Raising the roof - Atlantic Business Magazine...Raising the roof construction information supplement...

July/August 2014 atlanticbusinessmagazine.com 97

According to the Atlantic Provinces Economic Council and their 2014 Major Projects Inventory, there are 439 major investment projects worth over $122 billion in the works throughout Atlantic Canada. Yep, you read that right: $122 followed by nine zeroes. And that’s just the big stuff. Add on the multitude of “minor” projects valued at less than $25 million apiece which didn’t make the APEC review (under $10 million in P.E.I.), plus a positive horde of renos, and you’ll begin to appreciate the sizeable footprint which the construction sector has across the region. In this special report, we salute Atlantic Canada’s builders large and small, as well as the innovative artisans who deliver the ultimate finishing touches.

Articles by Quentin Casey & Jordan Whitehouse

From residential builds to major industrial developments, the East Coast is alive with the crash, boom, bang of a hyper-active construction industry

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Raising the roof

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Heavy metal loveFor nearly 40 years John Little has been transforming rough steel into fantastic shapes, from gates to sculptures. “Hot metal can-not simply be beaten into obedience,” says Little, who works in an oceanside studio in East Dover, Nova Scoita. “A young smith’s work always looks forced and beaten up… The best work comes from the hands of a smith comfortable enough to dance and play with the hot metal.”

Little forged the 1,000-pound Sham-bhala Bell that sits atop this 30-foot tower. It is rung with a battering ram. “I got so hot making this piece that I thought I would faint, and then I couldn’t focus my eyes,” he recalls. “I carried on and finished and stepped back, removing my eyeglasses only to discover that the lenses had melted!”

Knot a problemIf you can imagine something made of wood, it’s likely Jeff Amos (the owner of Amos Wood), can make it a reality. His Blockhouse, Nova Scotia company works with wood varieties including white ash, yellow birch, maple and red spruce. From those varieties, Amos and his team create flooring, bar tops, conference tables and more. “All the details can be just as our clients wish,” he says.

Little forging a piece of solid steel.

A coffee table of Little’s design.

Imagine That, a 10-foot sculpture located at the Prospect Road Com-munity Centre in Nova Scotia.

This Amos Wood table is made of black walnut and iron. Says Jeff Amos: “Pounded hot iron yields texture and colour that are primordial.”

This door is made of baltic birch ply, with lattice work shaped from cherry. Also in view is a wide-plank cherry floor and a vanity made of a vertical slab of walnut, with a cherry top.

This Amos Wood countertop, fashioned from hard maple, was shipped to a customer in Vancouver.

ArtisansBy Quentin Casey


Step by stepDominion Stair Co. is a small outfit, but it ships its creations around the world, from Atlanta to Bermuda and the Turks & Caicos. The Halifax company’s custom-built stairs, from helix spirals to free-standing curved stairways, are fashioned from a blend of materials, including steel, tempered glass panels and exotic woods such as Brazilian cherry.

From a condo-minium in Flor-ida, this project features twin structural steel stairways, clad in mahogany.

This Dominion Stair project, installed in Nova Scotia, includes three free-standing stairways, complete with a continuous mahogany handrail.

Installed in Bermuda, this Dominion stairway is free-standing and includes cedar woodwork with floating curved glass panels.

Saint John is proud to be a city of “firsts”*. At Commercial Properties we are proud to have a few “firsts” of our own,

including the first high-rise building in the city, the first privately owned building in Atlantic Canada

to achieve the LEED Gold standard for new construction, and the first privately owned office building

in Atlantic Canada to achieve BOMA BESt certification Level 4.

Throw in our award-winning heritage restorations and our responsive 24/7 “@ Your Service” program for tenants,

and you’ll understand why our landmark properties are the most prestigious in the city.

Saint John may be Canada’s first incorporated city, but we have a few “firsts” of our own....

* find our more about Saint John’s numerous“firsts” at www.saintjohnlifeonyourterms.ca/saint-john-firsts.html

www.commercial-properties.ca

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Wheels upLast year, the St. John’s International Airport handled 1.5 million fliers, and by 2023 that number could jump to 2 million. Booming is good, but when it’s happening in a facility designed for 900,000 peo-ple per year, it can turn to bust. Recognizing this, the airport authority has decided to invest in a 10-year, $243 million improvement project.

The east side of the terminal building will grow by 145,000 sq. ft. and include more comfortable waiting areas, more food and retail options, and a larger pre-board screening area.

The plan includes 240 more long- and short-term parking stalls; rehabs to runways and taxiways; and a new landing system that will make the airport one of the most accessible in Canada during low visibility conditions.

