Three Whistler developments captured the coveted gold in the at the ninth annual Georgie Awards ceremony hosted by the Canadian Homebuilders Association of B.C. in Vancouver Jan. 20.
The Whistler Housing Authority, in partnership with Glacier Creek Construction, won a Georgie gold in the category of "Excellence by a Local Government in Co-operation/Leadership with Industry."
This particular award is bestowed on a municipality that shows leadership in fostering co-operation between public and private enterprise in addressing housing issues.
The housing authority, which is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Resort Municipality of Whistler, entered the employee rental units at 6320 Lorimer Court.
Councillor Kristi Wells, who is chair of WHA board of directors, accepted the gold alongside developer Serge Coté of Glacier Creek Construction.
Whistler was one of five finalists in this category, along with Prince George, New Westminster, Coquitlam and Burnaby. It is the first gold Georgie to go to a municipal housing development.
"It’s a tremendous recognition of the efforts we have taken with our partners in private industry to address housing in Whistler," said Wells. "It confirms that we are on the right track and spurs us all into achieving our mission of providing a range of stable, comfortable housing opportunities for Whistler residents.
On the flip side of the housing spectrum, Whistler’s Resort Plan International Inc. (RPI), in association with Kyber Developments, took the gold for "Best Single Family Detached Home 3,000-4,100 Square Feet."
RPI was responsible for the design, details and specifications of the high-end home at 8132 Muirfiled Lane in Nicklaus North. Kyber built the house.
"Due to the highly visible nature of the site, we were presented with a number of design challenges," said Michael Gottschalk, RPI owner.
"Our objectives were to design a visually pleasing house from all elevations, yet preserve an element of privacy and take advantage of the views of the surrounding mountains and exposure to natural sunlight."
Also to take a gold was the Park Georgia Group, along with Hotson Baker Architects, for Montebello II in the category of "Best Townhouse Development — 1,500 Square Feet and Over."
