PCL Construction Canada Inc. has started work on the $110 million National Arts Centre renovation project.

The centre on Elgin Street remains open through the project, as the contractors implement the design by architects Diamond and Schmidt.

The project calls for improved performance spaces, public areas for education and events, improved accessibility for people with mobility challenges and “a magnificent glass entrance”

The NAC says the work schedule is moving forward more quickly than originally anticipatedt to ensure its new atrium and entrance onto Elgin Street would be open for Canada Day 2017 and its new banquet room finished by January 2018, CBC has reported.

In an email, an NAC spokesperson said work was originally going to start in June after the end of its 2015-16 season.

The NAC said in a letter to supporters that it would schedule construction outside performance hours, or between midnight and 2 p.m. ET on weekdays, so evening and weekend performances can go ahead as planned.

“A certain number of school matinées and daytime performances and rehearsals taking place during the week will have to be cancelled or moved to other halls within the NAC, or to other venues across the city,” it said.

The NAC’s Fourth Stage will close from spring 2016 until July 2017, but it said many shows and community events will be held in other parts of the building.

Its “le café” restaurant will be closed for lunch from Jan. 4, 2016 to June 26, 2017, but will be open for dinner.

There will also be a new, temporary 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. box office at a yet-to-be-named location near the NAC. The release said will be an “oasis from the construction zone,” while its main box office will be fully operational from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m.

Outside the building, hoarding will start going up on Elgin Street and the northeastern side of the NAC terrace overlooking Confederation Square and the National War Memorial in December or January.

In an earlier news release PCL said as its “Ottawa district celebrates its 25th year in the nation’s capital, we are very excited and proud to be working with the National Arts Centre in Ottawa and playing an important role in transforming this Canadian landmark.

“As we approach Canada’s 150th anniversary in 2017, this renewal will bring great energy to the downtown core by showcasing the performing arts, education and introducing new event spaces with one of the most beautiful views in the country,” said Kevin Skinner, vice president and district manager for PCL’s Ottawa operations. “We are truly excited about this project and we see similarities with a theatrical experience. Over the next two years we will rehearse, bring the program together and enable the public to watch the show as it unfolds.”

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Ottawa Construction News staff writer

The General Contractors Association of Ottawa (GCAO) awarded its 2015 Integrity and Ethics Award to Robert Merkley, president of Merkley Supply Ltd., at its annual Rideau Club cocktail reception on Feb. 27.

Robert’s brother Ken accepted the award on his behalf as he enjoyed a Bahamas vacation.

This is the first time GCAO has granted its ethics and integrity award to a supplier. Previous awards have gone to owner/developers and general contractors.

Doug Burnside of Dolyn Developments nominated Merkley for the award, supported by testimonial letters from Michelle van Vliet of The Ottawa Hospital Foundation, Claude Des Rosiers from Boone Plumbing and Heating and Ottawa Construction Association (OCA) president John DeVries.

“The testimonial letters had a constant theme of fairness and generosity,” GCAO President Jim Tsarouhas said.

“To me, ethics means to do the right thing on a consistent basis,” Doug Burnside wrote. “To do the right thing means to give what you have to give and if it means funds, time or expertise – then Robert is absolutely the best recipient imaginable.”

Merkley’s most recent major contribution has been to establish and encourage construction industry support for the Ride the Rideau cycling event in support of cancer research at The Ottawa Hospital. The hospital recognized his contributions with the dedication of the Merkley Supply Ltd. Research Bay the hospital’s cancer centre last summer.

“Robert’s philanthropic efforts have included personal and corporate support, but have also included inspiring his peers within the construction industry to support health care within our community,” Van Vliet, The Ottawa Hospital Foundation’s director, corporate partnerships, wrote in her testimonial letter.

