovation business in Ottawa.
Business Case for Workplace Productivity Laboratory (for Public Works Government Services Canada)
Public Works and Government Service Canada has developed a leadership position in promoting new officing arrangements, plug-and-play technologies, workplace productivity enhancements and sustainable development. The “workplace productivity lab” was advanced as a project to bring all of these elements together in an environment where productivity enhancements and the long-term savings from modern office arrangements could be studied on a rigorous basis. Daniel was asked to determine the dimensions of this opportunity and develop a formal business case to assist in securing funding for the development of the lab.