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My Reason To Relay

Wednesday, May 21, 2008


Cancer is a nasty word we are all too familiar with. But it wasn't until March 3, 1987 that it entered my world.

My dad had gone in for some tests earlier and now my parents were off to get the results, on this day I would soon never forget. Being so late in the day, I thought it peculiar that my mom had not called me with the results yet. I picked up the phone and proceeded to dial my parents' number. What came next was something I can still feel in my heart . . . the news. My dad had been diagnosed with terminal lung cancer.

This was the inception of my mission to help others from experiencing this kind of trauma in their lives. I called my local unit of the Canadian Cancer Society and asked how I could help. It was just at the time that the Daffodil door-to-door campaign was about to start in April. I did my first year of canvassing in 1987 and also did some volunteer work in their office. I eventually moved away from my neighborhood where I had been canvassing for years, but I still had the desire to return to this area and see my neighbours and friends. Cancer touches everyone in some way or another and this campaigning was a nice way to share our stories and connect with others. The joy I received every year from seeing these friends was tremendous. Unfortunately, my Dad passed away almost two years after being diagnosed with lung cancer. I miss him terribly every day.

I had read and heard about the Relay for Life and every year I would purchase a luminary to be displayed at the event in memory of my dad; however, I had never attended this event in person. One year I decided I would attend the relay and see what it was all about. I met a classmate of mine who had been participating for a few years and she invited me to stay and take part in the candlelight ceremony that evening. I was deeply moved at how many people were there and the comradeship that was displayed among them. I said to my friend, "Next year I am going to start a team." I contacted some friends from high school and the team Harley's Angels was up and running. Our first relay was in 2006 and in 2007 I recruited some of the Colony team. Each year the team surpassed our fund-raising goal and we have all had so much fun doing it. I was surprised by the generosity of people who were there to support my teammates, the Canadian Cancer Society, and me. We have a great group of friends on the team, and it's now an annual event that none of us wants to miss.

The Relay for Life is a very heartwarming event for me. It truly is an incredible sight to see all the teams out there, rain or shine, working together with one common goal in mind. . . . to help put an end to Cancer. Please come by and visit us June 14, 2008 at Mahon Park in North Vancouver. Look for the "COLONY" tent.

I would like to thank all who have supported Harley's Angels and the Canadian Cancer Society in the past. I hope one day we reach that goal.

If you are interested in joining our team or starting a team of your own, David and I would be more than happy to speak with you and help you to get started. Please contact me (Susan Gough) at 604.688.2604 or at sgough@colonybuildings.com. You can visit my Relay Web site at Susan's Relay Page or David Thompson's page at David's Relay Page for more Information or also at the Canadian Cancer Society Relay for Life site click here.

© 2008, Colony Management Inc..
www.colonybuildings.com

My Reason To Relay
Posted by Colony Management on Wednesday, May 21, 2008

Increasing Construction Costs Got You Down?

Wednesday, May 14, 2008

Rising material prices. Skilled labour shortages.
High oil, transportation, and equipment costs. Over budget.


These are the buzzwords on everybody's lips these days, and seem to be prominently placed in the headlines of periodicals that deal with construction. No doubt, the current costs of doing any type of construction today have soared, particularly in the west, placing numerous projects either "on hold" or, even worse, "cancelled." Realizing that, for some people, building costs have become too high and are out of reach, Colony has been working with its various supplier partners to come up with more-economical structures capable of meeting tighter budgets while still maintaining high performance levels for clear spans, energy efficiency, code compliance, security, weather-tightness, and appearance. We currently have available to us a few new products that will meet these demands, about which you will be hearing more in the next few newsletter releases. This is just one more way that Colony is working toward having the ultimate ability to service all of your building needs. Please contact our offices for any further details or if you have any questions in this regard.

© 2008, Colony Management Inc..
www.colonybuildings.com

Increasing Construction Costs Got You Down?
Posted by Colony Management on Wednesday, May 14, 2008

That's A Metal Building???

Monday, April 28, 2008


Victoria's famous Inner Harbour - bustling, vibrant centre of action and world renowned tourist destination for thousands every year. The ever prominent Capitol Buildings, the famed Empress Hotel, the prestigious Tall Ships and crisp white Cruise Line vessels, a picturesque backdrop of yachts and floatplanes, magnificent floral displays and a Metal Building?

Excuse me...a Metal Building?... Yes, Victoria's Inner Harbour is the new home for one of Colony's brightest projects, Nexterra Energy Corp.'s biomass gasification system for Dockside Green Power Limited. Once completed, the internationally acclaimed Dockside Green development will be a community for approximately 2,500 people, incorporating the very highest in Green Standards. The project will include residential, live/work, hotel, retail, office and light industrial uses, as well as numerous public amenities.

Right from the start, one of the key challenges on this project was coming up with an architecturally pleasing as well as economical means of providing a completely functional enclosure to protect Nexterra's technically advanced equipment and have the City of Victoria as well as the Dockside Green Partners pleased with the end result.

"This is a rather special project because of its high profile waterfront location just a stone's throw away from Victoria's iconic heritage buildings," said William Rhone, the Architect who worked on the Project in association with CEI Neilson Architects of Vancouver and Victoria. "There are certain design complexities that were inherent with the Project in order to comply with the City of Victoria guidelines" Rhone continued, "so the process for gaining approval for the Project became a little more complex than the usual type of industrial building."

Philip Beaty, Nexterra's Vice President of Sales confirmed that "Colony had a terrific opportunity to entertain a more sophisticated structure than is usually found on a standard industrial site. They had done it before and were quite interested and willing to work with our Architect." Rhone agreed about working with Colony towards the final design: "I think Colony were great, first class. I'd say it was a pretty good fit."

