PYTHAGORAS ACADEMY

RICHMOND B.C

CLIENT:  9500 PROPERTIES LP

The Pythagoras Academy is a well-established Independent School in Richmond with a long history of high academic standards and community engagement.  Their success required a new self-owned standalone campus to meet the growing demand and expand to include K-7 to K-12.

The Academy chose a property on No. 5 Road which had been the site of the Mylora Golf Course.  As the property is located within the Agricultural Land Reserve, an approval would involve several layers of government including the Provincial Agricultural Land Commission (ALC), the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure as well as the City of Richmond.

Established policy between Richmond and the Agricultural Land Commission allowed the westerly one third of the property to be developed for a community use such as schools and churches.  The remaining portion of the property is required to be rehabilitated to active productive farmland.  To apply to the ALC our firm established a team of experts from a variety of related specialties to prepare a comprehensive analysis of the site and complete a detailed farm plan for the future of the agricultural lands.  Experts including Agrologists, Environmental Consultants, Engineers, and Surveyors, completed comprehensive studies to confirm the agricultural viability of the lands.  Using this information the Agrologist prepared a detailed farm plan identifying drainage improvements, cultivation methods for farming preparation, a list of viable crops and anticipated incomes to support the application.  Ultimately a draft lease agreement was entered into with an organic farmer to operate a farm on the lands.

On the developable portion of the site we coordinated a team of Architects, Engineers, Landscape Architects and Traffic Consultants to prepare a comprehensive plan for the new school including tennis courts, playfields and a unique outdoor student gathering area.  Adjacent Environmentally Sensitive Areas also had to be accommodated and protected as well as buffering for the farmland/school interface.