Tsarouhas quoted Bone Supply’s Claude Des Rosiers as writing: “I have learned from Robert that you make a living by working hard, being honest and to always deliver a bit more than expected and contribute to others’ well-being and success.”
Merkley has made significant contributions to both the OCA and the Greater Ottawa Home Builders Association (GOHBA), serving nine years on the OCA’s board and 26 years on the GOHBA board. He managed also to serve simultaneously as the OCA’s board chair and the GOHBA president in 1995 – as the economy dug out of a major recession.

Other community service initiatives have included two years on the Joan of Arc Academy board, three years on the Hospice at May Court board and four years on the CHEO Foundation board.

He chaired the major gifts division of the development and construction industry for The Ottawa Hospital Foundation legacy campaign, raising $10.8 million, when the original goal was only $3.6 million.

He also contributed funds and leadership for the Algonquin College Centre for Construction Excellence, Rogers House, and the Ottawa Hospital Foundation’s 20-20 Campaign.

Merkley Supply Lt.d is eastern Ontario’s largest masonry supplier, with 80 per cent market share for new homes and ICI projects, said Tsarouhas.

The company, which currently has 43 employees, was founded in 1959 by his late father Cam Merkley after the family’s original brick-making business was expropriated for Queensway construction.  Merkley became the company president in 1996, “guiding the business to the next level,”  Tsarouhas said.

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Ottawa Construction News staff writer

If you think there are challenges in attracting and retaining skilled employees in the construction industry, you should be aware that the demographic trends indicate the challenges will only become greater in the next few decades, says Linda Duxbury, a professor at Carleton University’s Sprott School of Business.

Addressing a Labour Market Ottawa gathering on Feb. 26, Duxbury says Canadians – in line with most of the developed world – are having smaller families, and young people are taking longer to enter the work force.

There are paradoxical challenges in the labour market in Canada and internationally.  There will be an increasing shortage of skilled and professional level workers, while unskilled or ill-equipped individuals (generally with poor educational backgrounds) remain unemployed.  So there can be an environment where there is a high unemployment rate and labour shortage at the same time.

“There are two distinct groups out there,” she said in her presentation, appropriately titled: “Dealing with the Tsunami of Demographic Change.”

“One group everybody’s going to want.  They’ll writ their own ticket. They are going to be in control with talent. They are in undersupply.”

“But what we didn’t see a few years ago, we’re going to have another pocket of people virtually unemployable, who don’t have the skills the labour market wants or needs.”

She said Canada needs birthrate of 2.1 children per family to keep the population stable. “Now it’s 1.6 – critically low fertility.”

The skilled labour problems are compounded by later career starts for younger people.  “The average young person enters the labour market at 25.”  Accordingly, she says “older workers will account for a larger share of the labour market,” reflecting the aging population.

Duxbury says higher immigration levels won’t solve the problem, because the skilled immigrants Canada needs are also in demand in the rest of the world.

She says by 2022, projections indicate that if “all adults between 15 and 99 were working full time there would still be a shortage of 3.9 million by 2022.”

“Only 20 per cent of the world’s population have the skills needed for 80 per cent of the jobs,” she said. “you want to have those skills or you want to be training or providing the skills,” she said

“We face for the first time a situation where we have jobs without people and people without jobs at exactly the same time.”

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Ottawa Construction News staff writer

Tony Sottile, the Ottawa Construction Association’s (OCA) 2015 chairperson, has taken the leadership helm at a healthy time. There’s a wad of money in the accounts – if the OCA disbanded today and distributed its worth to members, each would receive a cheque for about $5,380 – membership is increasing, and the number of projects available for bidding through the plans room has reached record levels.

His business, Modern Niagara Ltd., where he is the chief executive officer, also is thriving, attaining 1,600 to 1,700 employees and the capacity to bid and work on the largest capital projects, including The CSEC headquarters and other major infrastructure initiatives.

This success, however, comes as smaller and medium-sized contractors struggle to find work in an increasingly competitive environment, in part because they cannot qualify for the mega-projects that have created the bulk of Ottawa’s record-breaking building permit volume. (The OCA reported that the city issued more than $2.6 billion in building permits in 2014 – “nearly 12 per cent more than it did in 2013 and the third consecutive year in which permit totals have surpassed the $2 billion mark.”)

