The GVHBA 2018 Ovation Award winners

By Susan M Boyce
June 04, 2018

It was an evening of glitz and glamour as more than 500 builders, renovators and marketers gathered at the JW Marriott Parq Vancouver to celebrate the ninth annual Ovation Awards. This highly anticipated event is always a showcase of the creativity, vision and innovation that characterize Metro Vancouver’s residential construction industry, and 2018 was no exception.

Adera wins gold four times

Once again Adera made an impressive showing by striking gold four times, including earning the prestigious Multi-Family Home Builder of the Year award for the third time. Located on a sloped property in South Surrey, South Ridge Club offers a diverse range of plans and exceptional amenities – just two of the features Eric Andreasen, Adera’s vice-president of marketing and sales, says has helped garner this community ongoing recognition at all levels of competition from municipal to national. “It’s rare to find a 6,500-square-foot clubhouse for a community of just 210 homes,” he says. “And the private, rooftop lanais are some of the largest we’ve ever built – which our homeowners love because the North Shore Mountain views are amazing.”

Southside wins Best Single-Family Detached Home

Also in South Surrey, Southside by Miracon took top honours for Best Single-Family Detached Home (Production): 2,400 sq. ft. and Over. Later in the evening, Miracon was also named Single-Family Home Builder of the Year, an achievement Ryan O’Shea, vice-president of marketing and sales, says is about meticulous attention to detail. “We start by really considering our buyers’ lifestyle, then we design homes that enhance the way people actually live – homes that replicated the ambiance of a custom home.” Thoughtful details include an easy flow between the great room and deck for comfortable indoor-outdoor living, integrated speakers throughout – even on the back patio – and cleverly designed mudrooms that help keep dirt at bay.

Anzio by Project Mint earns GVHBA Ovation award

Anzio by Project Mint was named Best Townhouse/Rowhome Development (Infill) in addition to the BC Housing Award for Excellence in Innovative Housing Choices when it transformed a single-family lot in Mount Pleasant into three townhomes plus an airy, two-level laneway home. “Good design has a massive impact on a home’s value, its sustainability and its day-to-day comfort,” says Nick Bray, sales. As a cool bonus, the site’s mature fig tree was preserved.

Alabaster Homes double winner

First-time entrant Alabaster Homes was a double winner for Osler Residences. “This is not only Alabaster’s first project, but it is also the first townhome project to be built in this area of Marpole,” says Yosh Kasahara, director of sales and marketing. “We wanted to set a precedent for new development by embracing the history of the neighbourhood through design. Features like stone archways, intricate window mullions and slop-dash stucco create a heritage look, as if these homes have been here forever, while inside they are completely modern.” He says it’s Osler Residences’ ability to enhance rather than change the surrounding historic neighbourhood that made it a winner.

Platinum Group of Companies wins in best landscaping

In Maple Ridge, Albion Station by Platinum Group of Companies wowed judges in the best landscaping category (multi-family or single-family production) with its “natural” rain gardens and park-like setting. The open, central greenspace serves double duty by incorporating an innovative system of eco-swales that naturally bio-filter contaminates in run-off water. The now purified water is then used to rehydrate an “at risk” wetland along the property’s western edge. A kids’ play area with a whimsical ice cream parlour/playhouse painted a hay-barn red and approximately one kilometre of walking-trails make this a multi-generational community that respects nature.