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On April 30, 2022, for the first time in more than two years, some 500 members of Metro Vancouver’s construction industry gathered for the HAVAN Awards for Housing Excellence at an in-person celebration of the innovation, creativity and sheer resilience shown by local builders, renovators, and designers. It was the 13th anniversary of this prestigious competition, and the mood at the JW Marriott Parq Hotel in downtown Vancouver was exuberant as finalists vied for 61 awards.

How it all went down

Following a long-standing tradition, the evening was an elegant affair with live music and sophisticated staging. There was even a surprise visit from four glittering ‘wine fairies’ who delighted the crowd by pouring the reception’s sparkling wine while suspended upside-down from the ceiling — an acrobatic feat that caused many gasps of amazement.

And the winners were…

White Rock-based Forge Properties took a solid lead with eight wins, including one of the coveted grand HAVAN Awards as Multi-Family Home Builder of the Year. Its dazzling Fantom property was also named Best Multi-Family Midrise Development and took top honours in multiple categories — including kitchen, primary suite, and individual condo suite — for The Wraith at Fantom.

Vesta Properties was the only company to garner two grand HAVAN Awards, one as Single-Family Home Builder of the Year and a second for Best Single-Family Residential Community for Brookswood Mills in Langley.

“It’s so gratifying to see the return of live galas honouring the quality and innovation of our industry,” said Christine Turner, Vesta’s director of marketing. Brookswood also received four additional awards, bringing the total to six.

Among its five finalist awards, long-time participant Sara Gallop Design won this year’s inaugural grand award for Interior Designer of the Year, a new category that’s been highly anticipated since it was announced last fall.

Hot on their heels was Infinity Properties with four awards, including a grand for Best Residential Community. A life-long Langley resident, Tim Bontkes, president, credits Brookswood Mills’ low density and design for capturing the judges’ attention. “This is one of the only developments to offer rancher-style design, so it was extremely well received. It’s also rare to see only 10 homes per acre.”

Other winners of note were Naikoon Contracting that once again counted a grand award for Custom Home Builder of the Year among its four winning entries; Adera that won Excellence in Building Products and Technology for Crest in North Vancouver; Novak Contracting that received the prestigious FortisBC Award for Excellence in Energy Efficiency in New Residential Construction; and Squamish Deep Energy Retrofit, an extreme-green makeover by Coast Essential Construction.

A banner year

“Tonight is a time to recognize and celebrate the success of the region’s most accomplished homebuilders,” noted David Eby, B.C.’s Attorney General and Minister Responsible for Housing. “Despite the pandemic, your dedication, hard work and safe operating practices allowed construction to continue in 2021, leading to a record-breaking year for new home construction. Thank you for helping create the thousands of new homes every year that we need for our communities and economy to thrive. Together, we are creating homes and vibrant communities that will support a healthy future for B.C. families.”

Like everyone in the room, Ron Rapp, HAVAN’s CEO, stressed how thrilled HAVAN is to be able to finally host an in-person event. “It’s important to be able to celebrate the accomplishments of our industry as builders, renovators, and designers adopt B.C.’s advancing energy Step Code requirements, raising the bar for higher performance homes that will improve energy efficiencies, comfort, and better indoor air quality for the homeowner.

“This has been a banner year for the housing industry, and that shows in the continued high calibre of entries. From innovative laneway homes to character renovations, luxurious ultra-modern houses and the full spectrum of multi-family developments in-between, the HAVAN Awards showcase our members’ best in housing.”

To see all the award-winning entries, go to: havan.ca/awards/finalists