The association, meanwhile, reported plans room activity and project volume increased to 2,584 in 2014 from 2,326 in 2013.  At fiscal year end, the OCA reported net assets (mostly unrestricted) at $6,608,534, and an increase of membership from 1,095 to 1,133, “another record year,” the OCA’s annual report says.

Of course, the OCA plans to put the millions of dollars in cash and financial resources it has on hand to good use. “The funds will be shortly ALL be put in use for the new facility – something that will last the next 50 years,” says John DeVries, the association’s president and general manager. (See separate story about new headquarters location plans.)

Meanwhile, Sottile suggests the opportunities created by success and the answers to the challenges of the smaller contractors may best be resolved through community-focused and relationship-building strategies.  He wants to extend the OCA’s charitable initiatives to a greater diversity of hands-on projects, reach out to architects and engineers, and spend more time face-to-face with individuals who can improve the community and industry.

“I want to promote things more as a community than an association,” he said.  “We’ve focused a lot on large charities.  I’d like to see it get to the grassroots and get it down to earth.”

He visualizes the OCA could co-ordinate a giving program similar to 100 Men Who Care – where members attend quarterly events, listen to pitches from three charities, and then give  $200 each to the charity of their choice.

“If we could get 200 or 250 members together, we could do it at a function or through functions” and make a meaningful difference to the community, especially for smaller charities who may otherwise have trouble raising the funds they need.  “We can also utilize technology to access our 1100 members, $200 multiplied by 1,100 members creates a $220,000 charity pool instantly!”

Sottile certainly also wants the OCA to continue its initiatives for its major charitable project, such as the Royal Ottawa Hospital’s (ROH) campaign to promote mental health awareness.  The association decided this year to advance its initial $50,000 contribution for the ROH (out of $250,000) ahead of schedule – turning what would have been an approximately $48,500 budget surplus into a tiny $1,500 deficit.

He says his second major goal as chair will be to “increase the profile of the OCA to buyers and suppliers, including architects and engineers.”

“I could lie and say there is a master plan, but I think the best approach is face-to-face, engage our board and membership connections and start the process.”  He says he doesn’t have numbers or specific targets yet.

As well, he says, the OCA’s board will focus on the concerns expressed by its members as the major issues, which are perennial industry challenges: Payment terms and prompt payment, the quality of documents, and the change order process.

He acknowledges these issues are national and provincial in scope and defy easy solutions.  For example, change order conflicts are challenging because “nobody is all right every time – it is a very complex process.”

“In my mind, there’s no sense in publishing another change order document,” he said. “There’s many of those publications there.  This is a by-steps start with discussion.”

Similarly, Sottile says he understands the pain of smaller contractors fighting for space in an environment dominated by bigger projects. He says the problem isn’t that the projects are too big; he says most of the initiatives currently under-way in Ottawa, by their nature, are large.

He says the Modern Niagara experiences the same dynamic within its special projects division – where it needs to compete on a level field smaller contractors, who wouldn’t want to take the risk – “the role of the dice”– in bidding and working on the mega-projects.  “The P3 model works because there is a market for it, for the larger projects,” he said. “I don’t buy the argument that it is sucking work from the other group (of smaller projects); these need to go ahead.”

He thinks the solution for smaller contractors is to focus on building relationships.  “Let’s face it,” he said. “Construction is a relationship-based business.  You’ve got to meet players and find your niche – get face to face and learn about the process and how you can contribute.”

Sottile graduated from Carleton University with a mechanical engineering degree, and has worked in the mechanical contracting industry since 1984. He says when he joined then-Modern Mechanical in 1990, the business had about 50 employees.  As the business grew and added new affiliates, Sottile assumed greater responsibilities, becoming CEO of the Modern Niagara Group in 2004.

