SCOTT BUILDERS HAS WIND AT THEIR BACK
Tower offering indoor skydiving experience among the projects keeping company busy
Many have dreamed of leaping from an airplane to experience the thrill of floating gently back to earth; but few have the courage to do it.
Early in the third quarter of next year, we will all be able to feel that sense of freedom — with no plane, no parachute and no jumping — in a tall tower under construction by Scott Builders.
The exciting simulation of true free-fall conditions will be offered in a safe, reliable vertical wind tunnel that is the creation of iFLY, a U.S.-based company that developed the technology to deliver Bodyflight and opened its first location in 1999. Today it has 37 towers in the U.S, Canada, Europe and Asia.
Being built in Deerfoot City — at 80 acres Calgary’s largest retail transformation that will also feature a central plaza, style district, food lodge and restaurant campus — the Calgary indoor skydiving experience will be the third in Canada, with plans to open others in Vancouver and Edmonton.
Scott Builders business development manager Patricia Verburgt, who was responsible for securing the work for iFLY, says the facility is a marvel of engineering that creates conditions allowing participants to fly on a smooth cushion of air, with the help of certified flight instructors. The structure will also be fitted with a room for kids’ parties and to host corporate events.
iFLY is just one of a number of projects keeping Scott busy in Calgary and surrounding area. The company, which has been in business since 1973 in Red Deer, opened its Calgary office in 1990 and currently has a total permanent staff here of 40, including 17 in its northeast office.
Vice-president business development Hans Stroete is excited about the renovation and expansion Scott has underway at the Willowridge Community Association. Designed by Nyhoff Architecture, it will be a stunning building providing more attractive and accessible amenities that will make it a landmark and focal point for the community.
Industrial buildings were the foundation of the company and it is building a 20,000-squarefoot facility for Trailcon Leasing in city-owned Point Trotter Industrial Park in the southeast sector of the city, and a similar one for the same owner is under construction in Edmonton.
Scott’s current project list also includes a 9,000-squarefoot warehouse for Canada Malting in Bonnybrook, an 80,000-square-foot service centre with office for AltaLink in the hamlet of Janet, and a new concept for Sunterra.
Sunterra Kensington Market will be opening a bakery, deli and coffee shop in the building between Venture Communications and the Calgary Co-op Liquor Store on Kensington Road N.W., just to the west of Crowchild Trail.
The cannabis industry is also providing four major construction projects for Scott.
In the Didsbury area, it is building a 25,000-square-foot greenhouse and a 23,000-squarefoot process and office facility. For Atlas Growers, it is building the 35,000-square-foot first phase of a cannabis plant in Lac St. Anne, and to the southwest of Olds College, Scott is project managing the first of four 50,000-square-foot pods by Sundial in conjunction with Modus, the Crossfield-based modular construction specialist.
The huge job requires 60 electricians, plus many more other trades. NOTES: The University of Calgary’s Haskayne School of Management has a new program that builds interdisciplinary skill sets to give a competitive edge to new and recent grads. The Haskayne Master of Management is designed to jump-start early careers for non-business grads by providing an immersive 10-month experience in solving business problems. Jim Dewalt, dean of the school, says, “We have heard from employers and they want graduates who understand business factors in making organizational decisions, and we have heard from new grads who want to gain business skills to set them apart in their early career.”
Catherine Heggerud, director of the new program, says, “Regardless of your passion, from archeology to zoology, it will build upon your knowledge of business skills that help you achieve your professional goal.” Master of Management offers a unique experience due to its cohort drawn from a variety of disciplines.
Applications are open for the program that starts in May 2019.