What’s old is new — spectacu-larly so. M2i Development Corp.’s SoBow — South of the Bow — is a project that has overcome and excelled in so many ways.

Strategically situated in Inglewood, the condominium apartment and townhouse project is a unique development and revi-talization project where old meets new with a wide range of home options in an idyllic setting near the river where decay and deterio-ration once threatened.

“Resurrecting any distressed real estate project has its challenges as the stigma associated with an abandoned construction site is extremely challenging,” says Iain McCorkindale, president of M2i.

“This particular project had every conceivable technical challenge in development and construction. But like everything else, it starts with a vision.”

The vision, he says, was for a diverse, dynamic community that would be a pure and simple extension of Inglewood itself.

“In terms of design and speci-fications, we were committed to leading and not following,” says McCorkindale. “We wanted a building that would stand the test of time, and we wanted it designed

to achieve Built Green (certifica-tion) as we are committed to sus-tainability.”

The results have been quite re-markable with the development — and the developer’s — presence impacting the community well beyond the SoBow property lines.

“Last year we had a lot of fun using our construction knowledge and

resources as well as our muscles to build a one-of-a-kind playground at the Colonel Walker school in Inglewood,” says James Ireland, M2i construction manager.

“When the CBE (Calgary Board of Education) needed to remove the existing playground for main-tenance and safety reasons we joined forces with local parents

and volunteers to replace the ag-ing play structures with a beautiful safe new space.”

McCorkindale says he has very fond memories of shoveling gravel and landscaping with a committed and enthusiastic team of volun-teers at the school.

“I take my kids there,” he says. “When I see the M2i Develop-ment Corporation brick laid into the path, it makes me proud of how our team contributed and what it means to the community and the kids using it every day.”

M2i team members are also regu-lar participants in the annual river cleanup and are active in the Ingle-wood Community Association.

“We are proud to be participants on various City of Calgary advisory committees and independent com-munity action initiatives such as Soul of the City,” says Ireland. “We believe Calgary is a great city, made great by Calgarians, and we want to do our part to make the city we call home even better.”

McCorkindale says understand-ing the generational impacts of M2i’s projects makes it easy to remain motivated.

“We want to create homes and businesses that decades from now will be landmark and timeless.”

A S P E C I A L C A LG A R Y H E R A L D S E R I E S O N C A LG A R Y ’ S B U S I N E S S V I S I O N A R I E S S P O N S O R E D B Y C A LG A R Y E C O N O M I C D E V E LO P M E N TFOCUS

ON LEADERSHIP

THIS FEATURE WAS PRODUCED BY THE CALGARY HERALD’S SPECIAL PROJECTS DEPARTMENT ON BEHALF OF CALGARY ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT FOR COMMERCIAL PURPOSES. THE HERALD’S EDITORIAL DEPARTMENTS HAD NO INVOLVEMENT IN THE CREATION OF THIS CONTENT.

Mount Royal University’s lead-ers know what they want the school to be, and why.

The university’s soon-to-be-released 10-year strategic plan entitled Learning Together, Lead-ing Together will steer the school toward its goal of being one of Canada’s top undergrad schools.

“We are primarily an undergrad-uate institution and that is what we will continue to be,” says David Docherty, president of Mount Royal University.

“We won’t be taking our focus off of what we do well. But we believe in 10 years, we can be one of the best at what we do.”

The 10-year plan emphasizes that the majority of the university’s programming will remain focused on four-year bachelor degrees, and those degrees will be supplement-ed by a number of direct entry and post-undergraduate certificate and diploma programs.

Docherty says in 10 years the goal is to offer more opportunities for undergrads rather than introduce graduate programs.

The school has certainly been moving in that direction since it became a university in 2009. Since then it has introduced 11 different baccalaureates for students and offers 23 different majors within those baccalaureate offerings.

“Developing our strategic plan involved some self-evaluation including deciding whether we are an ‘elite’ institution or an ‘open access’ institution,” says Docherty.

“When you look at some of our programs, they are by definition elite, because it is so competitive to get into them... And that’s OK. That’s good.

“However, we do not want to for-get where we came from and what we built this school on. So we have decided we can be both by also pro-

viding for an education for those who do not fit into that particular niche.”

The plan also emphasizes that

the university will remain commit-ted to offering smaller class sizes without sacrificing access.

“Getting from 8,000 FLE (full-

load equivalent or full time) students to 13,000 FLEs means we need to open up spaces in our high-demand programs like busi-ness, nursing, justice studies and many others as well as improving access for students who might not be able to directly enter into programs that require such high marks,” says Docherty.

“The demand is here in Calgary and we want to meet that demand, because we do not want to be in a position where we’re turning away qualified students. That is where we are at right now.”

The vision is that the number of programs and major options, and courses within those majors, will equal that of a mid-sized univer-sity, he says.

“We want our students to remain at Mount Royal because they can access the variety of programs they need,” says Docherty.

MOUNT ROYAL PUSHES TO BE THE BEST

She is leading with vision, virtue and a great deal of style, too.

The new executive di-rector at Theatre Calgary, Colleen Smith, is a woman with a plan that is powered by her appetite for elevat-ing the arts on everyone’s agenda.

“I absolutely love what I do,” says Smith. “When you are fortunate enough to find a career that is also a lifestyle, passion and the pursuit of the extraordinary permeates your approach to every business decision.”

Smith says the most vibrant cities in the world keep art and culture at the heart of their society and economy, and Calgary is no exception.

“Nearing its 50th anniver-sary season in 2017, Theatre Calgary is solidly rooted in the fabric of this city and is poised to be a central, cul-tural pillar supporting Cal-gary’s rise,” says Smith, who took over for Tom McCabe who retired last year.

“Through sustained com-munity investment, ad-vancement of innovative partnerships and a commit-ment to artistic excellence, we will achieve this goal.”

The role is a weighty one and recruitment was not a task the board of directors took lightly.

“We did an extensive search across the coun-try and we have found the most vibrant, daring and unflappable person for this critical role,” says Mark Thompson, chairman of the board for Theatre Calgary.

For the six years previous to accepting this new posi-tion, Smith was director of operations at The Corpora-tion of Massey Hall and Roy Thomson Hall in Toronto.

Previous to that she was the managing director with Factory Theatre, director of finance and education at Tafelmusik Baroque Or-chestra and Chamber Choir and the program manager for the Learning Through the Arts program at the Royal Conservatory of Music, all in Toronto.

New leader steers Theatre Calgary

Colleen Smith recently became executive director for Theatre Calgary. P H O T O

BY W I L A N D RU S C H A K

David Docherty, president of Mount Royal University, meets with students, from left, Deng Awak, Reaghan Zilkie and Mike Stacey. The school is finalizing its 10-year strategic plan. P H O T O BY W I L A N D RU S C H A K

Engaging students for current and future success:1. Set the standard for a personalized learning experience; 2. Foster a sense of belonging among students; 3. Provide intellectually engaged learning; 4. Increase flexibility in student access;5. Facilitate student success.

Uniting faculty, staff and management in a thriving learning environment: 6. Foster a healthy work environment; 7. Enhance the culture of innovation.

Engaging broader communities in collaborative learning and scholarship: 8. Engage multiple communities in innovative and productive partnership

activities; 9. Enhance community outreach; 10. Advance economic, environmental and social sustainability.

M O U N T R O YA L ’ S F U T U R E G O A L S

DEVELOPMENT BUILT TO STAND TEST OF TIME

Construction manager James Ireland, left, and Iain McCorkindale, president of M2i Developement Corporation, at the SoBow condo project in Inglewood. P H O T O BY W I L A N D RU S C H A K