The Canadian Emily Carr University has selected the Applied Arts Team to carry out the Emily Carr University of Art + Design campus redevelopment PPP project.

Applied Arts Team is composed by: Brookfield Financial Corporation, EllisDon Corporation, EllisDon Capital Inc., Fengate Capital Management Ltd., Diamond and Schmitt Architects Incorporated, Chernoff Thompson Architects, and Johnson Controls Inc.

The team beat out competition from two other bidders that were shortlisted in July last year. The two teams are the following:

• BC Education Partners: Bouygues Building Canada, InfraRed Capital Partners, Bouygues Energies and Services Canada, and Bing Thom Architects.

• Tandem Education Partners: Balfour Beatty Investments, a division of Balfour Beatty Group Canada Inc., Gracorp Capital Advisors Ltd., Connor Clark & Lunn GVest Traditional Infrastructure LP, Graham Design Builders LP, Balfour Beatty Construction, B+H Architects Inc., and Zeidler Partnership Architects.

The next stage in the competitive selection process is to negotiate with Applied Arts Partners to settle the final terms of the contract, a process that is expected to culminate in a performance-based contract by February 2015. Construction on the project is anticipated to begin in spring 2015, and the new campus is expected to be complete in 2017.

The project site is located at the Great Northern Way Campus in Vancouver. The site of the new Emily Carr facility comprises three acres west of the new Centre for Digital Media. The new campus will accommodate more than 1,800 students and provide state-of-the-art facilities that will attract national and international students.

The preferred bidder will have to design, build, finance and maintain the new campus.

The capital cost of the project is budgeted at up to CAD$134 million, including a provincial investment of up to CAD$113 million dollars, with the remainder to be raised through the university's current capital campaign "The Big Idea".

Advanced Education Minister Amrik Virk stated:

"It is great to see that a new, state-of-the-art campus for Emily Carr University is one step closer to becoming a reality. The university is internationally renowned for its contributions to the creative sector, and the world-class new campus at Great Northern Way will enable its graduates to continue to make major contributions to this important part of British Columbia's economy."

President and vice-chancellor, Emily Carr University of Art + Design, Dr. Ron Burnett, commented:

"With today's milestone, we move even closer toward the creation of a new campus at Great Northern Way. Our new campus will be the beginning of a creative cultural precinct and a centre for 21st-century learning in art, design, media and applied research."

A fairness advisor, Jane Shackell, Q.C. has been appointed to oversee and monitor the entire evaluation process to ensure that it has been fair and has followed the requirements outlined in the request for proposals (RFP).

Emily Carr has outgrown its current Granville Island campus due to increased student demand and the need to accommodate current and emerging program areas. International student applications to the university have grown by 46% over the last five years and currently 19% of FTE students come from outside Canada.