BUILDING ON EXCELLENCE
Bridges Awards honour city’s residential housing construction industry
Members of Saskatoon’s residential construction industry took time to reflect on their achievements of the past year, gathering at TCU Place on Feb. 10 for the 26th annual Bridges Awards, presented by the Saskatoon & Region Home Builders’ Association (SRHBA).
Eric DenOuden, president of the Canadian Home Builders’ Association, travelled to Saskatoon for the gala event. He reminded the audience of the residential construction industry’s vital importance to the national and provincial economies. “In 2016, our industry supported over one million jobs across Canada. That’s way more than sectors like oil and gas, forestry, mining, or the automotive manufacturing sector. It’s huge,” said DenOuden.
“Right here in Saskatoon, residential construction supported 5,800 jobs directly or indirectly. This generated some $355 million in wages and over $1.5 billion in economic activity.”
Participation and attendance at this year’s Bridges Awards broke recent records, said Chris Guérette, CEO of the SRHBA. The association received the highest ever number of award submissions, reflecting the strong engagement of its builder members.
“It’s great to see SRHBA members so engaged and to see all of the really incredible projects that they’ve worked on over the past year. It’s easy to feel a little unsure about growth and the housing market in Saskatoon given some of the articles and news stories that tend to come out, but the incredible number of submissions that came in, and the quality of them all, is proof that the industry is as engaged, productive and innovative as ever,” said Guérette.
A new judging process was implemented for this year’s Bridges Awards, with industry experts recruited from across Canada to review submissions.
“We did this for a few reasons. First, we are always looking to make improvements to the Bridges Awards and often use the CHBA National Awards for Housing Excellence as a benchmark. Recruiting judges this way aligns us more closely with the process for the national awards and the other top housing awards across the country. It also allowed us to recruit the top experts in the field, people who have been in the building industry for decades, and people who previously judged some of the other top housing awards in Canada — without having to worry about existing relationships in our relatively small community,” said Guérette.
Presiding over this year’s Bridges Awards was master of ceremonies Collin Pullar, president of the Saskatchewan Construction Safety Association. His entertaining delivery included safety-themed messages.
North Ridge Development Corporation was the big winner at this year’s Bridges Awards, taking home 11 awards, including the prized Builder of the Year Award for an unprecedented third year in a row. In his acceptance speech, North Ridge vice-president of operations Errol Fisher attributed the company’s success to the exacting standards established and adhered to by co-founder Wally Mah.
Delonix Homes was named Renovator of the Year, one of four crystal statues accepted by owner Daryl Shannon. The company also won one of two new Bridges Awards presented this year, for Environmental Stewardship. The second new award, for Safety Stewardship, went to North Ridge Renovations.
Fresco Interiors Design Group won the Whole House Renovation of the Year and Any Room Renovation of the Year.
Decora Homes was another multiple awards winner, receiving Best Custom Home (Over 2,200 Sq. Ft) and the Interior Decorating Award for its extraordinary $2.1 million build in Greenbryre Estates, which featured eye-catching half barrel vaults and arch beam elements.
Haven Builders took home the Best Design Award for the “polished industrial” $1.3 million home designed and constructed in Greenbryre Estates for the Fall 2017 Hospital Home Lottery.
Two companies that submitted entries to the Bridges Awards for the first time came away with winners. Miller Contracting won for Best Production Home (Over 1,300 Sq. Ft) and On The Mark Homes received the Best Custom Home (1,500 — 2,200 Sq. Ft) Award.
The 400-plus people in attendance rose to their feet to offer standing ovations for the two individuals receiving this year’s Ambassador Awards. Russell Walsh of Superior Cabinets and Joe Ehr of Ehrenburg Homes, both longstanding members of the SRHBA, were recognized for their decades of service to the community and the residential construction industry in Saskatoon.
Guérette praised all the Bridges Awards finalists and winners for their outstanding professionalism and commitment to excellence, describing them as the “best of the best.”
By joining the SRHBA, companies hold themselves to the highest levels of quality. “They ’re required to adhere to a code of ethics, and to conduct business with the utmost professionalism, go through all the proper channels, have the proper safety training and insurance,” said Guérette.
“With the Bridges Awards winners, you’re seeing the companies who managed to stand out in that pool of already impressive applicants.
“Seeing that Bridges Award winner badge on a company ’s billboard or website tells you that not only has that company chosen to demonstrate their professionalism by belonging to the association, they’ve also done such incredible work in the past year that they rose to the top even when being compared to the best builders and renovators in Saskatoon. That’s something that should give people a lot of confidence.”