The Regional Commercial Council of the London and St Thomas Association of REALTORS® (LSTAR) has named the nineteen contenders for the 2015 Don Smith Commercial Building Awards, sponsored by CBRE, Colliers International, Dancor Construction, EllisDon Corporation, ListCentral and National Bank. Judging tour transportation was generously provided by Voyageur Transportation Services.
To be eligible, properties must fit into one of the following categories: Commercial (including retail and office buildings); Industrial; Institutional (community); or Multi- family. They must also be located within LSTAR's jurisdiction of Middlesex and Elgin Counties and must have been completed between August 1, 2013 and July 31, 2015.
The contenders in the Commercial category are:
- Nixon Medical Centre (510 Southdale Road West, London)
- Engineers Building (561-567 Talbot Street, St. Thomas)
- Re/Max Centre City Realty (36 First Street, St. Thomas)
- Rexall Pharmacy Bishop Hellmuth Heritage District (350 Oxford St. E., London)
- The London Roundhouse (240 Waterloo Street, London)
- a-LiNK Architecture Inc. Office (136 Wellington Road, London)
In the Industrial category we have one nominee:
- Kaiser Aluminum Manufacturing Plant Expansion (3021 Gore Rd., London)
Falling into the Institutional Category, the nominees are:
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London Regional Mental Health Care - Parkwood Hospital (550 Wellington Rd., London)
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The Elgin County Courthouse ( 4 Wellington St., St. Thomas)
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Elgin St. Thomas Public Health Unity (1230 Talbot St., St. Thomas)
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Earl's Court Village Nursing Home (1390 Highbury Ave. N., London)
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Lucan Municipal Project (270 Main Street, Lucan)
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No. 7 Fire Station (1295 Webster St., London)
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Clare Hall and Mercato at Brescia University College (271 Ramsey Rd., London)
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Ontario Hall Student Residence - Western University (230 Sarnia Rd., London)
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St. Joseph's Health Care London - Milestone 2 Phase 3 (268 Grosvenor St., London)
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Howard W. Rundle Centre for Digital & Performance Arts Fanshawe College (137 Dundas St., London)
The nominees for the Multi-family Award are:
- 152 Elmwood Ave., London
- 77 Tecumseh Ave., London
The properties will be judged on how sensitive they are to the environment; on design and innovation; and on the extent to which they meet a specific developmental need within the community.
"When we undertook this Awards program, our intention was to recognize and reward excellence in commercial building in our Association's jurisdiction. What better way to exemplify excellence than to name the awards after local construction icon Don Smith?" comments 2016 RCC Chair, Joe Pereira. "This will be our second awards ceremony since Don's passing, it will be a bittersweet celebration for many in attendance. Don regularly attended these awards, the awards meant a lot to him. This year we will continue to celebrate Don, as well as the nominated projects. The quality of the projects under consideration is truly impressive and that is reason to celebrate."
A distinguished panel of judges, comprised of respected industry leaders in the community, will determine the winners. The panel includes:
- Sean Dyke, General Manager of the St. Thomas Economic Development Corporation;
- David Murphy, President, Murphy and Murphy Architects Inc.;
- Joe Ruscitti, Editor in Chief of the London Free Press;
- Jim Yanchula, Manager, Urban Regeneration, City of London - Planning Services;
- Peter White, Executive Director of Government Relations and Strategic Partnerships, Western University - the chair of our Judges Panel.
The winners of the "Don Smith" Commercial Building Awards will be announced on Wednesday, February 3rd, during a reception at the London Club from 4:00 pm until 6:00 pm. Tickets can be purchased for $25 by e-mailing Tracy Marino at tracy [at] lstar.ca (tracy[at]lstar[dot]ca) or by calling 519.641.1400.
The Association's jurisdiction includes Middlesex and Elgin Counties, home to nearly 500,000 residents. An average of $46,400 is spent in additional expenditure per real estate transaction in Canada. REALTORS® believe healthy communities depend on a strong economy, safe neighbourhoods, a clean environment, access to housing and the protection of rights of property owners. The Multiple Listing Service® is a cooperative marketing system used only by Canada's real estate boards and associations to ensure maximum exposure of properties for sale. All of LSTAR's listings may be found on the public website at www.REALTOR.ca.