“Our members are the heart of this association,” he said in a news release. “Expanding our membership to suppliers, manufacturers and the design community is an important goal of mine.  I also believe that we should leverage technology to provide access and information to our membership. I challenge everyone to get involved.”

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            Two years expected for environmental assessment process

Ottawa Construction News staff writer

The City of Ottawa has initiated a study and is seeking public input to develop recommendations for the widening of the Airport Parkway between Brookfield Rd. and the Ottawa Macdonald-Cartier International Airport, and the widening of Lester Rd. from the Airport Parkway to Bank Street.

Three open houses will be held during the course of the study to review and discuss the project with residents and solicit feedback, a city news release says.

The notice of study commencement and the project overview can be found at ottawa.ca.

The City of Ottawa initiated the Airport Parkway Widening and Lester Road Widening Environmental Assessment (EA) Study to determine the most appropriate means to accommodate and manage increasing transportation requirements related to growth in the surrounding communities and airport lands. The Trillium Line (O-Train) Extension Study is also underway within the same study area. The two projects are being co-ordinated to manage areas where they intersect.

A recommended plan will be developed and evaluated in accordance with Ontario’s Environmental Assessment Act, fulfilling requirements as a Municipal Class EA process for a Schedule C project, and will be presented to City Council for approval.

The Environmental Assessment process requires a comprehensive consultation program involving many stakeholders, including the City of Ottawa, the Ottawa Macdonald-Cartier International Airport, the National Capital Commission, approval and regulatory agencies, local community associations and businesses, special advisory and interest groups and members of the public.

The study is expected to take 24 months to complete.

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Arlene Gregoire: Retiring chief building official foresees challenges in building product and technology innovation because of liability issues and limited resource availability

Ottawa Construction News staff writer

Arlene Gregoire, Ottawa’s director of building code services and chief building official, has achieved something exceptional in her 30 years with the city – she’s built a reputation for fairness, while achieving respect from both the people she regulates (the building industry) and her City Hall colleagues.

She retires at the end of January.

Gregoire says she’s experienced many challenges and opportunities since taking office as the city’s chief building official shortly after amalgamation in 2001, and she sees some contentious issues going forward – especially the push-and-pull dynamic between building product and technology developers wishing to introduce new materials and concepts and the city’s ongoing “joint and several” liability, if officials approve these initiatives without extensive research and due diligence.

These legal phrases are appropriate for Gregoire, as she is the only chief building official in Ontario with a law degree.

“Being a city official is a good match for me, as I’m responsible for a branch that regulates,” she said.

She graduated from the University of Ottawa and joined the old (pre-amalgamation) City of Ottawa in 1984 as the assistant manager of licensing, markets and parking. She then held a number of positions in the enforcement of municipal by-laws, public works and planning before 2000 before landing the job of manager of property standards at amalgamation.  She has worked in the department she now leads since then.

Her branch has more than 190 full-time equivalent employees. Many of them have graduated from the internship program she developed, allowing young college students to obtain the skills and experience needed for the specialized building official responsibilities.

Gregoire received the Yaman Uzumeri Award from the Ontario Building Officials Association (OBOA) in 2010 for the internship system, which Gregoire says solves a challenge for Ottawa – the specialized skills for building officials are not easily learned or transferred, and there aren’t enough municipalities nearby to allow for career mobility.

“We are guaranteeing we will have recruits for permanent positions that will meet the standards – and (while the permanent positions need to be open for competition), we don’t require them to go through extensive interviews and testings, as we already know their performance.”

So far, 30 interns have graduated to permanent careers, providing a degree of stability and service reliability for the industry.

Gregoire says she has experienced her fair share of controversies, either because of differing interpretations, political conflicts, or (in rare situations) because owners or contractors don’t want to play by the rules.

Her most memorable crisis occurred shortly after took office in 2001.  She received a building permit application to renovate a Sarsfield barn to set up a large-scale pig farming business.

The project met the building code requirements, and so, as chief building official, she signed it off – only to step deep into the muck of a controversy as neighbours and municipal politicians objected, concerned about air quality, groundwater contamination, and other unpleasant aspects.

