IWCD’s flagship headquarters on McCullough Road, which won the Judges’ Choice Best Overall entry in the Vancouver Island Commercial Building Awards
NANAIMO – To Greg Constable, it seems like yesterday that Norm McNabb asked him if he could build the Nored Plaza strip mall adjacent to Woodgrove Centre.
That was the start of Island West Coast Developments, now known as IWCD which is now celebrating 40 years of building award winning commercial and industrial buildings all across Vancouver Island.
“From the onset of our very first project right up to today, we have always focused on building the highest quality structures while remaining on time and on budget,” notes President Greg. “Over four decades we’ve endured every possible change in the economy, yet we’ve managed to grow and thrive. That’s a testimony to the quality of people we have on our team and their dedication to their craft.”
Getting the opportunity to build the Nored Plaza project was both a vote of confidence from McNabb, a well-respected pillar in the Nanaimo business community, and a stiff challenge that moved Constable to another level from building single family homes, which he previously did.
“Commercial construction was all new to me, and we learned as we went,” he recalls. “While some of it was familiar because construction is construction, the requirements for commercial projects and additional permits and regulations are much more stringent, and was an eye opener. It was kind of a baptism through fire, but it was exciting and we’ve never looked back.”
A visit to IWCD’s flagship headquarters on McCullough Road, which won the Judges’ Choice Best Overall entry in the Vancouver Island Commercial Building Awards. Since the inception of the Awards 19 years ago, IWCD has captured close to 60 awards, and the walls of their boardroom are covered with plaques showcasing their championship projects.
IWCD has built many of the new automobile dealership buildings up and down the Island, and while they still do many of them, they’ve branched out into all types of commercial and industrial projects, from schools and community institutional buildings to multi-family and seniors projects and full-scale developments.
Savanna Constable
Their first foray into development was the Green Rock project that transformed central Nanaimo at the Bowen Road-Dufferin Crescent intersection that is home to Country Grocer and numerous other commercial buildings and industrial company offices.
“It’s always a risk to make that type of commitment, but by that time we had a strong track record and were confident that we could pull it off,” recalls Greg. “We had some great partners, and to see the project rise up and become what it is today is very satisfying for everyone involved.”
IWCD has been in the midst of a succession plan from parents Greg and Troy-Anne to son-in-law, Vice President Patrick Brandreth and their daughter Savanna, who is the Chief Operating Officer, who came aboard in 2015.
Patrick Brandreth
“It has been exciting to have been part of IWCD’s growth, particularly in the past decade,” says Patrick. “Looking back at all of our team’s achievements over the years is really something we are proud of. We are just so fortunate to employ so many talented individuals who are dedicated to doing what they love, which is constructing great buildings.”
Savanna grew up in the business, and welcomed the challenge of coming back after completing the Architectural and Building Technology (ABET) program at BCIT.
“The construction field was an easy choice for me as both my mom and dad started IWCD back in 1986 so I was always around it, and most of the time there was some form of talk about it around dinner table,” she recalls. “I have been lucky enough to get one-on-one mentorship from my dad, who is a wealth of knowledge, especially in business.
“There are many pros and cons to working with both your spouse and parents all in one office, but we have been getting better at knowing when to end the ‘business talk’ and start family time. We definitely have to be a team in and out of the office.”
Last year, IWCD completed a 50 unit rental building in Courtenay beside the 17th Avenue bridge called Riverside, which at six storeys is the highest building in the city. Following that, they broke ground on an 85-unit rental building in Campbell River.
“It’s a nice balance,” Brandreth observes. “We have some automotive dealerships that continue to come our way, and light industrial buildings that we have done very well with because of our experience with concrete tilt and just the sheer number of multi-residential buildings that have had a hand in bringing to the market is really staggering.”
IWCD opened an office in Victoria in 2015, and now has a permanent home in Langford, close to their long-term Royal Bay job site in Colwood, where they have built shopping centers and numerous multi-family projects, and continue to do so.
“We recently wrapped up a large light industrial development in Langford for PC Urban and have another one on the go in Saanich with UVic Properties, additionally we are just about to complete our largest automotive dealership to date for the Kot Automotive Group and have in construction a few multi-residential buildings in Colwood’s Royal Bay with the same client PATH Developments with many others in our pre-construction pipeline,” Brandreth points out. “We are also nearing completion on a 135 unit purpose-built rental building in Esquimalt with Denciti Development Corp. and have just wrapped up construction on two six story rental buildings in Saanich for Starlight Developments totaling 256 units and that’s just the past year out of our South Island Branch. We look forward to continuing to serve our clients and thank everyone who has had a hand in making our first 40 years a success.”
www.iwcd.ca
