Discover Montessori School, at 3460 Jingle Pot Road in Nanaimo, also won the Award of Excellence in the Community Institutional category as well as Judges Choice. Owner/Developer was Discover Montessori School, General Contractor Tectonica Management Inc. and Architect/Designer Checkwitch Poiron Architects. Left, Signage Sponsor Blair Howell, Chris Ackerman, Darren Moss, Karin Barker, David Poiron, Trish Harder, Cynthia Dyer, and Al Staight Photo credit: briannapagephotography
NANAIMO – Discover Montessori School was named the Judges’ Choice Best Overall Winner at the 17th Annual Vancouver Island Commercial Building Awards Thursday, April 11 at the Vancouver Island Conference Centre.
A near record 45 finalists were recognized in the celebration of the best of commercial, industrial, institutional and revenue-producing properties north of the Malahat on Vancouver Island that were completed in 2023.
SignAge was the Platinum Title Sponsor of the event, with Gold Sponsors being MNP LLP and Coastal Community Credit Union. Category sponsors were Modern PURAIR, Harris Kia, Premium Living Victoria, Simba Investments, Tectonica and RE/MAX Commercial. Media Sponsor was Yellow Sheet Construction Data for the event, organized by Business Examiner News Group.
“It was an honour to host so many of the Island’s development and construction sector leaders at this year’s Commercial Building Awards,” says John MacDonald, Publisher of the Business Examiner News Group. “This is our 17th year producing the event, with a record number of Finalist projects, speaking to the growth of the region and its future potential.”
“I’d also like to thank Roger McKinnon and Blair Howell from SignAge for coming on as this year’s new title sponsor, without their and the support of organizations like MNP and Coastal Community Credit Union and all of our other sponsors we would not be able to put on these events.”
Discover Montessori School, at 3460 Jingle Pot Road in Nanaimo, also won the Award of Excellence in the Community Institutional category. Owner/Developer was Discover Montessori School, General Contractor Tectonica Management Inc. and Architect/Designer Checkwitch Poiron Architects.
Discover Montessori School started with a goal of becoming an example of how an environmentally sustainable campus can be a creative, inviting, inspiring and wondrous space for children to learn. They wanted to show that a zero carbon approach can be affordable, replicable and sustainable for generations to come.
Tectonica also took home an Award of Excellence for Duo Townhomes in Parksville in the Multi Family Townhome category.
IWCD was also a double winner, taking home Award of Excellence trophies for Nanaimo Honda in Retail and Lake House Physio + Therapy of Lake Cowichan.
The Safety Award went to Milestone Equipment Contracting Inc., Construction Company of the Year to Principle Properties and the Architect of the Year to WA Architects.
Other Award of Excellence Winners In Each Category were:
Affordable Housing: Sponsored by Modern PURAIR®.
Hammond Bay Residences – 6010 Hammond Bay Road – Owner/Developer: BC Housing; General Contractor: Westmark Construction Ltd.; Architect/Designer: Murdoch and Co.
Left, Klye Leslie with Westmark Construction and right a representative from Ballenas Housing Society
This is a 53-unit apartment building with 16 one-bed and 37 two-bed options for seniors, small families, and persons with disabilities. All units have full kitchens, washrooms with walk-in showers and balconies. Shared laundry facilities on four floors and low-cost parking.
Hospitality & Tourism: Sponsored by Premium Living Victoria
Comox Marine Services Building – 129 Port Augusta Street, Comox – Owner/Developer: Town of Comox; General Contractor: Kinetic Construction Ltd.
Left is Carl Johnson, Project Manager with Kinetic and Josh Higgins representing sponsor Premium Living.
The Marine Services Building project included construction of a 1,900 square foot wood-framed building at the Marina Park in Comox to replace the old service building. This project was part of an initiative to address the lack of retail space and community services at the Marina, and to support tourism and economic growth in the area.
Industrial: Sponsored by Harris Kia.
Tree Island Yogurt – 2800 Beck Avenue, Cumberland – Owner/Developer: Tree Island Yogurt; General Contractor: Acciano Development Inc.; Architect/Designer: John Chislett & Jim Matthews.
Left, Scott DiGuistini of Tree Island with Elliott James with Harris Kia, Sponsor.
Tree Island Yogurt outgrew its old facility and needed to make a significant investment in a dairy processing facility to serve its long term business growth. The building was designed and built with the future in mind as it needs to stand up to the wear of industrial activity including temperature variation from cold 0 degrees up to heat of 80 degrees, plus cleaning chemicals, ongoing water usage and industrial equipment operation.
Mixed Use: Sponsored by Tectonica Management.
Long Lake Views – 4474 Wellington Road, Nanaimo – Owner/Developer/General Contractor: Technifield Contracting Ltd.; Architect/Designer: D-Architecture.
Left, Florian Schulz from sponsor, Tectonica, Wayne Peck Owner/ developer of project at Technifield, and Daryoush Firouzli of D-Architecture.
Long lake Views is a mixed-use strata building containing 7 large commercial units on the ground floor and 16 unique residential condominium units on the second and third floors on a sloped site offering unparalleled views overlooking Long Lake. Construction of this building was completed on budget despite unique challenges of project commencement.
Multi Family Condominium: Sponsored by RE/MAX Commercial.
Prospect – 135-151 Haliburton Street, Nanaimo – Owner/Developer/General Contractor: Parkshore Projects Ltd.; Architect/Designer: Matthew T. Hansen Architect.
Left, Michael Parker, Bill Xing and Matthew Hansen and right, Josh Higgins representing sponsor RE/Max Commercial.