It was one of her first challenges in dealing with a rural project in the newly expanded city – but she held her ground.

Politicians objected, and in the end, sought a judicial review of her decision under Section 25 of the Building Code Act. When the court papers were filed, she received calls from reporters wondering how her employer (the city) could “sue” her for her official duties.  She made it clear to the writers that the judicial review isn’t really a lawsuit, but nevertheless, wondered if she would soon receive a pink slip for her decision.

“The case went to court,” she said.  “The judge ruled that indeed I had the authority and validly issued the building permit, but did not fully agree with the zoning interpretation” and restricted the operation of the farm to lower number of pigs and piglets.  The project went ahead as modified by the court decision.

“It is a state-of-the operation, using science to ensure everything is sanitized,” she said.  Since it went into business, Gregoire says she has not received any complaints.

Other issues touch on heritage renovation challenges, where owners and contractors have disputes about whether they should be required to maintain or tear down heritage buildings. These issues can become thorny and complex legal challenges – but Gregoire says here, her legal knowledge and background has been helpful in keeping the city out of trouble and the projects in compliance, in some cases setting new legal precedents, such as on how to co-ordinate the potential conflicts between heritage requirements and safety. (This can be handled with building frames and shoring techniques, allowing the facade to remain intact while the owner obtains heritage approvals from city council)

Gregoire acknowledges her success in part relates to the fact that nothing really bad has happened during her term of office – there have been no Elliot Lake-type disasters in Ottawa.

However the problems elsewhere will impact the responsibilities of her successor, she says. For example, the commission of inquiry into the Elliot Lake disaster, where two women died when a shopping mall roof parking lot caved in, recommended that certain projects be required to be regulated for their maintenance standards by the chief building official.

Traditionally, building officials only enter the picture when new construction or renovations are planned. If the proposed changes are implemented, building officials will be “involved cradle to grave” and there will be a need for “more resources, engineers and inspectors” to stay on top of potential problems.

The other issue that will create future challenges relates to introducing new building materials and technologies.

“There is a major change, in the evolution of construction materials, construction designs, that continues to get more and more technical,” she said.  “If we approve the incorporation of innovative products, we are taking risks. If something goes wrong the city’s liability exposure is substantial.”

The liability risk, she says, explains why the city requires building permit applicants wishing to introduce new technologies and materials to prove their case with thorough research – which must be paid for by the building-permit requester. This process adds costs and time to the process, and could be seen as putting a barrier to innovation, especially for good ideas from Europe and the U.S., but Gregoire says in many cases the new products (especially from the U.S.) have not been tested for Ottawa’s climate and environment, including seismic considerations.

Unfortunately, the “joint and several liability” regime in Ontario means that if there are problems, the city’s deep pockets can be mined in litigation – putting unnecessarily high risks on the city and its coffers.

In fact, she observes: “We are not a tax burden but fully funded by building permit fees so it is the industry that ends up picking the tab by paying higher permit fees if court awards are too costly.  The impacts are in overall costs and credibility/reputation.”

Gregoire says she will leave these challenges to her successor.  Frank Bidin, manager of permit approvals, will have the responsibilities on an acting basis.  As well, Matt Graham, manager of building inspections, has authorization to act as chief building official.

As for her future, she says it “it is going to be difficult” in replacing her high-energy workload at the city with other post-retirement activities. Her time as chief building official with her department is like “14 years with one family,” but she of course has her own family, a husband and two adult sons.

When she retires, she’ll spend six months with a woman friend hiking the Appalachian Trail, from Georgia through to Maine, traveling 12 to 30 kilometers a day, camping and climbing and taking “town breaks” once every 10 days or so (with occasional visits from their husbands to re-connect with family and to provide for change of gear.)

She believes this challenging journey will allow her to separate from her work and decide where she wants to go next – with more travel and reading on her list.

