Heatherbrae celebrates 25 years of excellence as family-owned general contractors

Heatherbrae celebrates 25 years of excellence as family-owned general contractors

Established by Michael Knight in 1989, Heatherbrae Builders stands as a success in the construction world through its commitment to customer relationships and project efficiency. Working as a family-owned company for nearly 25 years, Heatherbrae understands the importance of integrity in the workplace, continuously demonstrating its emphasis on quality and service throughout its many successful projects. Servicing the Vancouver region of British Colombia, the company now provides general contracting and project management services throughout the province, with over 100 years of combined experience in the construction, estimation and management fields.

Housing over 200 employees, Heatherbrae promotes a safe and clean workplace along with desirable salary packages which not only encourage employee productivity, but overall employees’ happiness as well. The company specializes in commercial, industrial, institutional, residential and business envelope field throughout Western Canada. Heatherbrae also practices sustainability with its commitment to LEED projects, as well as demonstrates its social responsibility through being actively involved in its community.

Michael Keenan, Project Manager at Heatherbrae, describes the company’s commitment to its field as, “We are general contractors who understand the need to keep up with what the new technology says, current LEED certifications and keeping up with the “norm” of our industry,” he says. “Since we do no design or development ourselves, we always stay ahead of the curve so that we always understand the how and why behind different projects that are being constructed.”

Sustainable projects driving Heatherbrae’s success

With projects ranging from the thousands to the millions, Heatherbrae’s skills and resources always seem to be in high demand within the construction industry. Working with prestigious Canadian partners like the City of Vancouver, the City of Surry, the UBC, the VRCA, the ICBA and the Canada Green Building Council, Heatherbrae Builders has set themselves up to be an industry-powerhouse that thrives off of all facets of the construction market.

Recently, the company completed or will soon be completing three major projects which have gained quite a bit of public acknowledgment due to their sustainability-friendly nature and provincial importance as popular city buildings. The projects are:

  • The Gilford Aquatic Center: Due for completion September of this year, totaling $36 million dollars. This center contains a brand new international standard swimming pool attached to the existing recreation center, and also holds a LEED certification.
  • Collinwood School: Due for completion this coming fall, totaling $22 million. This project built a new school in West Vancouver, and also maintains a LEED certification.
  • Brain Health at the University of British Colombia: Recently completed in January, 2014, with a project value of $48 million. This new center is adjacent to the UBC’s Hospital, and will be integrated with the existing Brain Center Research, Institute for Mental Health, Department of Psychiatry and Division of Neurology facilities. Targeting a LEED Gold certification, this project will include a vegetated roof and improve energy efficiency by 50-60 percent.

By thoroughly embracing the values of professionalism , efficiency and social responsibility, Heatherbrae works tirelessly to ensure that they are always ahead of market demands by providing the best work possible in the construction management, quantity surveying, cost analysis, value engineering and arbitration and mediation fields on construction.

The future of Heatherbrae

Never forgetting the importance of sustainability and community, Heatherbrae continues to give back to its community through its LEED certified projects and generous volunteer work. One example of how Heatherbrae gets involved in its community occurred two years ago when Heatherbrae worked with the Aboriginal Mothers Center. This Center is home to single-mother families, and Heatherbrae renovated the center in hopes of improving living conditions for those living within it. Project Manager Michael Keenan is also involved with the “Builders without Borders” organization, and has the full support of Heatherbrae Builders when taking time to conduct his volunteer work.

Michael Keenan commented on the company’s work ethic and culture by saying, “Other than two of us here, this is a true-and-true family based company. Our relationships with our valued clients are what make us who we are, and without those relationships, we would not have our business.”

Keenan continued, “Heatherbrae Builders understands that we are only as good as our last project and that’s really important to us. Yes we are here to make money, but what is first and foremost importance is maintaining our great client relationships. Mike Knight started all of this with great relationships and has instilled that value in all of his employees in order to keep those relationships and clients as the most important things at all times.”

Always continuing to push the boundaries of the construction field, Heatherbrae has established goals to grow from its already impressive $140 annual income, to upwards of $180 million over a five year plan. With current projects like the Lynn Fripps Elementary School and the Artist for Kids Gallery, Heatherbrae has established itself as an influential general contractor who always has both the customer and community in mind when completing its projects.

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Executives
Michael Knight