Builder marks 25 years in business with big haul at Tommie Awards
The 25th annual Tommie Awards gala was a spectacular night for Gord Turner, who won two Grand Tommies
Special to The Okanagan Sunday
Gord Turner was arguably the biggest winner at the Tommies this year, for more reasons than one. Turner’s two businesses, Turner Custom Homes and Gord Turner Renovations, took home a combined total of four gold Tommies.
Turner Custom Homes was awarded the gold Tommie for Excellence in Single Family Detached Homes $3 Million to $5 Million for its work on the Waterfront Estate.
The Waterfront Estate project also garnered Turner Custom Homes the Grand Tommie for Home of the Year, the Tommies’ most sought after award. Featuring large windows and spectacular valley views, the contemporary estate presented a unique opportunity for custom work.
“The homeowner was the architect,” Turner says, “and he designed the home to fit the lot. It was a bit of a tight work site — that’s always an issue when you’re building in an existing neighbourhood. There was a lot of custom work involved, as it wasn’t an off-the-shelf build.”
This impressive win marks the first year that Turner Custom Homes had entered any of the Tommie Awards’ new home categories.
Gord Turner Renovations was also awarded the Grand Tommie for Residential Renovator of the Year, as well as a gold Tommie for Excellence in Residential Renovations Under $100,000 for a contemporary family kitchen renovation.
The renovation project that garnered Turner his second Grand Tommie involved a mix of stylistic and functional changes, and gave Turner and his team a great opportunity to create a liveable family home.
“The house was boxed off with walls. The residents are a very busy family, and they weren’t using the space as well as it could’ve been used. So we turned the home into an open concept space. The kitchen island is 12 feet long, and it’s their central
Wh en we can do that for people — when they love their house so much that they’ll stay in the same place for 20 years — that’s how we know we’ve done our job.
hub. The kids do their homework there; the gentleman uses it as an office. It’s a bright, open space, and it’s completely changed how they use their house.”
Turner says that open-concept renovations are among the most popular projects his renovation company takes on, with a major focus on making kitchens more usable.
Turner credits his companies’ success to being surrounded by great people.
“We have a fantastic team,” he says. “Our trades, our suppliers, our family of GTRs. They all work well together. I’m a team guy. It’s my name on the truck, but none of this happens without a great team. Like John Maxwell says, nothing of significance is done by one person.”
Turner’s excellent night at the Tommies was a fitting celebration of his 25 years in the industry, but it wasn’t the only one.
“We just had our 25th anniversary party last September,” he says.
“We invited a bunch of our clients from the 1990s, and we had 260 people there. Some of those people have been in houses that we had renovated 15, 20 years ago, and are still excited about the space. When we can do that for people — when they love their house so much that they’ll stay in the same place for 20 years — that’s how we know we’ve done our job.”