The post Arlene Gregoire: Retiring chief building official foresees challenges in building product and technology innovation because of liability issues and limited resource availability appeared first on Ottawa Construction News.

            New planning committee chair seeks better communication and collaboration with builders and developers

Ottawa Construction News staff writer

Ottawa’s new planning committee chair Jan Harder has opened an era of better communication and collaboration with the home building and development community.

“I’m taking a different perspective on things,” she says. “I am very much a collaborator, negotiator type of person. I’ve been in the customer service business since I was nine years old, making cookies for construction workers in Pembroke. On this job, I’m still in the customer service business, not just for people who vote for me but for every taxpayer in this city.”

“I’ve always thought of developers as partners in building Ottawa.”

This news is refreshing to leaders of the Greater Ottawa Home Builders Association (GOHBA) including executive director John Herbert, president Pierre Dufresne, and Josh Kardish, chair of the association’s builder-developer council, who met with Harder and John Moser, general manager of planning and growth management, at city hall about a week before Harder’s first meeting in January as planning committee chair.

“We had an excellent discussion about the challenges she faces and the objectives she has set for the next four years as chairman of the planning committee, and has our full support,” Herbert said.  “We will not necessarily be able to agree on every issue, but recognize that the key to building a better Ottawa on behalf all residents is by maintaining regular and open communications.”

Harder’s suburban background – she represents the Barrhaven ward – means she understands the issues and challenges of intensification and zoning rules relevant to tract home builders. However, in an interview, she said she also appreciates interests of inner city neighborhoods and rural areas, and the different constituencies – including community associations and planning department officials – who seek a place in the planning decision-making process.

She indicates she will carry forward with decisions made earlier about community design plans and the city’s official plan – including intensification – and “we’re moving ahead with the Building Better and Smarter Suburbs project to look at how we can improve suburban design involving all City departments, utilities and school boards.”

Through the intensification process, “we’re achieving great densities but the product we are building is not necessarily the most livable place” in the suburbs, she said. “We are far down the road in this, yet not where we need to be yet.”

She said she looks forward to the development industry participating in working groups with the city to make improvements.

Harder says she would like to ensure a “fair development review process.”

“We want to be clear, fair and firm with the developers who are building this city,” she said in notes prepared for a speech to her first development committee meeting.

“The development-review process needs to be timely,” she said. “The city needs to be clear and consistent about its requirements. And developers need to respect city plans.”

“We won’t seize the opportunity of this city if we are adversaries,” Harder said. “We need an environment of trust and respect. So let’s work together.”

Harder also says she will continue to advocate for greater development certainty.

“A large block of implementing zoning has been prepared for key development areas in Ottawa,” she said. “This zoning package implements the rules that were set out in the new Official Plan, approved by council in 2013.

“The new zoning package, if approved by council next month, would mean less red tape, shorter timelines and reduced costs for businesses and residents – who will be able to build without applying for a zoning change.  Further implementing zoning will be before the committee this year and next.”

Harder says she wants to help cut the red tape for development initiatives.  “At the end of the four years, my goal is to have the construction and development community think that Ottawa is a great place to build in – when they have their papers together, when they have things organized, we’re going to move the applications through” and not hold things up.

“What really hasn’t changed sufficiently or completely is the culture within the planning and growth management department,” she said in the interview.  “We need to understand we are in the customer service business.”  Harder says “we are fortunate in that (planning department head) John Moser and senior management ‘get it’ (but) we have to make sure the customer service culture is all the way through the department.” The department has about 450 employees.

She says in the past the department sometimes has lacked a sense of urgency – and that has resulted in slower-than-necessary review and approvals for projects and innovations.

“Like most other Canadian cities, and indeed cities around the world, planning is the single most contentious area of consultation and information-sharing,” Harder said. “Planning can be change. Planning can mean disruption in our lives. But planning can also been preservation,  and planning can mean better neighborhoods.

“For too long, planning has been seen as a negative in this building (City Hall) and in our community,” Harder said.  “Partly due to uncertainty in the rules of the game, and partly due to poor communications.” She says conditions have been improving in the past term, and she expects them to continue to get better.

