MHPM overseeing some of Alberta’s biggest projects
I welcomed Simon Rainsbury to Calgary in 2008 when the University of Birmingham graduate emigrated here from the U. K. with his Canadian- born wife to open an office for Gardiner & Theobold.
In 2009, he moved over to MHPM Project Leaders and the following year was promoted to the position of vice- president for the region covering Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba. Rainsbury then had a staff of 12 to cover the three provinces, but success meant he handed the prairies to a Saskatoon- based colleague and he now has 40 permanent employees working in Calgary and Edmonton.
MHPM is in the business of leading building and infrastructure projects, ensuring they’re ready, built and then performing for the success of investors, owners and occupants.
The key is in representing the owners’ interests. MHPM is enlisted at a variety of stages but the preference is to help assemble the project team at the outset. Experienced and qualified staff can help choose the best use for a development, advise on the best method of financing before writing a detailed RFP to select the best architect, engineers and contractors for the job. Then come the detailed bid documents to ensure promised performance is managed to ensure client expectations are met.
Projects can be as small as tenant improvements but many are far more complex, like the new Central Public Library.
Calgary Municipal Land Corporation selected MHPM to act as project manager for the 260,000- square- foot, $ 245 million structure to be built in East Village behind City Hall. A team of three MHPM professionals are working on a full- time basis with the client, architects Snohetta Mayer/ Reed and Dialog, general contractor Stuart Olson and other members of the team to ensure the library — scheduled to open in 2018 — is built on time and within budget.
Rainsbury’s staff work on between 30 and 40 projects at any given time.
The Edmonton office is charged with managing the design, tendering, construction and closeout of work on eight schools in northern Alberta, and Alberta Infrastructure has contracted it to project manager a further dozen. The Calgary Board of Education has contracted MHPM for the renovation of Bowness High School and the Calgary office is also in the design competition stage for a major renovation to Strathcona- Tweedsmuir School.
One construction sector that’s growing is housing for seniors in a variety of types of development, and Rainsbury has set his sights on increasing his company’s involvement in this area.
Currently MHPM is completing its project management role in the building of the new Father Lacombe home across from the existing facility. It was engaged by the Father Lacombe Centre Foundation to work with Dialog and Bird Construction to ensure it was completed and ready to the satisfaction of the owner group and the residents.
For the Bishop O’Byrne Housing for Seniors Foundation it is completing Columbus Court and preparing to begin work on Columbus Place, both in the Bridgeland district, and submitting proposals to engage with four other senior’s facilities within the city.
The City of Medicine Hat is using MHPM’s expertise to ensure the $ 75 million Medicine Hat Regional Event Centre and a $ 36 million Family Leisure Centre come in on time and on budget.
MHPM is a Canadian company with 25 offices across the country and 400 employees, with Alberta a fast- growing entity that recently launched a new division to focus on infrastructure.
NEWS AND NOTES
Alberta’s first craft distillery has opened the doors to its new visitor centre and tasting room. Located on the Cowboy Trail in Turner Valley, Eau Claire Distillery’s newly built visitor centre tells the history of distilling in the area during the prohibition. Turner Valley was a notorious prohibition- era strip during the early oil boom, a nearby road is aptly named Whiskey Row.
After a year in operation distillery president David Farran says: “The time is right for us to open the doors and let the public see how ‘ farm- to- glass’ spirits are distilled and learn about the rich history of distilling here.”
Public visits and tours are available Wednesday to Sunday until Sept. 30.