Adera Wins 5th Multi-Family Home Builder of the Year
Vancouver developer Adera took home two major awards recognizing excellence in home building at the annual Georgie Awards gala held Feb. 1 at the Vancouver Convention Centre.
Not only did Adera win the 2013 Georgie Award for Best Multi-Family Home Builder of the Year, but its SAIL building at UBC’s Wesbrook Village was also recognized as Best MultiFamily Low-Rise Development.
“We are honoured to be recognized by our peers,” says Adera president Norm Couttie. “SAIL is the first building to be awarded with REAP Platinum home certification under UBC’s homegrown green-building program, and we are very pleased to see its innovative design and quality construction be recognized with the top award at the Georgies.”
The Georgie Awards, owned by the Canadian Home Builders’ Association of British Columbia, recognize the best builders in this province, showcasing their commitment and dedication to the high standards that CHBA BC member companies strive to uphold.
Located at 3479 Wesbrook Mall, SAIL is UBC’s first six-storey woodframe building and is the evolution of Adera’s Pacific Spirit Collection, an award-winning trio of developments at Wesbrook Village. Designed as contemporary West Coast Modern homes, SAIL features sustainable green technology in its design, like a Waste Water Heat Recovery System from North Vancouver’s Enerpro, renewable wood products from Penticton’s Structurlam, Energy Star-rated windows, energy/water efficient appliance sets and a co-op car at the curb.
Adera has a long track record of Georgie wins, including Multi-Family Home Builder of the Year five times, Best Customer Service seven times and the first ever Customer Choice Award. Last year, Adera’s seven35 project in North Vancouver won the 2012 Georgie Award for Sustainable and Innovative Community and, in 2009, Adera received the Georgie Award for Sustainable and Innovative Community for Green in Burnaby.
No stranger to the Georgie podium, Norm Couttie believes that “recognizing good work helps motivate all developers. When a home builder sets a high benchmark for quality work, and that level of excellence is recognized, it motivates us to continue to reach for that high level. Competition helps spur innovation.”
A Built Green BC Builder of the Year for four of the last five years, Adera has also received numerous Canadian SAM Awards, including two Grand SAMs, and was the first Canadian recipient of a PCBC Gold Nugget Award in 50 years.
Couttie says that “going green isn’t always an easy process, but it can be done even in incremental steps. As with all business initiatives, some steps are easily attainable and others require a more advanced commitment. But a focused effort over time always has a meaningful impact.”