Laurin Group at Lansdowne Live
How we mobilized forces and executed plans to deliver tens of millions of dollars in construction work on a tight schedule and on a very high-profile site.
ANYONE LIVING IN OTTAWA SINCE 2010 UNDERSTANDS THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE LANSDOWNE LIVE PROJECT.
The Lansdowne parcel was a prime, downtown real estate asset with deep historical roots. However, it had suffered from decades of neglect and disuse. When plans to finally redevelop the park were put into action in Spring 2021, the site became a blur of activity.
The scope of work undertaken was ambitious. The Ottawa Sports Entertainment Group (OSEG) and the City of Ottawa imagined a grand, accessible, and welcoming space that invited residents to live, work and play on site.
The redevelopment was also large- renovation of the parcel required not only the assembly of dozens of new buildings, but also significant demolition and remediation work to be performed within existing structures. All these scopes of work were to be undertaken while preserving some of the park’s 19th-century heritage assets.
LAURIN was proud to play a critical role in Lansdowne’s redevelopment. We delivered tens of millions of dollars’ worth of work for the OSEG/City of Ottawa public-private partnership, on budget, to precise specification- and in time for opening day of the 2014 CFL season.
BASE BUILDINGS, FIT-UPS & MUCH, MUCH MORE
Our work on site was extensive, and our pace was frenetic. We assembled base buildings on some projects, performed tenant fit-ups on others, and executed both on others. This work was performed under several different kinds of contractual arrangements: anything from construction management to lump sum, hard bid contracts.
One jewel in our crown was the work we performed at TD Place, Lansdowne’s multi-use stadium, home to the Ottawa Redblacks, Atletico di Ottawa, Ottawa 67s and the Ottawa Blackjacks. In the three (3) months prior to the stadium’s opening- when failure to meet the schedule was simply not an option- we mobilized our forces to complete an intense amount of work, in a very short period.
Our scope varied in size and complexity. Some work was conventional: the assembly of structures to support the building’s bars, restaurants, and washrooms with a myriad of gap items. Other parts were deeply complicated: we installed and activated more than 150 wireless access points throughout the stadium to ensure that fans, media, and staff always had access to reliable, fast internet signals.
Success, for us, came in the form of a job well done- on time and on budget. TD Place and the rest of phase one of the park threw open its doors to the public on gameday, July 14, 2015 to a great reception- and a near flawless fan experience. We were proud to be a central member of the team that made that part of the project a reality, and prouder still to have received a letter of commendation form the project’s owners.
How did we do it?
We built the foundation for our success at Lansdowne long before we ever set foot on site.
The outcome was not assured, but we proceeded against our work confidently, knowing that LAURIN would deliver impressive results by relying on our proven construction methodologies.
We studied details of the project intensively to ensure we understood, and accounted for site conditions and project challenges prior to deploying our teams. Here are some examples of the steps taken to assure success at the project:
Timing was everything. The schedule could not change. Opening day was set in stone. Our project plan accounted for these facts by deploying as many workers as required, for as many hours as needed to get the job done. Overtime was more than a possibility; it was a guarantee.
Workspace was at a premium. Although Lansdowne itself is a 40-acre facility, construction work was necessarily condensed to just a fraction of that space. Within that footprint, dozens of contractors and trades worked furiously to construct tens of thousands or square feet of retail, residential and institutional facilities. Our project plan accounted for scheduled deliveries of each contractor to ensure that our materials arrived on site exactly as needed, and without conflicting with the work of others.
Costs were fixed. LAURIN had no room to maneuver within the project’s budget. We were therefore mindful to track every dollar spent on the project using our proprietary Strategic Asset Management tool.
Safety was paramount. We employed only the best tradespeople who we trust to execute their work with the highest degree of professionalism and competence. As with many of our projects, LAURIN also retained a third-party safety auditor to monitor our worker activity.
Evidence of LAURIN’s ability to execute complex challenges. Project stakeholders could easily have chosen individual contractors to perform all the work LAURIN delivered at Lansdowne. It is a testament to our demonstrated ability to execute complex challenges, that such interested parties chose to partner with us. We’re delighted they did.