The Prospect at Haliburton Street project embodies a visionary transformation aimed at revitalizing the downtown south end through sustainable urban development. Spearheaded by Parkshore Projects, this initiative sought to re purpose under-utilized real estate into a dynamic community anchor, harmoniously blending with the South End’s rich cultural and ecological tapestry.
Multi Family Townhome: Sponsored by Simba Investments.
Duo Townhomes – 463 Hirst Avenue, Parksville – Owner/Developer: Hirst Avenue Townhouses Sitefinders Inc.; General Contractor: Tectonica Management Inc.; Architect/Designer: Com-tech Drafting and Design Services.
Left to right is: category sponsor Shawn Vincent of Simba Investments presenting to Darren Moss, Michelle Hall, Barry Fairbank, Greg Willmon and Barrie Rogers.
The Duo Townhome development concept centered around the idea of downsizing without downgrading and allowing two people to share a beautiful space without compromise. The goal of the site plan was to create a sense of community with a circular orientation and a landscape feature at the center of the property that could serve as a place for neighbors to connect.
Office: Sponsored by RE/MAX Commercial.
Lake House Physio + Therapy – 88 Cowichan Lake Road, Lake Cowichan – Owner/Developer: Newman Blanchet Holdings Ltd.; General Contractor: IWCD; Architect/Designer: Igel Architecture Ltd.
Left, Pat Brandreth, Steve Parry of IWCD, owners, Stacey Blanchet and Cecil Newman, and Re/Max Commercial sponsor representative Josh Higgins.
The project is a 4,400 square foot building that serves as an office for the owner as well as provides a second tenant space. The building is located in the main commercial district of Lake Cowichan, on a compact site. The goal was to create a building that would complement the area, be a long term home for the owner’s business, and fit within the community.
Purpose Built Rental: Sponsored by Coastal Community Credit Union.
Willows Crossing – 4111 Crosland Place, North Cowichan – Owner/Developer: Broadstreet Properties; General Contractor: Seymour Pacific Developments; Architect/Designer: Abele Architecture.
Left is Kris Keith of Seymour Pacific Investments with presenter from Coastal Community Credit Union, sponsor.
The development includes three five-storey buildings and a total of 196 1, 2, and 3-bedroom, pet-friendly suites. Willows Crossing is located in a well-situated neighbourhood, close to restaurants and stores, such as Best Buy, Canadian Tire, and Walmart Supercentre. The neighbourhood also provides plenty of multi-use trails and is near to schools, shopping, and the Trans-Canada Highway.
Renovations & Tenant Improvements
Ladysmith Boys & Girls Club – 220 High Street, Ladysmith – Owner/Developer: Town of Ladysmith; General Contractor: MKM Projects Ltd.; Architect/Designer: PHI Architecture.
Left is Dallas MacCorquodale of sponsor, MNP, presenting to represntative of Ladysmith Boys & Girls Club
This was a 950 square foot addition/renovation to the existing Boys & Girls Club in Ladysmith. Wood framed, window walls, new finishes, millwork and associated mechanical/electrical systems. It includes a complete Fire Alarm upgrade.
Retail
Nanaimo Honda – 2535 Bowen Road, Nanaimo – Owner/Developer: Nanaimo Honda; General Contractor: IWCD; Architect/Designer: Raymond DeBeeld Architect Inc.
Receiving the Award, Left, Cheryl Wilson, project manager, Greg Constable, Rian Ingram, Site super and Pat Brandreth, all from IWCD.
In the spring of 2022 this dealership underwent a massive upgrade. The commencement of this project was during Covid which presented a number of challenges regarding supply chain issues, cost escalations of materials, and labour shortages. Nanaimo Honda was a design build project which IWCD was responsible for the demolition of the existing building and the expansion of the building footprint from 10,000 to 24,540 square feet.
Awards of Merit
Community Institutional
Ecole Hammond Bay Elementary – 1025 Morningside Drive, Nanaimo – Owner/Developer: School District #68; General Contractor: Kinetic Construction; Architect/Designer: KMBR Architects Planners Inc.
Nanaimo Fire Station #1 – 666 Fitzwilliam Street, Nanaimo – Owner/Developer: City of Nanaimo; General Contractor: Kinetic Construction Ltd.; Architect/Designer: S2 Architecture.
Hospitality & Tourism
Holiday Inn Express & Suites – 310 Hunt Road, Courtenay – Owner/Developer: Metropolitan Hospitality Management; General Contractor: Sargent Construction; Architect/Designer: Lovick Scott Architects.
Industrial
Alberni Power & Marine – 3170 1st Avenue, Port Alberni – Owner/Developer: Alberni Power & Marine; General Contractor: RW (Bob) Wall Ltd.; Architect/Designer: OCA.
Multi Family Condominium
OMNIA – 536 Island Highway South, Campbell River – Owner/Developer/General Contractor: Crowne Pacific Development Corp.; Architect/Designer: WA Architects Ltd.
Renovation & Tenant Improvement
In Space Childcare Inc. – 3255 Stephenson Point Road, Nanaimo – Owner/Developer: Christal and Bill Wang; General Contractor: Monashee Rim Developments Ltd.; Architect/Designer: Raymond DeBeeld Architect Inc.
Retail
Choices Market Parksville – 319 Island Highway East, Parksville – Owner/Developer: Pattison Food Group; General Contractor: Norson Construction LLP; Architect: collabor8 Architecture & Design (BC) Inc.; Designer: Rodmell & Company Inc.
The Souvenir Book featuring all the finalist projects, photos and descriptions, is available through: https://www.calameo.com/businessexaminer/read/00688551711e4b053c3cc