The Ontario General Contractors Association (OGCA) has saluted excellence in nonresidential construction with its biennial Ontario Builder Awards.
“The ICI sector has always been a quiet provider of extraordinarily designed, engineered and constructed buildings throughout Ontario,” said OGCA president Clive Thurston. “The OGCA felt it was long overdue that such expertise and quality be recognized.”
The awards were first presented in 2009. Since the inaugural presentation, the number of submissions has grown, as has the quality of projects, Thurston said.
This time around, 48 submissions were received.
“We strive to provide a fair field, so firms of all sizes can be recognized for their excellence of construction.”
Categories are based on firms’ annual construction volumes: Category 1, up to $5 million; Category 2, $5 million to $25 million; Category 3, $ 25 million to $75 million; and Category 4, over $75 million.
Entries were judged on a variety of criteria including project complexity, innovation, on-site safety programs, on time/on budget performance, environmental considerations and satisfaction with the contractor’s performance on the part of the owner, prime consultant and a major subtrade.
Architectural merit was not a factor.
To be eligible, projects must have reached substantial completion between Jan. 1, 2010 and Nov. 30, 2012.
The winning projects are:
—Common Roof (Category 1, buildings). Bradanick Construction Services Inc., Orillia. The project involved the retrofitting of a former Home Hardware building in Orillia to house a number of non-profit agencies.
—Welland Toyota dealership (Category 2, buildings). Timbro Design Build Contractors, Welland. The two-storey, eco-friendly dealership in Welland was designed to meet LEED Gold. The project netted Timbro a 2011 project of the year award from the Niagara Construction Association (NCA).
—Welded Tube of Canada (Category 2, industrial). Timbro Design Build Contractors. The project entailed a large-scale renovation of an abandoned industrial complex on Ridge Road in Welland. The facility was retrofitted into a modern manufacturing plant. The project won a 2011 NCA award in the renovation category.
—Mount Pleasant Village Public School and cultural amenity space (Category 3, buildings). Remo General Contracting Ltd., Brampton. The project, carried out for the city of Brampton and the Peel District School Board, includes a public library and community meeting space.
—Lakeside Park redevelopment (Category 3, industrial). Rutherford Contracting Ltd., Aurora. Constructed on a 25-acre former industrial site in Mississauga with Lake Ontario shoreline, the multi-purpose community park features a number of amenities.
—Ontario Provincial Police modernization project (Category 4, buildings). Bird Construction, Toronto. Bird Design Build Ltd., as part of the Shield Infrastructure Partnership, was responsible for construction of new facilities in 16 communities across the province.
—Woodward Avenue water treatment plant restoration (Category 4, industrial). Alberici Constructors Ltd., Burlington. Alberici completed the rehabilitation of the 63,000-square-foot Hamilton plant in two phases in order to minimize disruptions to water production during peak summer demand.
In addition, 10 projects netted honourable mentions.
Submissions were judged by architect and Toronto Construction Association vice-chairman Chris Fillingham, contractor John Dawson, president of Burlington-based Gen-Pro, and former OGCA president Don Cameron.
“I was pleasantly surprised at the quantity, quality and variety of this year’s entries,” Dawson said. “They represent the full spectrum and depth of construction within the OGCA membership. Every entry was worth an award.”
The awards will be presented officially April 12 during the associations 8th construction symposium at the Blue Mountain Resort in Collingwood.
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