“We opened the doors to the Urban Design Review Panel,” she said.  “We are undertaking a pilot project in Capital ward with respect to pre-application consultation.  We have updated our report templates to Committee for readability.  We reviewed many of our touch-points with the public with the goal of ensuring that everything is in plain language and fully accessible.

Harder said she is “not big on processes and procedures.”

“I like to take an idea and sense if it is a good idea or bad idea.  I have very good spidey sense on these things, and am good at bringing people and ideas together.”

Harder says she will “cut through some of the red tape that doesn’t need to be there, to keep the city growing in a smart, predictable way, using all the work we’ve done to date.”

There will be exciting times and challenges ahead, she said, as she looked out of her window towards the Rink of Dreams outside of City Hall. There’ll be many hours of work, and many meetings, and many consultations as she works through her term of office.

“Many of you who know me know that I am an honest broker and like to get the job fast but through partnerships,” she said. “I look forward to four years of implementation with you – changing the channel on how we talk about planning in Ottawa – and ultimately on building this beautiful capital.”

The post Jan Harder meets industry representatives appeared first on Ottawa Construction News.

Ottawa Construction News staff writer

Construction progress continues on the $2.1 billion Confederation Line project with three downtown stations at varying stages of completion.  The City of Ottawa has provided these images to Ottawa Construction News.

The city reported in late January that the Lyon Station was 66 per cent complete, while Parliament Station is slightly more than 12 per cent complete and the Rideau Station was 9.9 per cent complete. Crews operating three road headers were continuing the tunnel digging and station excavation progress.

In other developments, as the city unveiled a mock-up of the Alstrom Citadis Spirtlight rail vehicle at Lansdowne Park’s Aberdeen Pavilion, other upcoming activities include:

• Preparatory works for the Booth St. bridge will begin.
• The roof of the Belfast Yard shed is scheduled for completion mid-winter.
• Lyon Station west entrance excavation is anticipated to begin late winter.
• Parliament Station utility relocation works on Queen St. are scheduled this winter.
• Parliament Station west entrance is scheduled to begin late winter.

Meanwhile, work neared completion in late January on the Coventry pedestrian foot-bridge, including installing the ceiling’s plumbing conduits, roof vent installation, and concrete pouring and panel installation of stairs.

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            Gunter Lang joins expert panel discussion exploring the business logic behind sustainable construction

Ottawa Construction News staff writer

Gunter Lang, CEO at Lang Consulting and head of Passivhaus Austria

will participate in the expert panel discussing the “Economics of Sustainability” at the annual Construction Specifications Canada (CSC) Ottawa Chapter’s Connections Cafe on March 11.

Lang will demonstrate how a big energy change makes sense.
“According to the World Energy Outlook 2013 report, fossil fuels are subsidized annually worldwide by 438 billion euros ($618 billion Canadian),” he says. “Already half of these funds would be sufficient for a Global Energy Efficiency Master Plan, which could reduce the energy consumption for heating, cooling and dehumidification by 85 per cent worldwide at 44 billion sq. m. of floor space within 20 years.

“This corresponds to approximately one-third of the world’s living space,” he said. “Rather than make a few energy companies even richer and more powerful, this way the world’s energy poverty and dependence on fossil fuels could be drastically reduced, environment can be saved and the urgent need for climate protection goals could be reached.”
In addition, millions of additional green jobs and a global economic recovery would be created. The reduction of energy demand is the cheapest and largest energy source worldwide, Lang says.
“Existing buildings are responsible for about 40 per cent of energy consumption and carbon dioxide emissions worldwide,”  says Lang. A thermally enhanced remediation with at least 85 per cent increase in energy efficiency can be done in 90 per cent of all climatic regions.  This includes energy consumption for heating, cooling and dehumidification.

