(left to right) Mavis Underwood, Elder and previous Councillor for Tsawout; Councillor Abraham Pelkey; Councillor Donald Williams; Architect Scott Kemp and Kathy Whitcher of Urban Development Institute – Capital Region, who presented the Judges’ Choice Award for Tsawout Longhouse. @briannapage photography
VICTORIA – Tsawout Longhouse was named the Judges’ Choice Best Overall entry from 58 finalist buildings in the Capital Region Commercial Building Awards Thursday night at the Delta Ocean Pointe Resort.
Tsawout Longhouse also was named the Award of Excellence winner in the Community Institutional Category at the sold-out event, which had the Urban Development Institute Capital Region as the Title Sponsor. The Merit Award winner in Community Institutional was the Vancouver Island Regional Library in Sooke.
Viking Properties was named Construction Company of the Year, and Ledcor received the Safety Award during the presentations.
“We were thrilled that the event sold out two weeks in advance, and the room was packed with the people who put these amazing buildings together, to celebrate what they’ve financed, designed and built,” says John MacDonald, Publisher of the Business Examiner News Group, who coordinated the event, which featured commercial, industrial and revenue-producing buildings completed in the past two years.
“This process started with close to 150 buildings, and the 58 finalists is the largest number of buildings involved in any commercial building awards event we’ve put on for almost two decades,” he adds.
Gold Sponsors for the event were MNP LLP, Digital Direct Printing, Freedom Capital and the Malahat Valuation Group. Category sponsors were dHKA Architects, Go4 Virtual.Com, Van Isle Windows Limited, Yellowsheet Construction Data + Analytics, NAI Commercial (Victoria) Inc., CBRE, WA Architects and William Wright Commercial Real Estate Services.
The significance of the Tsawout Longhouse is momentous for the cultural, social and health status of the membership of the Tsawout First Nation, who have waited over 13 years since the loss, through a tragic fire, of their beloved “home” of the Nation’s families. Financial and in-kind donations (over 50%) as well as the Band’s earned revenue, resulted in the Bighouse being “debt free” and not having required any federal or provincial government grants.
Other Award of Excellence Category winners were:
Affordable Housing – 330 Goldstream
High Rise (12+ Storeys) – Vivid at the Yates
Industrial – MOBOX Storage Westshore
Mixed Use – Esquimalt Town Square
Multi-Family Condominium – The Residences on Sooke Harbour
Multi-Family Townhouse – Compass Townhomes
Office – Proline Management Office Building
Purpose Built Rental – Ross Terrace
Renovation – Customs House
Retail – Harris Victoria Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram Dealership
Merit Awards (runners-up) were:
Industrial – E.B. Horsman & Son
Mixed Use – The Alouette
Multi-Family Condominium – Bellewood Park
The link to the printed Souvenir Program handed out at the event is available here.
Photos will be published online on Friday, December 2nd on the Business Examiner’s Facebook page.
For further information or photos, please contact john@businessexaminer.ca
