GTA builders lead Ontario industry awards
Several BILD members were recently recognized for their innovation and excellence in design, sales and marketing with Awards of Distinction from the Ontario Home Builders’ Association.
The Awards of Distinction are an annual competition that celebrates the best in building, development and home renovation in Ontario. Empire Communities was named the 2015 Ontario Home Builder of the Year. The GTA-based company was recognized for its commitment to building high-quality, environmentally friendly communities, supporting numerous charities across the province and providing homebuyers with exceptional customer service.
The Low-Rise Project of the Year award was presented to Aspen Ridge Homes for its Upper West Side development in Thornhill. The award celebrates the best project based on architectural design, overall advertising and promotion, as well as on-site presentation.
GTA builders, developers and architects were highly successful across all of the architectural categories.
On the lowrise side, Mattamy Homes won the award for Most Outstanding Two-Storey Production Home over 2,500 square feet. The winning home, called the Snapdragon, was designed by Q4 Architects and is part of Mattamy’s St. John’s Forest development in Aurora.
Tribute Communities received top honours in the Most Outstanding Mid-Rise Building category, for projects between four and 10 storeys. It won for its Varley Condominium Residences in Unionville, which was designed by Graziani Corazza Architects.
The Most Outstanding High-Rise Building, those 11 storeys and higher, was awarded to Great Gulf Homes for its One Bloor development. This distinguished project is the product of an impressive team of professionals that includes architects Hariri Pontarini, interior designers Cecconi Simone and marketing agencies Community and L.A. Inc.
In suite design, Fram Building Group captured the prize for Most Outstanding High or Mid-Rise Condo Suite under 800 square feet for Soul 5, which is part of its Soul Condos development in North York and designed by Core Architects and Union31.
BILD members also excelled in several sales and marketing catego- ries, including best video, website, project logo, brochure and lowrise advertising campaign. Congratulations to agencies 52 Pick-Up, Zerofractal, Blackjet Inc., Bam Builder Advertising & Marketing and Montana Steele for their hard work.
Another important element of bringing new communities to life is the on-site sales process. Several GTA builders and their agencies were recognized for their work in this area, including Concert Properties, Union31and 52 Pick-Up for the Kip District sales office in Etobicoke, as well as Geranium Homes, Colours & Concepts and Builder Insight Group for the interior decorating of the Uptownes at Cardinal Point model home.
The Awards of Distinction also recognized excellence in home renovation.
Men at Work General Contractors was awarded the prize for the Most Outstanding Home Renovation valued at more than $500,000.
These awards are a testament to the hard work that goes into building quality, complete communities and renovations across the GTA. Bryan Tuckey is president and CEO of the Building Industry and Land Development Association and a land-use planner who has worked for municipal, regional and provincial governments. Follow him at twitter.com/bildgta, facebook.com/bildgta, and bildblogs.ca.