The consolidation of the Canadian Forces Station at St. John’s, Newfoundland will see the demolition of 16 aging buildings, and their replacement by two modern facilities.
Bird Construction, established in Canada in 1920, has experience in most construction market sectors, but having built a reputation in military construction projects during World War II, it retains a special foothold and expertise in projects for the Canadian Department of National Defence (DND).
The company founded by H.J. Bird as a small partnership in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan 90 years ago is now headquartered in Halifax, Nova Scotia, and has become one of Canada's long-time top 10 national general contractors. Bird Construction Company has completed billions of dollars of work as a general contractor since its foundation and now operates nationally with eight offices from Vancouver to Halifax.
Having worked with all levels of government and associated agencies, Bird personnel have developed expertise in understanding the unique requirements of construction in a public sector environment. Much of the company’s work has been awarded on the basis of its reputation and ability to deliver projects under tight budget and time constraints, or where quality concerns are paramount. Over the years, Bird has integrated and fine-tuned its internal control systems and procedures to ensure strict compliance with quality requirements.
Its latest defence project is the consolidation of the Canadian Forces Station at St. John’s, Newfoundland, under a $117 million fixed price contract to replace 16 buildings located across the St. John’s neighborhood of Pleasantville.
It’s a job that’s long overdue. CFS St. John’s plays a crucial role supporting Canadian Navy personnel and also supports land operations in the province and the training of the Royal Canadian Army, Sea and Air Cadets, but the original buildings are spread across a wide area and are now crumbling with age.
Because of its strategic location and its largely ice-free deep harbor, the city of St. John’s was selected in the early 1940s by American military planners to house Fort Pepperrell. The US base closed in 1960 and was taken over by the Canadian Government, but the buildings have since deteriorated badly and have become inadequate to meet the current operational needs of CFS St. John’s.
Bird Construction now has the task of consolidating the widespread aging facilities into two new buildings—a main building for lodger units and a smaller standalone building for the Military Family Resource Centre—as well as a large military vehicle pool.
The four-storey main building will comprise approximately 24,000 square meters of floor area, with portions of the building being designed for the construction of additional floors to meet future requirements. The Military Family Resource Centre will be smaller, with a floor area of approximately 825 square meters.
The four-storey facility, scheduled to be completed by 2013, will be used to provide the training, operational and family resource support to military personnel stationed in Newfoundland and Labrador, and is estimated to create over 600 direct employment opportunities over the course of the project.
Both buildings will be designed to achieve a LEED Canada Silver Rating (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, a green building construction standard endorsed by the US and Canadian governments).
The new CFS St. John’s facility will include specialized operational training spaces, offices and classrooms, vehicle maintenance facilities, special medical and dental facilities, storage and quartermasters’ facilities, fitness facilities, galley and dining space and messes for military personnel. The consolidation of the facilities will give local military units the work environment needed to support efficient and streamlined operations.
The Pleasantville consolidation project was originally announced in April 2007 as part of a wider strategy to modernize the Canadian Forces. Prime Minister Stephen Harper attended the ground breaking ceremony in October last year.
Harper was joined by Premier Danny Williams, Senator Fabian Manning and CFS St. John’s commanding officer Larry Jones for the announcement at the station’s drill hall. “These historic facilities were once the pride of this area,” Williams said. “However after years of use, the properties and buildings are now old and decrepit and badly in need of replacement.” Williams said 45 years ago he paraded as a cadet in the building where the announcement was made. The cost of the new building, he said, is a clear signal of Ottawa’s commitment to CFS St. John’s. Demolition of existing buildings began immediately after the ceremony.
Bird Construction’s pedigree includes many awards and citations, a highlight of which is a Gold Award for Infrastructure for the Alberta Schools Alternative Procurement Phase I in November 2010, from the Canadian Council for Public-Private Partnerships. Also in 2010 Bird received a design-build award of excellence for the Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Centre, Vancouver, British Columbia, from the Canadian Design-Build Institute (CDBI). www.bird.ca