The 72,000 sq. ft. west expansion to the terminal building will incorporate more food and retail options for passengers in the secure area, a larger departures lounge, and more baggage carousels.

Photos courtesy: St. John’s International Airport Authority

Nickel for Newfoundland’s time Over four years and $4 billion later, construction of Vale Limited’s nickel processing plant in Long Harbour, Newfoundland, is almost done. When finished later this year, it’ll be one of the largest plants in the world using a new “hydromet” process that will produce 50,000 tonnes of nickel product per year.

7,600 pieces of equipment, 8.600 instruments, 6,700 tonnes of steel and 98,000 metres of electrical cable were installed across nine buildings on the site, including all of those in the main process area (shown here).

Nickel concentrate arrives at the port facility from Vale’s Voisey’s Bay Mine and Concentrator in Lab-rador via bulk carrier and gets crushed and ground before heading to the main process area two kilome-tres north.

The 182,000 sq. ft. neutralization building is one of the largest on the site. It’s where iron and other impuri-ties are removed, residue solids are neutralized and effluent treatment circuits are housed.

Photos courtesy: Vale Newfoundland & Labrador Ltd.

Heavy industryBy Jordan Whitehouse


St. John's International Airport

INCO Innovation CentreCorner Brook Public Library and City Hall

St. John’s International Airport

Suite 102, 125 Kelsey DriveSt. John’s, NL A1B 0L2www.jharchitect.ca

As the original architect for the St. John’s International Airport Terminal Building, John Hearn is delighted to be the architect for the new expansion.


Irving is building nine patrol vessels for the Canadian Coast Guard. They’ve delivered seven, and plan on completing the $198-million contract in the fall.

Halifax in shipshapeHalifax’s Irving Shipbuilding is forging ahead with the $29.3 billion shipbuilding contract it was awarded by the federal government. At this point, they’re focussing on designing eight Arctic patrol ships and constructing a new assembling building as part of its $300-million shipyard modernization project.

Irving’s new assembly building will be 408 me-tres long and 47 metres high at its highest point, allowing for the construction of mega-blocks that will make up Canada’s 23 new combat vessels.

Photos courtesy: Irving Shipbuilding Inc.

Steel trusses for the assembly building took shape in April, and the plan is to be finished the entire shipyard modernization project by fall 2015. So far, $190 million in contracts have been awarded for it.

It’s a buyer’s market in St. John’sBy Jordan Whitehouse

Homebuyers are in the driver’s seat right now in St. John’s, and they’ll likely stay there for the next couple of years according to realtor Larry Hann (pictured), owner of the The Hann Group. The reason: major projects in or near the city that once boosted employment and home sales (pre-engineering for the Hebron oil field development, for example) are finished or have moved to other areas of the province. Meaning: way more homes than buyers these days.

It also means that Hann and his fellow realtors have to work a little harder to find the right fit for (understandably) picky clients. Many of those clients, however, especially first-time buyers, know exactly what they want before they even call Hann. Usually, it’s a home that doesn’t need any extra work. “Their lifestyle is a lot different than when I was on the hunt 25 years ago,” he says. “They’re looking for more of a finished product because they have busier lifestyles, and they’re willing to pay more for that.”

With energy prices on the rise, they’re also looking for homes that are as energy efficient as possible. Yet even when Hann finds a home that’s ready, polished and equipped with all of the green features under the sun, it’s never a done deal. There are just too many choices. Take a look at the condo market, in particular, he says. “The big concern is that there’s lots being built out there but it’s lots of the same stuff. So with condominiums, you have to be very, very specific about what you’re offering.”

That’s what he’s tried to do with 28 units in the Harbourside Condominiums building, which should finally start going up this July at 1 Temperance Street, near the east end of the harbour.

One key selling feature was the five-year lease contracts that put six per cent of the purchase price back into buyers’ pockets every year.

It was a unique piece of real estate marketing for St. John’s, but it shouldn’t be too surprising it arrived. When buyers are driving, sellers are perpetually trying to find them better seats.


Photos courtesy: DEW Corp.

Photos courtesy: Spataro Holdings

Irish rootsIt’s taken former Newfoundland and Labrador Premier Danny Williams 20 years to begin seeing his dream of a 2,400-acre planned community on the outskirts of St. John’s become reality. Phase one of Galway (named after Williams’s mother’s maiden name to recognize the province’s ties to Ireland) is underway, which will see development of 250 acres of industrial and retail land and 100 acres of residential land by 2016.

