How we’re moving forward safely and positively during an unexpected 2020
Now that summer is in full swing, BC construction companies are getting ready for a busy summer season. At this time, we have a number of projects we will be working on for the next few months. We’re, without a doubt, excited to share with you what’s coming down the pipeline.
That being said, this year has been a unique and challenging one for many. We had to delay a number of projects as the world fell into a COVID-19 freeze. Thankfully, construction in BC is considered essential work, and that allowed us to continue on many existing sites. However, it wasn’t business as usual, and to remain accountable to our staff and community, we carefully implemented the safety protocols of the Canadian Construction Association and the Government of BC. Overall, we’re proud to say that with the precautions we put in place, not a single staff or contractor on RJS was infected with the coronavirus. And we remain firm with sanitization and social distancing guidelines in order to keep it that way.
Even with hurdles to leap over, this year we’ve broken ground with new construction projects happening around BC’s lower mainland.
In our last blog about our plans for 2020, we talked about construction on a number of buildings that would help the community expand on educational services, co-op housing and waste management treatment facilities. We are proud to say some of these are completed, including:
- Aevitas Waste Management Site in Maple Ridge
- Trades and Technology Department of the University of the Fraser Valley
- Culinary Arts Department of the University of the Fraser Valley
- Criminology Department of the University of the Fraser Valley
- Enterprise car rental YVR
- Belpar loading dock
Now, coming up this summer, we have five more projects all being done in and around the city of Surrey. We’re definitely excited to assist in the growth and prosperity of our beloved community. Due to the fact that many of us on our team live and work in Surrey, and we know how much is offered to families here. We want to help keep the city vibrant with new work opportunities and new services and resources, which is why we’re so passionate about building in new innovative and sustainable measures.
Thirstfirst Coffee Solutions in Surrey
We couldn’t start our list of summer projects without a little dose of caffeine.
Thirstfirst is a locally-roasted coffee wholesaler that’s proudly BC made. We began the tendering process of this project in late March and early April. We started with our plans for the location and put scaffolding up in May. We’re looking forward to breaking ground and setting up a roasting facility, right here in Surrey!
This project is bringing in a lot of talents from local BC construction workers, contractors, and designers. We have Century Mechanical helping us with our machinery and we’ve included a local interior designer, Cassie Bowman Interior Design, to polish the finishing touches once the rough edges are sanded down.
We keep updates of our projects during our tendering and construction process found on our Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn. Watch how this project unfolds over the next few months.
Gateway Pet Memorial in Surrey
Pet lovers will understand how important pets are to the family. It’s a huge loss in companionship when we lose our furry friends. Family-first is one of our values at RJS. Similarly, the pets we bring into our homes definitely become part of our family fabric we create.
Therefore, that’s why it’s meaningful to build a place for pet owners to honour the loss of their loved ones and give them a final resting place. We’re meeting up with the city of Surrey to begin our tendering stage of building Gateway Pet Memorial in Surrey and updates on our social media will be coming soon.
Toro Aluminum in Coquitlam
Toro Aluminum is a window and wall supplier for high-rise condominiums, office buildings, and hotels, across Canada, the United States, and Mexico. In January, we began tendering their project of building them their newly renovated office space in Port Coquitlam. Now we’re ready to actually break ground on this project for the summer.
To help with the drawings of the renovation plan, we’re partnering with Igel Architecture Ltd, a Vancouver-based architecture firm.
Enterprise Car Rental in Tsawwassen Mills
If you’ve ever been to the Tsawwassen ferries, then you know how busy it can get. We’re trying to help commuters by building an Enterprise Car Rental in the Tsawwassen Mills Mall. This is a big project that we started in early June. We’ve gutted the interior of the site to make room for a full-scale renovation. We’ve managed to install plumbing in the first week of June, all with the help of PriceWise Plumbing and Mechanical. This project is going to be exciting and dynamic as it requires lots of moving parts to work, without a doubt, we’re stoked to get to be a part of it.
Modu-Loc Office in Port Coquitlam
Modu-Loc provides efficient and effective fencing for companies anywhere in the lower mainland of BC. Many BC construction companies depend on Modu-Loc to make sure that their sites remain safe and secure when it’s not being used. Additionally, if you’ve kept up with us in the past, then you’ll know we’ve worked with Modu-Loc fence rental plenty of times. What better way to pay it forward than to help them with their own office space?
The past few months have been busy on the Modu-loc construction site. In May we installed windows thanks to Oasis Window. Now we are working on completing the structural columns and beams as well as working on finishing up electrical by end of week.
Midway in June and there’s more to do
We’re at the midpoint of the year and there’s a lot to reflect on. What we’ve realized is that completion of our goals is not a 100-meter sprint, but rather a relay. We organize work for many small businesses and contractors in BC’s construction industry as part of a broader community of subcontractors and tradespeople. Without everyone working in sync and passing the baton forward, we couldn’t have even made it to the half-way point of this year. For that, we thank everyone involved.
We still have 5 more projects to add to our roster this year. BC Construction is booming now and in six months from now, we’ll have more to look back on and learn from. More importantly, we’ll know we worked hard to make this year a successful one, even with the restrictions and uncertainties.
Want to know more about our upcoming projects? Follow us on our Linkedin, Facebook and Instagram.
