PHOTOS: LARRY GOLDSTEIN PHOTOGRAPHY INC.

John Sharp, larger photo left, is president of Ventana Construction Corporation which thrives on its team-� rst approach to building. From left, Jim Bond, CEO, Gene Gerwing, operations manager, Sharp, Dan Marsolais, vice-president operations and Tyler Pasquill, vice-president pre-construction.

Talking to John Sharp, president of Burnaby, B.C.-based Ventana Construction Corporation, it becomes abundantly clear that being the spokesman for his company is a role he

assumes by convention, not because he enjoys the spotlight. Ventana is, after all, a company operated by five equal partners, each with as much say in the enterprise as every other. >>

by PETER KENTER

22 The Leaders 2013 Reed Construction Data THE WEST

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Operating in British Columbia since 1987, the privately held general contractor and construction management company is run jointly by Sharp and a team that includes: CEO, Jim Bond; vice-president operations, Dan Marsolais; vice-president pre-construc-tion, Tyler Pasquill; and operations manager, Gene Gerwing.

“We’re all active in the day-to-day operation of the company,” says Sharp.

Primarily serving the Greater Vancouver area, Ventana offers a comprehensive range of services, including pre-construction, gen-eral contracting, construction management, sustainable strategic planning, design build-projects and public-private partnerships. Open to a range of projects, the company focuses primarily on commercial, industrial, retail, multi-unit residential, retirement and recreational facility construction.

Ventana was founded in B.C. by Bond who moved to Van-couver in 1987, after serving as president of an Edmonton-based construction company started by his father.

“Jim started small in Vancouver, but grew the business by focusing on providing good service and building a solid list of repeat clients,” says Sharp. “We’ve maintained that focus on ser-vice ever since.”

The company’s partner roster expanded rapidly as the com-pany grew. Gerwing moved from Alberta to join the company in 1988. Sharp joined Ventana in 1991.

“I had graduated from the British Columbia Institute of Tech-nology (BCIT) in the late 1980s and worked for a small general contractor in Burnaby,” he recalls. “The owner retired so I went looking for a new position and was introduced to Jim. We clicked in our first conversation and that’s how I joined the company.”

Marsolais joined Ventana in 1992, while Pasquill joined the company in 2000.

“We each have a specialty,” says Sharp. “Jim, Tyler and I steer pre-construction and the company as a whole, while Dan and Gene manage current projects. What do we have in common? Our root interest—our inherent desire—is to build buildings. It’s what we enjoy doing. Rule number one at Ventana is that you have to love what you do. Everything else flows from that.”

Each business decision and each project pursued by the com-pany is discussed openly among the management team.

“After being together for more than 20 years, the five of us know each other as well as we know some of our family mem-bers,” says Sharp. “At the end of the day, every decision we make is unanimous. If it’s not unanimous or something doesn’t feel right, we won’t move forward on that proposal or project.”

That emphasis on personal relationships echoes throughout the company’s operations. Its motto: “Relationships to build on.”

“Our job is to deliver the best project possible in a way that works for our clients, while also creating strong working relation-ships within our teams and with our clients” says Sharp. “That delivers better projects for the entire project team, from architects to consultants and sub-trades and better projects for our clients.”

Ventana employs about 120 people, split almost equally between the office and in the field.

“All of the B.C.-based partners—Dan, Tyler and I—graduated from BCIT and that’s where we tend to start our search for fresh, young talent,” says Sharp.

New hires from the school are immediately brought into a project team and are mentored by a project manager or superin-tendent for a number of years. Other new employees who already have experience in the construction industry are incorporated

into existing project teams to learn Ventana’s method of doing business.

“We take a long time with new employees not only to get them up to speed on our approach to project management, but also to show them how to look after clients, to be collaborative and to make each project better,” says Sharp.

Ventana’s hiring goal is to create long-term relationships with employees. Many have now been with the company for 10 to 15 years, while some site superintendents have spent their entire careers with Ventana.

“Construction is primarily a people business and retaining tal-ented employees is essential to maintaining the integrity and prin-ciples that shape this company,” says Sharp. “We don’t do business with generic corporate entities —our business is conducted almost purely person to person and that filters down to our rela-tionships with individual clients, consultants and sub-trades. In many cases, we have clients approaching us and asking to work with a particular project manager or site superintendent.”

Ventana’s current slate of repeat customers includes Mer-cedes-Benz Canada, Canadian Tire, Best Buy Canada Ltd., OpenRoad Auto Group, Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers, Dueck Auto Group, Canada Lands Company Ltd., Pacific Arbour Retirement Residences, Tonko Realty Advisors/Triovest and GWL Realty Advisors.

The company stresses the value of its pre-construction compe-tency and its ties to the current trade market.

“Our core specialty is our ability to manage the construc-tion process and that begins with the development process as we endeavour to provide timely, accurate and reliable intelligence with which our clients can make the best decisions possible,” says Sharp. “We can share our diverse construction experiences in every marketplace over the last 25 years, from residential and commercial-industrial to retail, and improve the odds of their success. Examples of that might include suggestions about materials, such as using concrete instead of structural steel on a parking building that achieves the same or better results at a lower cost, or a building envelope material that offers better detailing at the same price.”

Ventana also prides itself on its LEED and green building expertise. The company has worked on more than 35 green building projects in the last five years, and provides sustainable strategic planning on relevant projects. The pre-construction phase of each project allows the company to look at green system possibilities in a value engineering exercise designed to meet per-formance or budget targets. Those choices can make significant capital impacts on the project, and operational impacts after the building is commissioned and handed over to the client.

