18 UPWORD www.winnipegconstruction.ca FOREWORD Morning Education Sessions Concurrent education sessions, including the WCA-presented Understanding the P3 Landscape, drew attendees from the construction, design, owner and operator groups. Members from the Saskatchewan Joint-Use Schools Project discussed their partnership and how they were successful with a public-private partnership. “You can’t execute 18 schools in 22 months with any other delivery model,” explained Dom Costantini, Vice President and District Manager for Bird Construction Co., whose team partnered with Wright Construction Western Inc. on the large undertaking. Wright’s Director of Construction, Leslie Doka, also weighed in on the experience, explaining that the most important part of the project was the collaboration and teamwork between everyone at the onset of the project, through to completion. “We got in Bird’s boardroom and got to know each other,” Doka said, explaining that even though they were from different companies, for this project, they were on the same team. “Everybody left their name tag at the door.” Keynote Lunch Glen Scott, Senior Vice President of Real Estate for Katz Group Real Estate Inc., and Jim Ludlow, President, True North Real Estate Development Limited, headlined the event’s keynote lunch on the topic of Big, Bold Real Estate Projects in NHL Cities: Winnipeg’s True North Square and Edmonton’s ICE District. Colliers International Executive Vice President Don White moderated the conversation, which centred around two of Western Canada’s biggest construction projects and how they are changing downtown in Winnipeg and Edmonton. “We believe in trying to make a place better,” Ludlow said at the event, explaining that in order to lead such a transformative project you’ve got to have both the vision and the stomach for it. Both projects are multi-faceted and will add hotels, residential and commercial units as well as public gathering spaces to Edmonton and Winnipeg, changing the way their cities are seen at a national level. Barb Butler led the WCA-hosted Facing the Challenges of Marijuana in the Construction Industry session, while other sessions such as Time Management and The HVAC Jigsaw Puzzle were in full swing. The Manitoba Building Expo is a partnership of the Winnipeg Construction Association and the Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA). Afternoon Education Sessions