Feb 29, 2012

Building Links 2012, Issue #8

Editor's Note

Bird Construction is the successful contractor for the Walmart expansion in Courtenay. Work is expected to be underway in the next week.

An application has been submitted to Courtenay to add two additional buildings to the Home Depot site. The buildings are expected to house up to six new businesses and will be approximately 8,000 and 4,000 sq. ft. in size. One building could be the home to a new drive-through restaurant. We will have more details in our next issue.

Vancouver Island Construction Association is hosting a meeting on March 1st 7:30-8:30am at the Westerly Hotel in Courtenay. The purpose of this meeting is to discuss local North Island construction industry issues. Non-members are welcome to attend. The meeting is intended to be informal.

Some of the topics that will be discussed include:

• Lewis Centre Pure CM Contract Award
• Woman’s Transitional Housing Project
Campbell River: Prequalification and EBS Trade Closings
• Treasury Board Directive to the Ministry of Education
Design-Build Only and Potential Bundling of Projects

If you are interested in attending, please contact Sarah Bartfai at memberservices.victoria@vicabc.ca or phone 250-388-6471.

Koers and Associates Celebrates 25th Anniversary

Koers and Associates Engineering is celebrating 25 years of success on Vancouver Island. Based out of Parksville, with a staff of 25, Koers provide customized and personal civil engineering services that specialize in municipal infrastructure and land development projects. The company has been involved with major development projects on the Island including Fairwinds, Crown Isle and Craig Bay, and has specialized in municipal water supply. About 70 per cent of their business comes from local governments, according to founder Tony Koers.

Koers, along with co-founder David Shillabeer are still consulting for the company, but have handed over the management reigns to four senior partners, who have been engineers in the company for 10-20 years. The company is 100% owned by its staff through a shareholder program.

With clients located all over Vancouver Island, from Cowichan, to the West Coast, to Port Hardy, Koers said the company is “very fortunate to have incredible clients on the Island.”

Contact Koers at 250.248.3151 or online at www.koers-eng.com.

Congratulations from all of us at Building Links!

Feb 22, 2012

Building Links 2012, Issue #7

Editor's Note

The news regarding the successful bidder for the Walmart project has been delayed by one week and the name of the successful contractor is expected to be made within the next few days. Work is scheduled to commence on February 27th.

Eighteen proposals were received by the City of Courtenay in response to the "Expression of Interest" that was released for the Comox Valley Homeless Shelter. Council will review the submissions, once a report has been compiled by staff.

The development permit application to allow for the construction of four separate buildings facing Veterans Memorial Parkway (Lerwick) at Mission Road in Courtenay is moving forward, The new buildings will accommodate businesses such as a gas bar, an RV washing facility, a restaurant, convenience store, as well as office and retail space. Staff are in the process of finalizing a plan for road access to the project.

Building Award Nominees Sought for Commercial Building on Vancouver Island

The Vancouver Island Real Estate Board (VIREB) is seeking nominations to celebrate the best in commercial, mutli-family, and institutional building on Vancouver Island. March 16th is the closing date to have nominations submitted.

The organizers are looking for submissions in these categories:

• Mixed Use for Commercial and Residential
• Community Projects
• Retail
• Industrial
• Multi-Family Projects
• Hospitality
• Commercial Renovation or Restoration

The awards will be held on April 12 at the Beach Club Resort in Parksville. For more information, contact Sue Lessard at VIREB at 250-390-5781 or email at slessard@vireb.com.

Feb 21, 2012

Real Estate Board Seeks Vancouver Island Commercial Construction Award Nominees

The Vancouver Island Real Estate Board (VIREB) is seeking nominations to celebrate the best in commercial, multi-family, and institutional building on Vancouver Island. March 16 is the closing date to have nominations submitted. A PDF version of the nomination form can be downloaded here.
The organizers are looking for submissions in the following categories: Mixed Use for Commerial and Residential; Community Projects; Retail; Industrial; Multi-Family Projects; Hospitality; and Commercial Renovation or Restoration. The awards will be held on April 12 at the Beach Club Resort in Parksville.
For more information, contact Sue Lessard at VIREB at 250-390-5781 or email at slessard@ vireb.com

Feb 15, 2012

Building Links 2012, Issue #6

Editor's Note

An announcement is expected to be made by the end of this week with regards to the successful bidder for the expansion to the Walmart store in Courtenay. We will have the details for you in next week's issue.

