Deb Smilski, BA BID CSC CFM CPM ISFE
VANCOUVER ISLAND – As the world evolves, ensuring consistent branding, focusing on environmental sustainability, and enhancing the member and client experience are key strategies for success. As AVP of Procurement & Premises at Coastal Community Credit Union, I’ll share how my team has kept these principles at the forefront of our projects over the last three years.
Developing Our Coastal Community Template
In our 2022 Port Alberni build, we concentrated on environmental sensitivity by using recycled or sustainable materials where we could and incorporating natural sunlight. We also developed a formula for a specific west coast look and feel for our locations. For example, we used solutions like LED lighting, and recycled flooring and furniture. Our colourful branding helps distinguish our core advice-based services and makes it easy to recognize Coastal Community’s unique style.
4th Street Renovations
Our recent large-scale renovations at our 4th Street location in Courtenay took the lessons from Port Alberni and super-sized them. This renovation focused on:
- Supporting Community Revitalization: Updating our prominent downtown location helped with revitalizing the downtown core.
- Ensuring Brand Consistency: Using the same west coast and environmentally sensitive branding template as Port Alberni helped us maintain a consistent Island-based vibe and Coastal Community look. When you walk in the door, you immediately will recognize you are in a Coastal Community location.
- Emphasizing Sustainability: We used sustainable solutions like recyclable flooring, furniture made from recycled metal and ocean plastic, Low-VOC paint, LED lighting, and updated HVAC systems, including environmental controls. We created a rooftop patio for our employees, and we added an EV charging station which is free to use for our employees, members, clients, and the community.
- Enhancing Member Experience: Just as we’ve done in previous projects, we designed the interior to better support advice-based conversations, creating a welcoming and functional space for members and clients.
The big takeaway is that with each project we build, our Premises team maintains brand consistency and strives to reduce our carbon footprint. Our goal is to create a cohesive, environmentally sensitive and advice-based design experience in all our locations.
Deb Smilski is AVP, Procurement & Premises at Coastal Community Credit Union
