Bluescape Construction builds great buildings with a great team
Since its establishment in 2008, Toronto-based Bluescape Construction has shaped the city’s skyline, from the ground up. A project management powerhouse for a range of Toronto’s most lauded high-rise construction projects, the company specializes in regulating costs, scheduling logistics and safeguarding quality during both pre-construction and construction. Bluescape pools its extensive industry experience to provide the best construction experience to its customers, while added a new crop of urban design to the city.
The company’s founders, Lou Hack and Pat Sena, foster this sense of company-wide accountability and professionalism by maintaining constant communication with their field team, to ensure projects are completed on time and on budget. With a combined 45 years of industry experience, this two-man leadership team motivates and supports its dedicated staff, in order to inspire the best possible service and quality assurance for its customers and employees alike.
“I’m a strong believer that client service trumps all: a steadfast strategy, coupled with building and maintaining a rapport with clients is what has served Bluescape well over the years. Much of our business is clients that have come back to us over and over again, which is the strongest testament we could ask for,” says co-founder Lou Hack, “If we weren't doing things right and keeping clients happy, and servicing the building and finishing on time, under budget and to the standards that they expect, they wouldn't be coming back and asking us to do another build—particularly in such a competitive market as Toronto’s.”
A great team and great buildings
From expanding its diverse portfolio, Bluescape Construction has brought numerous residential buildings to Toronto. This organization prides itself on each and every construction project it completes, with three of the company’s most notable recent projects throughout Canada being: Block 32, TCHC, Market Wharf, and River City.
Block 32: One of Bluescape’s larger projects, Block 32 was commissioned by Toronto Community Housing project, an organization committed to affordable housing in the city. The building contains 420 suites and more than 600,000 square feet of residential floor space in an area of the city that is poised for development.
Market Wharf: A two-phase project due to economic conditions in Toronto, Market Wharf was key to the development of an underutilized but stunning area facing the city’s waterfront. Constructing this building is like building three separate buildings (including a 35-story tower), a six-floor podium, and four levels of masonry construction with two levels of two floor glass townhouse type suites perched on top. All of the building’s parking is above ground, which is unique for a downtown Toronto high-rise, though blends beautifully into the area’s historic St. Lawrence Market neighborhood.
River City: A four-phase project in conjunction with developer Urban Capital, the land for River City was acquired from the government entity Waterfront Toronto. Bluescape was charged with building the first residential building in this area as part of a 15-20 year plan, which will see the redevelopment of nearly all of Toronto’s eastern lakefront area. Totaling about 1200 suites, the first phase is now complete with 350 suites, and phase two is underway for completion summer 2015.
Hack commented on the mission and process at Bluescape as, “On a global scale, Toronto is in the midst of a construction boom and we really feel proud to be at the forefront of shaping the city. We provide construction management, so developers that have already acquired Toronto’s coveted land come to us when they are ready to bring their vision to life. We undertake every aspect of building process, which involves sourcing every single trade required for the job—in addition to the project and budget management, often in ambitious timelines.”
The future at Bluescape
With the goal to provide the highest quality pre-construction and construction services to clients, Bluescape has built various steadfast industry relationships, a sterling reputation and reliable service for clients across Canada. This organization is proudly involved with Toronto’s affordable housing programs and also aspires to continue on building high-rise condo developments for its surrounding communities.
Co-founder Pat Sena commented, “Our first and foremost responsibility is to service the client and ensure they are happy. On the other hand as construction managers, we understand our responsibility to be a fair employer to all the trades and everyone who is working for us. The key is to sit in the middle and learn how to do both of those things well and you'll be successful.”
Bluescape currently has six projects under construction, with a seventh project beginning in August of 2015.