Garry Steele of Eau Claire Properties has purchased the remainder of the property located within Beckton Estates. They propose to build 5,000 sq. ft. of commercial space which will include three condominiums on the top floor. In addition, they plan to build 31 townhouses in seven separate structures. Design drawings are underway and the applicant hopes to begin site preparation within 60 days.

A tender has been released by Tom Dishlevoy Architecture this week for the upgrade to the Christ the King Church in Courtenay. Six contractors have been invited to bid on this project and we will have more details in next week's issue.
The expansion is estimated to cost approximately $2.3 million.

BC Hydro Holds Open House on February 16 
for Proposed John Hart Dam Replacement Project

BC Hydro will be hosting an open house this week and will be available to discuss all elements of the proposed project, with particular focus on:

• Project Alternatives including deferral, rehabilitation, replacement, and decommissioning;
• John Hart Interpretive Site Plan: A site plan for the 248-acre BC Hydro property is being developed and includes information on public access, parking, road closures to Brewster Lake Rd and access to Elk Falls, trails, river access, interpretive signage, and a community site office during construction; and
• Regulatory and Procurement Updates including:
  • Initiating the procurement process through a Request for Qualifications;
  • Filing a Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity Application with the BC Utilities Commission; and
  • Submitting a Stage 2 BC Parks Boundary Adjustment Proposal, as a next step to the Stage 1 Proposal that was submitted to BC Parks in 2011, and accepted to proceed to Stage 2.

A key part of these regulatory approval processes will be the ongoing consultation with First Nations, and engagement of government agencies and stakeholders. Should the project be approved to move forward, BC Hydro’s goal is to complete the regulatory processes and award the contract by summer 2013, and then commence construction.

When:  February 16, 2012
 3:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.

Where: Campbell River Maritime Heritage Centre,
 621 N Island Highway, Campbell River, BC

Feb 08, 2012

Building Links 2012, Issue #5

Editor's Note

Development permit approvals have been granted this week to the following three Courtenay projects; Tessitura Flats, a theatre and multi-residential project; the expansion and renovation for the new Andrew Sheret building; and the multi-family project located at 2140 Lake Trail Road.

An information meeting was held in Cumberland this past week for possible future development on the former Jaro Nursery site. The public was invited to attend and to hear about preliminary plans to build approximately 30 new homes.

Construction is now underway on a new self storage project located at 1697 Ryan Road. A building permit was issued in the amount of $409,231 this week to Noort Investments.

See inside this issue for more details on all of these projects.

Vancouver Island Real Estate Statistics for January 2012

In the table below, we feature comparisons of the average selling prices of  homes in our region comparing prices from January 2012 to January of 2011. In most cases, there has been a small increase over the same time period last year. This information is from the Vancouver Island Real Estate Board (VIREB) MLS sales data.

Feb 01, 2012

Building Links 2012, Issue #4

Editor's Note

The City of Courtenay has released an Expression of Interest (EOI) inviting Qualified Proponents for Construction Management Services for the Lewis Recreation Centre Addition/Renovation Project. This EOI closes on February 10th, see our tender section for more information. Powell River Regional District has given Agius Builders a letter of intent for the construction of a new Northside Volunteer Fire Department fire hall. The letter of intent allows the company to begin design work to finalize details prior to signing a contract. This process is expected to be completed by the end of January. The contract is estimated to be approximately $800,000 All of the sub trade quotes for the Zeballos School came in over budget. The submissions are being evaluated and the scope of the project may have to be redesigned. A new tender could be issued in the near future.