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The easternmost arm of one of Canada’s largest construction companies is getting ready to take on new projects. EllisDon Corp.’s Atlantic division, based in Halifax, Nova Scotia, this year opened a new office in St. John’s, Newfoundland, to coordinate the company’s first major project there in more than 25 years. “We see a lot of industrial, commercial and industrial project work coming out of there and a lot of growth there in the next five years,” Regional Vice President Brian Strecko says.

The office opened in June to coordinate a $52 million, 500-bed residence hall at Memorial University in St. John’s. This project comprises of two separate buildings, 6-stories each, totalling 192,000 square feet with reinforced concrete masonry. Concrete structure work is well under way on the project, which is slated to conclude in 2013. EllisDon was awarded a stipulated price contract on the project earlier this year and has been hired to serve as general contractor.

The St. John’s office, staffed by local personnel, is led by Regional Manager Ken Shugarue, who returned to the company after working for three years with the Newfoundland Department of Transportation and Works. He previously worked with EllisDon from 2000 to 2008 on projects outside of Newfoundland before returning to his home province.

Newfoundland presents opportunity and new challenges for EllisDon. “There’s a lot of big work coming up there, but the trades and journeymen experience are very scarce, so that presents problems from increased cost to longer schedules,” Strecko says. “A lot of other companies don’t want to make the effort to go there to do the work, but we see it as a way to vertically integrate within our region and expand beyond the Maritime marketplace.”

Project Expertise

EllisDon’s Atlantic division, established in the 1980s, is one of the company’s several regional bases. Recent years have seen the company take on a number of major projects in and around Halifax in part because of an increased government investment in replacing aging facilities and infrastructure, Strecko says.

In 2013, the company will deliver a $45 million, 145,000-square-foot new central library for Halifax Region Municipality. The building, designed to resemble an uneven stack of books, will include a five-level, reinforced concrete, open atrium structure; glass cladding; and a green roof. The building, which also will take advantage of greywater recycling and central heating, is projected to attain LEED Gold.

EllisDon also is working on the $180 million Colchester East Hants Hospital in Truro, Nova Scotia. The more than 300,000-square-foot, 124-bed hospital will be capable of supporting a number of medical services including mental health, emergency and critical care services. The exterior envelope of the building is complete, and the entire project is expected to be completed in 2013.

EllisDon is serving as construction manager on these projects. One of the Atlantic office’s goals is to certify more of its staff as project management professionals through the Project Management Institute.

“There’s a need for project management expertise within both Halifax and St. John’s,” Strecko says. “We’re working on getting our people up to date with certifications to back up what we do with the proper credentials.”

The certification would allow the company to take on project management contracts in addition to construction management and hard-bid projects, which constitute the majority of its work in the region, he adds.

Recently completed projects include:

• A $55 million, 95,000-square foot Mainland Common Canada Games athletic facility for Halifax Regional Municipality. This has a field house with three full-size basketball courts and an elevated 200-meter, six-lane running track, as well as an aquatic facility.
• The $33 million, 144,000-square-foot BMO Centre Four-Pad Ice Arena in Bedford West, just outside of Halifax, which features four ice rinks and an energy recycling refrigeration system that redirects heat from the concrete slabs beneath the rinks to other areas of the facility. The facility opened in November 2010.
• The 155-bed, $46 million Northwood care facility in Bedford West and the $34 million, 108-bed Windsor Elm healthcare facility in Nova Scotia. The facilities feature a pod concept instead of conventional patient rooms; each pod features its own living and eating space and can accommodate 12 patients, including couples. 
• The $28 million, 120,000-square-foot Centre for the Built Environment Project on Nova Scotia Community College’s Water Front Campus. This project is going through its LEED Gold certification process and features sustainable building components such as exterior biowalls, interior biowalls acting as a natural air filter, electricity generated with wind turbines, solar wall cladding preheating ventilation air to the building, planted green roofs reducing heating and cooling costs, storm runoff and increasing roof life, and a geothermal system providing the building’s cooling needs and 50 percent of the heating requirements.

Beneficial Relationships

EllisDon’s projects in Nova Scotia and elsewhere are driven in part by its work with suppliers and subcontractors. “Without our suppliers, trades and vendors we have nothing, so every day we are constantly focused on those relationships, making sure they’re fully functional and doing what we can to maintain those relationships and make sure they’re beneficial to both sides,” Strecko says.