AWARDS GARNERED HIGHEST ENTRIES
The finalist nominations are in for the 2018 Georgie Awards, considered the grand slam of annual honours for achievement in the province’s $23.1-billion-a-year residential construction industry.
But the firms, which collectively submitted a record number of entries this year, will have to wait until a glitzy gala dinner in Vancouver on March 10 next year to find out who won awards.
While the Canadian Home Builders’ Association of B.C. doesn’t release figures, the association’s Laura Chok said it had received the highest number of entries from among its 1,950 members in the 26 years it has been sponsoring the prestigious award program.
The association’s 44 awards cover a range of industry products, including condominiums, townhouses, highrise buildings, renovations, landscaping, kitchens, interior design, sales and marketing, and customer satisfaction.
My House Design/Build Team Ltd. a Surrey-based renovation firm, led the pack in nominations, garnering a total of 14, up from 10 nominations last year. The nominations are for homes renovated in Surrey, Port Moody, Vancouver and Delta. This year’s nominations for the firm include Grand Georgie nominations for Residential Renovator of the Year and Custom Home Builder of the Year.
“Our team is incredibly proud to be finalists for 14 Georgie Awards,” said Graeme Huguet, president of My House. “These awards showcase the best in renovating and building across our province and we are honoured to be nominated among such talented companies.”
Also making an impressive nomination showing this year was Hayer Builders Group, also of Surrey, which is up for nine awards, three times as many as the firm had previously received, says company principal Rav Hayer. The nominations include Grand Georgies for Marketing Campaign of the Year, Residential Community of the Year and Multi-Family Home Builder of the Year.
The nominations were based on its project The Summit, an 89home multi-family townhouse development built into a Surrey hillside. “It’s because of the product we have built, said Hayer. “It’s so unique.”
Another firm that has its sights set on a particular award is Forge Properties, which was nominated this year in seven categories, including Best Interior Custom Residence (New or Renovation) and a Grand Georgie for Custom Home Builder of the Year.
“We launched an interior design branch in our office this year called Form Creative, so the interior design categories are very near and dear to our hearts,” said Cory Saran, who runs Forge, a secondgeneration family firm, with his wife, Sandy. “Our team members are especially excited because it would be their first time going for the Georgie Awards.”
Other builders and renovators with six nominations each were Zenterra Developments, Adera Developments, Platinum Group of Companies and Streetside Developments.
Zenterra’s nominations include Grand Georgies for Multi-Family Home Builder of the Year and Residential Community of the Year, Best Multi-Family Townhouse Development (Production) and Residential Community of the Year for its SOHO project in Surrey. Adera’s nominations include Best MultiFamily Townhouse Development (Production) and a Grand Georgie for Residential Community of the Year for its South Ridge Club development in Surrey.
Streetside was nominated for Best Multi-Family Townhouse Development, a Grand Georgie for Marketing Campaign of the Year and a best advertising campaign nomination for its Everly Green project in Surrey and Maple Heights development in Maple Ridge.
Platinum Group won nominations for its Harvest at Bose Farm development in Surrey, including Grand Georgie honour for MultiFamily Home Builder of the Year and Best Multi-Family Townhouse Development (Production).
Local builders Royale Properties, Naikoon Contracting, Keith Dahlen Construction and RodRozen Designs, RDG Management, and Bercum Builders Inc. of Vernon, commanded five nominations each.
To be eligible for a Georgie Award, association members submitted entries for projects during the period from Jan. 1, 2016 to Sept. 30, 2017. The finalists and winners are selected by a panel of out-of-province industry professionals.
“A finalist nomination in the Georgie Awards is a coveted achievement within the residential construction industry,” said association CEO Neil Moody in a prepared release announcing the finalists.
“With many annual entries and strong competition, it is not an easy task.”