Westcorp’s London at Heritage Station residential project will be LEED-certified, the first multi-unit residential building in Alberta and the third in Canada to achieve that status.

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Westcorp Properties doesn’t need to stand apart from competitors because, in a sense, it is the competition, President Phil Milroy says. “I don’t think we have competition because our projects are totally restricted to our own,” he explains. “We are the client.”

Milroy founded the Edmonton, Alberta, Canada-based real estate investment company in 1980 and, through the years, has expanded the developer’s scope to include both renovations and ground-up projects.

“Our evolution and growth is the result of innovative methods tempered with tight financial controls and strong marketing skills,” the company explains.

“All potential investments brought to Westcorp undergo thorough diligence. Significant experience qualifies [us] to assess a potential opportunity quickly and appropriately.”

The company specializes in residential, retail, office, hospitality and mixed-used projects. “That’s basically saying we don’t specialize in anything,” Milroy asserts. “What we specialize in are developments, and there are two types of developments that we do – those that we keep and those that we sell. Primarily, if its income-producing real estate, we keep it for the long haul; and if it’s residential, a large portion is sold off as condominiums.”

Vertically Integrated Services
“[Our] vertically integrated services are crafted in such a way as to maximize value in the real estate [market] for Westcorp and its investment partners,” Westcorp says.    

These services include:

• Acquisition
• Development
• Construction management
• Marketing
• Leasing and sales
• Asset management
• Residential property management
• Commercial property management
• Hotel management

A Solid Portfolio
“One of the strengths of the company is it has a significant income-producing portfolio,” Milroy notes.

According to Westcorp, its “enviable track record” has been a result of the following company traits:

• Dedicated, motivated and experienced employees
• The development of strong relationships with key associated professionals
• The ability to conceive and implement even the most complex of business plans
• A relationship-oriented approach with its stakeholders, including customers, investors, suppliers, employees and communities
• Exceptional knowledge of the real estate markets in which it operates

London at Heritage Station
Presently, Westcorp’s largest project is the $650 million London at Heritage Station in Calgary, Alberta. “We looked at originally doing London as a revenue-producing property like apartments, but we determined it was more feasible to sell it based on market conditions,” Project Manager Brian Kernick says.

When completed, the 10-acre development will consist of four high-rise residential towers with 1,200 condos, approximately 80,000 square feet of retail space, and a l,800-car parkade.

Westcorp is building two towers at a time, which make up the first two phases, while the remaining two towers make up phases three and four. The company began work on the first tower in May 2006 and is now in the delivery process.

It started work on phase two in March 2007 and is “very close to having the structure completed with deliveries scheduled for late 2008 and early 2009,” Milroy says.

The next phase will be the retail component, which will begin within the next couple of months with the last two residential towers scheduled to start later. The entire development is slated to be completed in 2012.

Building a Pattern
According to Kernick, the London development has an interesting layout in that the phase one and phase two towers will be 21 stories, while the phase three and four towers will be 27 stories. “The entire construction plan was basically having two towers the same and the other two towers the same,” he explains. “It’s assisted us with our budgeting. Plus, the trades get used to working on one, so the second tower will be much easier.

“Also, our floor plates are the same going up. In the corner of one building, that suite will stay the same going up. So, there is one floor plate with nine different types of suites, but they will stay the same all the way up.

“The trades get used to building those types of suites, so you work out all the bugs and design issues.”

‘Transit-Oriented Design’
The development’s London theme was created to mirror the bustling U.K. city’s fondness for public transportation. “We are building a mixed-use, transit-oriented development, which is really the first project in the city of Calgary that has followed the transit-oriented design guidelines,” Milroy says.

Westcorp is building a pedestrian bridge that will  lead commuters directly to Calgary’s Light Rail Transit system. “We’re creating an environment where people can live in an uptown location and, on a day-to-day basis, not necessarily need a car because it has a direct connection to a rapid transit system platform,” Milroy notes. “It is a 20-minute transit ride from downtown Calgary.”

Category ‘LEED-er’
London will be a LEED-certified project, which is a company milestone in that not only is it Westcorp’s first LEED project, but it is also the first multi-unit residential building in Alberta and the third in Canada to achieve that status.

“It was not actually a stipulation of our development, but, essentially, it’s about being good stewards of the environment, as well,” Kernick says.

To achieve LEED standards, Westcorp is recycling its materials and building green roofs on each of the four towers. Also, the development is being built on a previously contaminated site that was remediated by previous owners. “We’re getting a LEED point for stormwater management,” Kernick adds. “We’re doing water-efficient landscaping by reusing our rainwater for our irrigation system. When it rains down, the water goes into storage tanks and comes back up as irrigation water instead of using city water. “We’re doing things like using water-efficient plumbing fixtures such as toilets, taps and showerheads. We’re using Energy Star appliances and energy-efficient Low-E Aragon filled windows.

“We’re using HVAC equipment which has LEED-compliant refrigerants in it,” he continues. “It’s not CFC-based; that will damage the ozone layer. We’re doing an indoor air quality management plan, which is testing the air quality before [a suite is] occupied. We’re using paints that won’t produce a lot of off-gasing. We’re using low-emitting materials.”

Energy Efficiencies
Westcorp opted for individual suite metering for the development. “Basically, we built a little closet in each suite that houses the boiler and meters,” Kernick says. “The residents have a little access panel that is fairly hidden from view.

“Rather than having a common boiler system and heating system to pump hot water throughout the building, this has some advantages and energy efficiencies in that you can have your own boiler in your suite that provides instant hot water as soon as you turn on the tap.

“If you’re good on your energy and consumption of water, you save money.”

Westcorp is also buying green power from local utilities that source their energy from wind farms or other energy-friendly resources. Also, it is sourcing materials such as steel studs or concrete from nearby providers rather than long-distance sources as a way to use less gas.

“[London at Heritage Station] is a place where you can live green if you choose to,” Milroy notes. “We believe green will play a very important role in the future of this province and country. We may be slightly ahead of the curve in that we think by the time we complete this project, it will be very much uppermost in our residential market’s mind.”

An Exciting Market
Alberta is currently experiencing a construction boom, which “creates both an opportunity and a challenge,” Milroy explains. “It increases risk substantially and yet it increases opportunity, as well. It’s really an interesting time to be in the development, construction and investment business in this province. The entire chain is stressed to the max. I think that the Alberta construction marketplace is one of the most challenging environments that exist to maintain a schedule or hold a budget. It’s brutal right now.”  

To compensate, Westcorp is “tweaking and trying to find the appropriate model from this environment, knowing that the environment will be different next year, and we’re not exactly sure how different and in what ways,” Milroy continues. “Alberta is going through significant growth, and it’s really frightening when you look forward, so what we’re trying to get our arms around is how we’re going to operate prudently in that type of environment given that our primary focus is on investment. We can’t just pass on the costs to the customer; we are the customer.”

He says the biggest challenge the entire province faces is “not having enough people to execute the programs that are in place,” which creates significant pressures on cost and schedule. “It creates a double whammy in that if you can find people that want to move here, there is no housing for them and no people to build the houses,” Milroy explains. “When you can build the housing, the costs are higher than what the people can afford. We need housing at a price that working class people can afford to move into, so we are actively working at providing that kind of housing.”

He credits the province’s growth dilemma to the Canadian energy boom, particularly in the Alberta oil sands. “As long as energy is going to be an issue in the world, we’re going to be in a locale that is blessed with opportunities and challenges,” Milroy says.

“I can’t imagine being in a better place and a better time than in Alberta in 2008.”