The Dockside project is not just another pretty face...I mean building. Dockside Green Power Limited is a newly formed "micro energy utility" that has been created by Terasen Energy Systems, Vancity Capital, Corix Group of Companies and Windmill West Developments to own and operate the gasification system and administer the heat and hot water service for Dockside Green.

Nexterra's gasification system converts urban wood waste into synthesis gas or "syngas" to generate heat and hot water from biomass. By selecting this technology, Dockside Green will avoid producing about 2,500 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions annually.

"Reducing emissions from buildings to the point where we are carbon-neutral was one of many things that Dockside Green needed to do to be a world-class sustainable community. We looked around the world for the right technology and found Nexterra in our own backyard." said Windmill Development's Joe Van Belleghem, co-developer of the project along with Vancity Capital.

"Developing unique and viable solutions that address both economic and environmental concerns require a profound change in the way we do business," said Nexterra's CEO Jonathan Rhone. "Nexterra has been thrilled to work with Dockside Green on this project. The unprecedented group of partners have worked together to ensure that this remarkable waterfront community will significantly reduce its carbon footprint and be a showcase for truly sustainable urban development".

Colony is proud to have played a role in the success of this exciting development. Our building will be completed later this year and the complete Dockside Green development is scheduled for a three phase completion over the next decade. For more information on Nexterra Energy Corp. or Dockside Green please visit the website at www.nexterra.ca and www.docksidegreen.com respectively.

© 2008, Colony Management Inc..
www.colonybuildings.com

That's A Metal Building???
Posted by Colony Management on Monday, April 28, 2008

Making Mountains Out Of Metal

Tuesday, January 8, 2008


The Whistler Blackcomb Peak to Peak Gondola project is an exciting and very challenging project, essentially connecting the two world renowned peaks of Whistler and Blackcomb. It will be the longest unsupported span for a lift of this kind in the world at over 3 kilometres and the highest lift of this kind in the world at 415 metres above Fitzsimmons Creek as well as the longest continuous lift system on the globe at almost 3 and a half times longer than the Golden Gate Bridge. But early in the schedule the project hit a snag, John R. Morley, Vice-President of Development for Intrawest Placemaking explained "When we obtained our preliminary pricing for the terminal enclosures, the conventional steel building design was significantly higher than our budget. Given the high profile nature of the project we really needed these buildings to be iconic in nature... our Architect had come up with a really great concept that the Project Team liked but it became clear that we were not going to be able to deliver the icon we wanted within our budget using a conventional steel building." Faced with his dilemma John took a moment to contemplate and remembered someone he had worked with early in his career. "I knew from my experience managing mining projects that pre-engineered buildings were often the route to take to achieve significant cost savings. I worked with Jim Peacey in my early days and I knew he'd partnered with David at Colony. I was aware that Colony specialized in more custom pre-engineered buildings which was definitely what we were looking for."

The contact was made and Jim Peacey and David Thompson of Colony went to visit John and discuss the possibilities. "I could see right from the start that the building would be a design challenge" Jim noted. "The framework was quite complex and something that definitely would present an impossibility to most Building System suppliers. It was extremely important to John and to ourselves that we find a way to come within his budgets while still maintaining the Architectural integrity of the project. David and I came up with a concept that managed to achieve both." All John had to do now was get everyone else involved in the project on board with the new concept. "I could certainly sense some apprehension on the part of our Architect when I first mentioned pre-engineered" John admits. But the fears of Christopher Rowe, Vice-President of Cannon Design, although well founded from past experience, were quickly dismissed. Christopher confirmed "I think there was an early expectation that we might lose a lot of the interesting architectural qualities of the buildings, but in this case I think it's been a useful streamlining of the design." John Morley added "I guess the deciding factor was primarily that Colony was able to deliver the building that everyone wanted within our budget and the added bonus was the opportunity to have them work with us during the design process to fine tune and improve the building."

With approvals completed, Colony moved from concept towards reality with some added benefits that John and his group had not anticipated. John recalls "Some of the real advantages as we've been going through the design, and of course budgeting process, is the quick response we get on our many queries... If we ask...What if we make this change and what is this cost impact going to be? The response time from Colony, working with Behlen, has been very quick, allowing us to make timely decisions. This has been a real advantage.. I think this has been an example of 'One Stop Shopping' and the efficiencies of having the design, supply and erection scopes under one supplier."

As a team, Colony, Intrawest Placemaking and Cannon Design along with the many others involved in the success of the project, are all very pleased to be working together towards a successful completion in 2008. Christopher Rowe comments "I really appreciated Colony's respect for the original design concept. We had the design well developed before Colony came on board and we had to make a few compromises but it wasn't a dumbing down of the project, it was a streamlining of the design. What I enjoyed is the fact that this wasn't seen as a kind of just another job, there was an enthusiasm about doing something a little bit different and that really helped the project." John Morley added "We are very pleased so far and I believe it's going to be a fantastic project we can all be proud of. There's a lot of comfort that Intrawest and Whistler Blackcomb have been able to garner from working with Colony. Being able to keep within our budget but still deliver the building that everybody dreamed and hoped that they could have."

Colony begins work on the steel erection in the summer of 2008 once the winter ski season is over.

To follow our progress you can check it out on the Whistler webcam Click Here or on the Peak to Peak site Click Here.

© 2008, Colony Management Inc..
www.colonybuildings.com

Making Mountains Out Of Metal
Posted by Colony Management on Tuesday, January 08, 2008


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