45 Buildings Celebrated At 16th Annual Celebration of Vancouver Island’s Best
Nanaimo’s Brechin United Church Project won the Judges Choice Award. Left to Right: Ian Mackenzie of TL Housing, Mathew Vos, Development Manager at TL Housing and VIREB CEO, Jason Yochim. The Developer and General Contractor was TL Housing Solutions, the project Architect was VIA Architecture and category sponsor was Vancouver Island Real Estate Board. Photo: Matt Lineker
NANAIMO – Brechin United Church of Nanaimo was named the Judges’ Choice Best Overall winner in the 16th Annual Vancouver Island Real Estate Board Commercial Building Awards Thursday night at the Coast Bastion Hotel.
Brechin United Church was also named the Award of Excellence winner in the Green & Sustainability category.
A total of 45 buildings were finalists in the awards, which included Kinetic Construction being named Construction Company of the Year and Knappett Projects Inc. earning the Safety Award.
“This event was all about celebrating the best of the best for buildings that were completed in 2022,” says John MacDonald of Business Examiner, which coordinates the event. “These very important buildings need to be celebrated, as it takes a lot of hard work, ingenuity and perseverance to see them completed, from start to finish.
Kinetic Constructon won Construction Company of the Year at the recent VIREB Central Vancouver Island Commercial Building Awards. Left is Tom Plumb, CEO of Kinetic presented by sponsor Jeff Wilson of Modern Purair.
Gold Sponsors of the Awards were SignAge, Knappett Projects Inc. and Coastal Community Credit Union. Category sponsors were Megson Fitzpatrick Insurance Services, IWCD, Nanaimo Airport, RE/MAX Commercial, NAI Commercial, Herold Engineering, RBC Royal Bank, Modern Purair, Waypoint Insurance, Integral Wealth Management, and WA Architects. MNP was the event’s Wine Sponsor, Avalon Mechanical was the Gift Bag Sponsor, and Yellow Sheet Construction Data was the Media Sponsor.
To be eligible for the Awards, commercial, industrial and revenue-producing projects, including renovation projects, from the Malahat to Port Hardy must have been completed between January 1 and December 31, 2022. Finalists this year came from Port Hardy, Gold River, Campbell River, Merville, the Comox Valley, Parksville, Port Alberni, Ucluelet, Tofino, Nanaimo, Ladysmith, Lake Cowichan and Duncan.
Brechin United Church at 2020 Estevan Road is owned by the BC Community Renewal Society of the United Church of Canada, and it was designed by VIA Architecture. TL Housing Solutions was the Developer/General Contractor.
The 5-storey wood-frame building includes a total of 74 new affordable rental homes targeting singles, couples and families with a diverse mix of homes, ranging from studios to three-bedrooms. This site has been a community hub and home to the Brechin United Church since 1906 and its revitalization charts a path forward with attainable housing options and sustainable design.
Award of Excellence winners are:
Affordable Housing: Rainbow Gardens 48 of Port Alberni. General Contractor: IWCD.
Civil – Roads & Bridges: Bowen Park Trailway & Utility Upgrade of Nanaimo. General Contractor: Milestone Equipment Contracting Inc.
Community Institutional: Parksville Outdoor Theatre of Parksville. General Contractor: COPCAN Civil LP.
Industrial: Canadian Coast Guard Base of Port Hardy. General Contractor: Kinetic Construction Ltd.
Mixed Use: Pier 1 of Campbell River. General Contractor: Crowne Pacific Development Corp.
Multi-Family Condominium: Tidalwood of Ladysmith. General Contractor: Westmark Construction.
Multi-Family Townhome: Marine Wild of Ucluelet. General Contractor: AFC Construction.
Office: Norwell Corner of Nanaimo. General Contractor: R.W. (Bob) Wall Ltd.
Purpose Built Rental: Uplands Terrace of Nanaimo. General Contractor: IWCD. Developer: DENCITI Development Corp.
Renovation: John Howard Society of North Island of Courtenay. General Contractor: Lacasse Construction Ltd.
Retail: Coastal Gateway Building of Port Alberni. General Contractor: MKM Projects Ltd.
Tourism & Hospitality: Horang Restaurant & Market of Nanaimo. General Contractor: Saywell Contracting Ltd.
Awards of Merit are:
Affordable Housing: Eyuhwum of Duncan. General Contractor: WestUrban Developments Ltd.
Industrial: Sonepar Building of Nanaimo. General Contractor: Saywell Contracting Ltd.
Multi-Family Townhome: 6 Plex on Jubilee of Duncan. General Contractor: Plante Homes Ltd.
Office: Edgett Excavating Ltd. of Cumberland. General Contractor: Lacasse Construction Ltd.
Retail: Nanaimo Mitsubishi of Nanaimo. General Contractor: IWCD.
The official Souvenir Book of this year’s event can be viewed on this page.
Photos from the event can be viewed on the Business Examiner’s Facebook page here.