“In the context of a global energy efficiency master plan under the auspices of the World Bank a funding amount of 100 euros (about $140 Canadian), could be granted per square meter of floor space. This pulse investment of 210 billion euros a year would not even require half the current (among) subsidizing fossil fuels.”
“We therefore call on to decide to stop subsidies for fossil fuels and instead this money will be used to promote energy efficiency measures,” Lang says.

Lang joins several other speakers exploring the economics behind sustainable construction practices, moderated by Jeanette Southwood, global sustainable cities leader and urban development and infrastructure leader from Golder Associates Ltd.

The evening, including dinner and networking opportunities at Algonquin College, will explore the challenge of sustainable construction, and provide the audience with an update on the trends as they relate to sustainability’s three pillars – “economics, society and the environment,” says event organizer Sonia Zouari, CSC Ottawa’s vice-chair.

“We’ll explore how landmark projects in the Ottawa area are meeting the present needs without compromising the future” and will explore “how creative energy solutions and innovative technology are contributing to a sustainable future,” she said.

In addition to Lang, other panelists include:

• Passive House pioneer Malcolm Isaacs will examine ways in which incremental or additional costs can be defined for ultra-low-energy Passive House buildings, and how these costs typically compare against a variety of hard and soft benefits.
• Adam Cronk, president of Green Giant Design+Build, will present the benefits of increased build efficiency, shorter site exposure time, quantifiable performance of envelopes as engineered systems and why much higher levels of employee training and retention are vital to these goals;
• Architect Anthony Leaning will demonstrate how the social dimensions of design can assist sustainability through higher productivity, creativity, lower carbon lifestyle, and reducing social support costs in affordable housing;
• Economist and financier Rob Conboy will present financing strategies and available incentives for sustainable projects; and
• Nadine Gudz will share insights on how Mission Zero drives business strategy, engagement, design and sales along with lessons learned and what’s to be done.

The moderator, award-winning engineer Jeanette Southwood, leads the Canadian urban development and infrastructure sector and the global sustainable cities teams at Golder Associates.

Southwood is a Fellow of Engineers Canada, a Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Engineering, and has received the Ontario “Leading Women Building Communities Award”.  She is also a University of Toronto lecturer, and was honoured as one of Canada’s Clean50 for 2014.

Sponsorships and tickets are available through www.ottawa.csc-dcc.ca or the ticket registration site at

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Ottawa Construction News staff writer

RioCan has submitted a site plan control application to the City of Ottawa for phase two of the Tanger Retail Outlet Centre at 333 Huntmar Dr. in Kanata.

The company is proposing to develop seven additional commercial buildings on the site. Its plan includes building six free-standing pads intended for restaurant uses, and one six-storey hotel.

The outlet centre’s first phase opened on Oct. 17, in time for the 2014 Christmas season. There were immediate traffic congestion plans because construction work on Highway 417 combined with the mall opening.

Phase one has 293,000 sq. ft. of branded factory outlet retailers. Tenants include the Nike Factory Store, Gap Outlet, Banana Republic Factory Store, Coach Factory Store, Tommy Hilfiger, Calvin Klein, Brooks Brothers, Guess Factory Store, American Eagle Factory Store, Michael Kors, and Donna Karan New York.

For the second phase, “the hotel is six storeys and will contain approximately 134 rooms,” the site plan application filed in December says. “The hotel has been centred on the Feedmill Creek Crossing, a private roadway linking the Tanger project, to create a vista for vehicles and pedestrians travelling south across the creek crossing,” says the application document, prepared by Miguel Tremblay, manager, development planning and planner Paul Black representing FOTENN Consultants Inc.

“A similar design approach was taken with the retail centre buildings in Phase 1 to create a vista from the crossing. The six restaurant buildings have areas ranging from 365 sq. m. to 517 sq. m. Each restaurant building has the opportunity to provide an outdoor patio space, subject to tenant specifications and requirements.”

PCL Construction completed the project’s first phase. The planning documents do not provide a construction timeline or name the contractor for the project’s second phase.

The city is now seeking comments on RioCan’s proposal.

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