Urban Initiatives

Urban Initiatives was created to help provide our clients with the very best solutions. With over 50 years of Land planning experience, Polocorp and Urban Initiatives President Paul Puopolo manages this group. The speciality of this group is to optimize large-scale land use opportunities and work with multiple disciplines to bring a project to fruition.

Whether it be project conception, optimization, or management, Urban Initiatives specializes in mitigating many of the problems that occur within the land development process. Urban Initiatives works with multiple shareholders, resolving issues in the design, approvals and construction and sales phase of a project.

Greenfield Development

Vista Hills, Waterloo

A large 1600 lot subdivision in West Waterloo. This multi-phase residential subdivision was developed with over 10 community parks, integration into surround environmentally protected area and integrated trail system.

Vista Ridge, Kitchener

Vista Ridge is a executive community in Kitchener with over 40 lots, adjacent to Deer Ridge and The Grand River. Incorporating features like the Pioneer Tower, this community ties in heritage, trails and new homes seamlessly.

Urban Intensification

311-321 Lester Street, Waterloo

Polocorp Inc has been actively involved in the provision of student housing in both the private and public sectors. In the Waterloo Region, for example we have been providing consulting services to a number of private developers. Our consulting experience has facilitated numerous mid-rise, infill developments around Wilfrid Laurier University and the University of Waterloo. We have provided planning, engineering and landscape architectural services for Site Plan approval applications.

325 Spruce Street, Waterloo

Each project has employed sustainable design practices. The adaptive re-use of low density housing to medium density student residences effectively uses land and existing infrastructure thereby protecting green field sites and open spaces. The student residences are located close to two university campuses-reducing the reliance on automobiles. In addition, each site has provided indoor and outdoor bicycle parking. Site design incorporates best management practices in terms of erosion control, storm-water management and landscape design.

Community Development

Wilfrid Laurier Master Plan

Polocorp Inc/Urban Initiatives has been and continues to actively be involved in projects at the Waterloo Campus of Wilfrid Laurier University since 2008. Throughout 2009, Campus Master Plan was developed to significantly influence the layout and character of the campus-providing an inspirational environment for learning, research and collaboration.

The Plan for the Waterloo Campus offers a new framework to guide the transformation of a restructured campus core and intensification of the surrounding lands. A contemporary approach to parking, transportation and internal circulation puts the emphasis back on alternative modes of travel and makes pedestrians and cyclists the priority.

Lazaridis School of Business and Economics

Through the Laurier Master Plan, a new location for the “Business School” was suggested. We assisted Laurier in obtaining planning approvals for the new business school including Committee of Adjustment Municipal approval and attendance and providing evidence at OMB hearing in support of the application.

Cambridge Dundas Lands

Polocorp/Urban Initiatives has been managing and coordinating the approval of a major residential landholding in the City of Cambridge. The community plan, Southpoint, calls for a mixture of 250 residential housing units which include townhouses, singles, and medium-rise buildings. Also included in the plan is the restoration of a heritage home, the preservation of Environmentally Sensitive Areas and the creation of new walking trails linking future residents to a new community centre comprised of two schools, library and new pool/gym facilities. Learn more about Southpoint.

The Groves

One of our goals was the resolution and mediation of the land use planning issue between the neighborhood, owner and builder. For the Groves, we provided planning and project management professional services for the development of an “exclusive” townhouse development in the City of Cambridge. The project consisted of about 90-100 units in a treed environment.