COLLINGWOOD, ONT.—PCL Constructors Canada Inc. took home the top prize for its Toronto Pan Am Aquatics Centre project at the recent Ontario Builder Awards held by the Ontario General Contractors Association (OGCA).
The overall "best of the best" winner award is a brand new component to the awards program.
The OGCA handed out this inaugural award during its recent Construction Symposium held in Collingwood, Ont. PCL’s Pan Am Aquatics Centre also finished first in the category for members with an annual construction volume of more than $300 million.
"It is an honour for PCL to receive OGCA’s inaugural distinction of the Best Project Built in Ontario for this legacy facility," said Chris Gower, PCL executive vice-president in a statement.
"As one of the largest buildings constructed for the 2015 Pan Am/Para Pan Am Games, the project was achieved on time and on budget thanks to the power of innovation and the collaborative relationships built between our team and multiple partners and stakeholders."
The $160-million facility is the largest new-build sports facility for the Pan Am Games, explains a release, and is considered the largest investment in Canadian amateur sport history.
The centre is 312,000 square-feet, includes seating for 8,000 spectators, has two internationally sanctioned 10-lane, 50-metre pools, a five-metre deep diving tank, a four-court gymnasium, an indoor walking/running track, a climbing wall, conditioning rooms, a high performance testing centre, studio spaces, and a state-of-the-art fitness centre.
PCL also won the Best of the Best Large Project Achievement Award by the Toronto Construction Association for this project, which was also recently certified LEED Gold by the Canada Green Building Council, the release reads.
PCL was the design-builder on this project, which was completed in July 2014. According to the company, it was an aggressive 24-month schedule, enabling the facility to begin operations and complete testing events one year prior to the Games.
The OGCA’s Ontario Builder Awards showcased the association’s recent and best projects. One winner is declared in each of the six categories, according to construction volume (from $5 million to over $300 million).
This year’s winners are as follows:
Winner Category 1 – Building
Shibogama Inn, Days Inn, Sioux Lookout – Bradanick Construction Services Inc.
This project is a 60-room, 46,720-square-foot Days Inn, located in Sioux Lookout, Ont. It used recycled shipping containers as a form of modular construction on a helical pile foundation. This is the largest hotel in North America completed with this type of construction technology, explains the OGCA.
Winner Category 2 – Buildings
Earls Court Village — Bronnenco Construction Ltd.
The project is a LEED Silver facility and is an 8,165-square-metre four-storey long-term care facility located in London, Ont.
The building incorporates a variety of spaces to serve residents, including a library, chapel, dining spaces, theatre room, hairdressing area, therapy rooms and a day program room.
Winner Category 3 – Buildings
Georgian Village Seniors Campus – Percon Construction Inc.
This community features a 330,000-square-foot facility comprised of seven individual buildings linked together to a main hub.
The facility provides a variety of housing and care options for residents, including 144 long-term care beds, 42 assisted living units, 40 affordable housing apartments and 40 life lease apartments, states the OGCA.
Winner Category 4 – Buildings
Maple Leaf Gardens Revitalization – Buttcon Limited
Known as one of Buttcon’s most notable projects, the Maple Leaf Gardens Modernization included the conversion of Canada’s oldest hockey shrine into a major retail flagship store (Loblaws) and a university (Ryerson) athletic facility, which included a spectator ice rink and gymnasium, fitness facility and support areas.
Winner Category 5 – Buildings
University of Toronto, Mississauga Campus, Deerfield Hall – Eastern Construction Company Limited
This is a four level, 112,000-square-foot LEED Silver facility that houses a refined food services area and UTMs growing theatre, psychology, and math and computational sciences departments.
The Deerfield Hall project took innovative planning to promote a synergistic bridge between mid-20th century architecture and 21st century design, states the OGCA, and technologies within a forested environment.
Winner Category 6 – Buildings
Toronto Pan Am Aquatics Centre – PCL Constructors Canada Inc.
The Toronto Pan Am Aquatics Centre, Field House and Canadian Sports Institute Ontario is one of the largest facilities developed for the 2015 Pan/Para Pan American Games. The facility includes amenities for international competition and training and includes two 50-metre, 10-lane competition pools, a five-metre deep diving tank, seating for 8,000 spectators and flexible gymnasium spaces.
Winner Category 2 – Industrial
Streetsville Main Street Square Redevelopment – Remo General Contracting Ltd.
Following a community vision to turn the existing street into an urban green space, the main concept of the plan was to relocate the existing 17-foot high cenotaph, originally constructed in 1926 in memory of local veterans who died during World War 1, to be the centrepiece. The other element was to transform the square into a community gathering space as well as a venue for festivals and events.
Winner Category 3 – Industrial
Ferguson Avenue Water Booster Pumping Station Upgrades – Alberici Constructors Ltd.
Phase 1 of this project included the installation of a new caisson retaining wall and site services adjacent to the Niagara Escarpment. Phase 2 included construction of a new 100′ by 60′ pumping station building and a 13KVA switch gear structure complete with transformers and 1,500KW backup generator, explains the OGCA.
Because the existing 100-year-old pumping station supplies water to the nearby St. Joseph’s hospital, it was essential that water service to the hospital be maintained.
Winner Category 4 – Industrial
GO Transit East Region Bus Storage and Maintenance Facility – Buttcon Limited
This facility includes the design and construction of a 189,993 square foot, $48.5 million dollar bus maintenance and storage facility to store 56 buses indoors, including outdoor parking for 12 buses and other vehicles, indoor bus fueling facility, bus repair bays, and bus wash system.
Employee amenities include washrooms, showers, lockers, lunchroom with kitchenette, a lounge and storage space, meeting and training rooms and storage rooms.
Winner Category 5 – Industrial
Weston Tunnel – Phase 3 Grade Separation – Kenaidan Contracting Ltd.
This is one of several contracts that adds tracks to the Kitchener rail corridor and expand GO transit service.
The track capacity increase is to allow for the future expansion of three additional tracks, states the OGCA. It will also accommodate a new Air Rail Link between Toronto’s Union Station and Pearson International Airport.
Winner Category 6 – Industrial
Hitachi Truck Manufacturing Plant Expansion – Maple Reinders Constructors Ltd.
This project entailed a two-storey building expansion with 1,708 square metres of office space as well as 13,600 square metres of fabrication area.
The plant expansion houses six 75-tonne overhead cranes, each spanning 75 feet, and 30 seven-tonne semi-gantry cranes.
Through the Value Engineering process, a natural light component was introduced in the building by installing 14 translucent mega-doors along the plant exterior, states the OGCA.
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