Phase one also includes Glencrest Industrial Centre: 87 acres of commercial, light and heavy industrial zoned space that’s now available just off the Trans-Canada Highway.

When finished, the $5 billion development, about the size of Gander, will feature a 650,000 sq. ft. shopping centre and 5,000 new apartments, condos, townhomes and detached houses all built around a village square.

With underground parking and 78 units, Five Five Queen will have 10,000 sq. ft. of commercial space on the street level, three floors of apartment rentals and four floors of condominiums. Opening is slated for spring 2016.

Five Five Queen will also feature common areas on the second floor, including a lounge and patio, and a fitness centre with cardio and weight-training equipment, flat screen televisions and natural light.

Ranging from about $170,000 for a one-bedroom condo to over $700,000 for a penthouse, each suite comes with an open concept design, an ensuite bathroom, a walk-in closet, ceramic and hardwood floors, and stainless steel appliances.

Fit for a queenFive Five Queen Street in downtown Moncton was a 7Up bottling plant when Nick Spataro’s grandfather bought the land in 1964. But now, Nick and his father Joe, owners and operators of Spataro Holdings, are putting eight up in its place … eight storeys, that is, of luxury condos, apartments and commercial space.

Home buildersBy Jordan Whitehouse


Built-in innovationBy Quentin Casey

Nick Jay was only 19, and still a business student at the University of Prince Edward Island, when he decided to start building houses. Nick paired with his older brother, Cory, on an initial project: a ranch-style house with a walk-out basement in Stratford.

Their father, a second-generation builder, was skep-tical of his sons’ enthusiasm for new materials, such as rigid foam on the exterior walls. “He said we’re crazy,” Nick recalls. “He said on a spec house you’ll never get the money out of it.”

Undeterred, the brothers organized an open house even before the building was complete. “An hour after the open house, it was sold,” Nicks says proudly.

Thus started their residential construction company, Craftsman Construction Ltd.

In its first year, the company had revenue of just $600,000 and the brothers provided all the labour.

Nine years later, the Stratford-based company em-ploys nine people and is expected to build 10 homes this year. Nick predicts 2014 revenue could go north of $3.5 million. The brothers also have plans to develop their own community of 12-15 houses. They’re cur-rently hunting for land.

Reached in his truck at a construction site in Char-lottetown, Nick says his company’s growth is partly explained by an enthusiasm for new materials and techniques. For example, the brothers ( ages 28 and 31) are the only licensed ENERGY STAR builders on P.E.I. Their current project, when finished, will be the first ENERGY STAR-certified house on the island.

The past decade has not been free of challenges. Fi-nancing has been a major hurdle. “We were five years in business before we were able to get any financing from a bank,” Nick says. “That is a big challenge, espe-cially at a young age.”

The brothers’ first three years in business were par-ticularly hectic. Nick was balancing his studies at UPEI with 40-50 hour work weeks. But he wouldn’t alter his decision to become a third-generation builder.

“We love what we do,” he says. “And working with your hands always brings gratification at the end of the day.”

Nick and Cory Jay, the sibling founders of Craftsman Construction, say their company is growing by 10-15 per cent every year. “As we get larger and larger that 10-15 per cent is becoming a pretty big number,” says Nick, 28

The two buildings will connect via a 4,500-sq.-ft. common area featuring a fitness centre, movie theatre, business centre, lounge and kitchen. There will also be two outdoor terraces with gazebos, benches and a barbecue area.

Homes are constructed with plank, cape-cod or wooden shingle siding and finished with stone or brick. Builders use energy efficient windows, doors and heat sources, as well as added insulation to create a tight envelope.

Pick of the cropHead about five minutes southeast of Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island and you’ll eventually come to Strawberry Hill on the outskirts of the growing town of Stratford. With views of the Northumberland Strait off in the distance, this 20-plus acre residential development of duplexes and single-family homes combines sustainable design and a rural setting with all the comforts of urban living.

Photos courtesy: Strawberry Hill

Photos courtesy: Dexel Developments

The site, one of landscape planner Randall Arendt’s “conservation subdivisions,” includes a public gazebo, walking trails, a community garden and small vineyard, along with a number of environmentally-friendly elements like LED, wind-powered street lamps.

Garden partyLocated just around the corner from Dartmouth’s Mic Mac Mall, Avonhurst Gardens will have 214 one-, two- and three-bedroom designer apartments when it officially opens in the fall. Apartments will be in one of two buildings (named “Banook” and “Albro” after two nearby lakes), with each featuring eight-foot-high ceilings, air conditioned living rooms, private balconies, hardwood-like flooring, granite countertops and birch wood cabinetry.