While most of the company’s projects are located in the Greater Vancouver area, Ventana has stretched its wings as far north as Prince George, B.C. and as far east as Moose Jaw, Sask. and Toronto, Ont.

“We don’t chase projects outside of the Lower Mainland,” says Sharp. “In most cases the work farther afield is based on our rela-tionships with our existing clients and projects we’ve completed for them.”

A case in point is Mosaic Place, also known as the Moose Jaw Multiplex, the home of junior hockey’s Moose Jaw Warriors.

“In 2004, we had built the Prospera Centre in Chilliwack, a 6,000-seat arena for the Chilliwack Chiefs and we also completed the Langley Events Centre in 2009,” says Sharp. “These became

“Our root interest—our inherent desire—is to build buildings. It’s what we enjoy doing. Rule number one at Ventana is that you have to love what you do. Everything else fl ows from that.”

- John Sharp, president, Ventana Construction Corporation

a sort of model for the British Columbia Hockey League and Western Hockey League (WHL) rinks. Based on the relation-ship we built with the WHL we were asked to build the 5,000-seat Moose Jaw project using Chilliwack, B.C. as a model. Pursuing the project in Moose Jaw made sense because it built on the relationships we had established building similar suc-cessful projects for our clients.”

Bringing in trades from B.C., Alberta and Manitoba, the design-build project was completed in 2011.

Among signature projects closer to home, Sharp cites the Mountain Equipment Co-op (MEC) corporate head office in Van-couver.

“This is part of a long-standing relationship with MEC,” says Sharp. “We built the company’s store on Broadway 18 years ago as well as the new North Vancouver retail store that was completed last summer. The current project is aiming for LEED Platinum and includes green features such as passive air conditioning using high-volume, low-velocity air circulating under the floor of the building.”

The project also employs a proprietary nail-laminated struc-tural floor system made up of 2” x 8” pieces of dimensional lumber nailed together to make up 4’ x 40’ wooden floor panels. These panels, made from B.C. timber, are used instead of a steel decking and concrete flooring system that would normally be used on a steel structure.

Work on the Westerleigh Retirement Residences in West Vancouver and Cedar Springs Retirement Residences in North Vancouver, for Pacific Arbour Retirement Communities, also challenged Ventana to think differently about energy efficiency.

“These are multi-unit retirement residence projects built for an owner who spends half his time in Canada and the other half in Europe,” says Sharp. “Energy costs a lot more in Europe and the owner pushed us out of our Vancouver-mindset and made us think more like a European contractor.”

Among the requirements of the project —zero thermal bridging.“We implemented some technologies that were being used for

the first time in Canada,” says Sharp. “It was also our first time working with Isokorb, a load-bearing thermal insulation manu-factured by Schöck that provides a thermal break between the balcony and interior floor.”

The company also recently completed work on the new Cen-tral City Brewery + Distillery, a 100,000-hectolitre facility located in Surrey, B.C.

“Isn’t it everyone’s dream to build a brewery?” asks Sharp. “It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity because we see very few new brewery projects in the Vancouver area.”

In addition to building the facility, Ventana fashioned all of the connection points for stainless steel brewing equipment and assisted the European installer in successfully integrating the equipment with the building.

Sharp says he expects the Greater Vancouver construction market will remain largely stable over the next few years.

“I don’t see it becoming crazy busy because we aren’t going to be seeing major events like the 1986 World Exposition in Vancouver or the 2010 Winter Olympics on the horizon,” he says. “However, we don’t see the bottom falling out of the market either.”

Ventana’s own plans for growth are based on satisfying its core client list and ensuring the strength of repeat business.

“Serving the needs of our existing clients is key, but we’re always out looking for new business as well,” notes Sharp. “Regardless of who those clients are, we’re nimble enough to adapt to whatever type of building they need. Our growth plan is pos-sible thanks in large part to that diversity, and our ability to deliver whatever our clients need us to build – whether it’s an auto dealership, a condominium tower, an office building or a hockey arena. Ultimately, our emphasis is on serving clients, not aggres-sively growing market share. We’re confident that growth will occur naturally out of that strategy.” C A N A DA’ S T O P G E N E R A L C O N T R AC TORS

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Central City Brewery + DistilleryVentana recently completed work on this 100,000 hectolitre brewing facility located in Surrey, B.C. In addition to constructing the 64,000 sq. ft. base building, Ventana fashioned all of the connection points for the stainless steel brewing equipment and assisted the German firm responsible for installation in successfully integrating the equipment into the building. There’s also an on-site distillery, laboratory, tasting room, retail store and office space for brewery staff.

Pacific Arbour Retirement Communities projectsVentana built both the 157,000 sq. ft. Cedar Springs Retirement Residences and the 118,000 sq. ft. West-erleigh Retirement Residences on Vancouver’s North Shore. These LEED Gold projects came with specific requirements, most notably ensuring optimal energy efficiency in the project. Ventana used innovative technologies and materials to eliminate heat loss through conductivity from the interior of the building to the exterior — a process known as thermal bridging. This was the first time the technology had been used in Canada.

Mountain Equipment Co-op head officeThe 125,000 sq. ft. Mountain Equipment Co-op corporate head office is one of Ventana’s signature projects. This is the third collaboration for MEC and Ventana, following the construction of two Vancouver-area retail stores. The project is targeting LEED Platinum certification and incorporates green features like a wooden floor panel system, passive air conditioning that circulates under the floors and a 25,000 litre cistern that collects rainwater for the building’s toilets and a roof-top garden. Completion is scheduled for summer 2014.