A 15,000-sq.-ft. landscaped area will surround the Banook building, offering 19 raised garden plots for residents to grow their own produce.


Library turns the pageConstruction of Halifax’s new library began in November 2011. The 108,000-square-foot, fi ve-storey building has since generated attention not typically associated with East Coast architecture. In January, CNN included the library in its list of “10 eye-popping new buildings that you’ll see in 2014”. Noted the American network: “it blends the distinctive atmosphere of local landscape with northern European design heritage.”

The $57-million library was designed by Fowler Bauld & Mitchell, with international partner schmidt hammer lassen architects of Denmark.

The Central Library will replace the Spring Garden Road Memorial Library; 900,000 people are expected to visit in the fi rst year.

The building will boast light-fi lled rooms, three creative studios, two cafes, views of downtown Halifax and Citadel Hill, and a landscaped green roof sustained by rain water.

Unique buildsBy Quentin Casey


Omar Gandhi moved to Nova Scotia from Ontario to attend Dalhousie University’s architecture school. Hal-ifax is now his home and Gandhi has quickly built a boutique architecture firm that is adept at putting a modern touch on many traditional elements of East Coast architecture.

“There is certainly a heritage ele-ment that can’t be ignored,” he says. “We start with what’s been done for a long time and we use that as the first stage in a metamor-phosis into something contemporary. We’re very playful with what people know and love. And we do something different with it.”

Among the promi-nent East Coast fea-tures Gandhi enjoys fiddling with: gabled roofs, shingles, and “kitchens that people gravitate to.”

Gandhi’s practice, Omar Gandhi Architect Inc., was formed in 2010. His initial projects, when he was sole proprietor, were renovations and additions. Today he works with a team of six and the firm specializes in sin-gle-family residential buildings. Many of his projects are in urban areas, but a good number are in rural locales, often near the ocean.

Among his firm’s most notable projects is Moore Studio, a 1,500-sq.-ft. house in rural Nova Scotia that features industrial fixtures, salvaged steel grating and natural construction materials.

Gandhi’s goal is to expand his firm’s reach into the design of public build-ings — in other words, “making spaces that everyone can enjoy.” He aspires to design a project like the new Halifax library. “Something like the library is

the dream project — any-one can go in, regardless of their background or how much money they have. They can go in and really enjoy a public piece of architecture.”

The library, he says, also offers proof of the innovative design and ar-chitecture that is emerging on the East Coast. “I’m surrounded by a lot of really good, exciting young architects and interior de-signers who are certainly doing a lot more modern work. Things are chang-ing,” he says. “The library is going to really push things forward because it

is so modern. People are going to fall in love with it and realize that modern is not a bad word. It’s something that people can find warmth in and find comfort in and really enjoy.”

Views with a roomSt. Lawrence Place, a new condominium in Halifax, is the first residential building in the city to boast floor-to-ceiling window walls. The result, from above, are views of Bedford Basin and the city’s West End. The views continue in the building’s high-speed panoramic elevator.

“ The work we do is all very modern, with very clean lines,” Gandhi says. “And we use a fairly traditional material pallet.”

Photo by Riley Smith

Left: Gandhi says Moore Studio, built in a dense forest in Hubbards, N.S., was designed to be “extremely raw”, with open spaces and lots of natural daylight. Right: Gandhi’s design for Moore Studio includes exposed weather soft wood, aluminum roofing, concrete floors, two studios, and a continuous strip of windows to allow for a long view of the property.

Everything old is new againBy Quentin Casey

The building’s units include open-concept floor plans, granite countertops (in both the kitchens and bathrooms), air conditioning and stainless steel appliances.

St. Lawrence Place, located at Joseph Howe Drive and Dutch Village Road, is a short drive to Halifax’s downtown and within walking distance of Ashburn Golf Club.


The exterior of Shantih is composed of lightly stained eastern white cedar shingles, fine horizontal slats, exposed poplar soffits and stainless steel chimneys.

Feedback: [email protected];@AtlanticBus; @ABM_Editor; #HomeSweetHome

Shanty-chic“Shantih,” designed by Omar Gandhi Architect Inc., is located in Hunts Point, a small Nova Scotia beach town. “The clients required that their new cottage engage the landscape, have a modest and hidden façade facing the road and provide a venue for their ever-growing extended family,” Gandhi says of the design.

The interior also boasts a suspended wood fireplace, concrete floors and exposed wood. •

Shantih’s great room includes a kitchen, dining room and living room with a six-foot-long gas fireplace.

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