FOCUS ON UPTOWN: Trade workers in abundance
Workers stand on the upper framework of a building that will house retail stores, including Future Shop, and the offices of B.C. Assessment at the Uptown construction site in Saanich.
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Updated: November 12, 2009 1:29 PM
David Bayne expects the number of workers at the Uptown shopping centre development to hit its peak next month.
“Right now we have 300 workers on site, and that fluctuates with the rain, but basically we’re at the 300 level,” said Bayne, project director.
“It’ll build even further. We might hit 350. I’ve always said I’ve forecasted that for November, so that’s going to happen relatively soon.”
Construction work at the old Town and Country site will increase as walls, roofs and floors go in. Electricians and mechanical workers will be brought in to fit the buildings, while construction work is done elsewhere on the massive 7.6 hectare site.
“Our form work is now on the decline, so carpenters are on the way down. But the drywall that uses carpenters is on the way up, so it’ll stay pretty much the same,” Bayne said.
While the number of labourers on site stays relatively constant, work is dwindling for excavators, as that part of Uptown’s first phase is nearly completed.
Of the 300 workers at Uptown, about half a dozen are women.
“You see more women in the electrical and mechanical side than you used to. We have a woman doing fireproofing, and one or two on the drywall crew. That’s about average, but at least it’s not zero.”
Although he can’t give an exact number, Bayne believes close to 90 per cent of workers are from Greater Victoria. With a relatively slow market for the local construction industry, it hasn’t been a challenge finding workers.
“Unfortunately, for the rest of Victoria, construction is still very quiet, so we are luckily being able to enjoy not having a manpower problem,” he said.
Don Brown, Construction and Specialized Workers’ Union local 1611 business representative, agreed. Workers from his organization have benefitted from work at the two major construction projects ongoing in and around Saanich – Uptown and the Royal Jubilee Hospital expansion.
“They’re Vancouver Island people doing work here,” he said. “Both (projects) take about the same amount of manpower, so it’s been good for us.”
Once the first phase of Uptown is complete in July 2010, many of the workers, Bayne hopes, will continue working on the next phase of the project which will last until late 2011.
“Phase two is three-quarters the size of the first one,” he said. “This first phase, we’re probably averaging 200 workers, and the second phase will be around the same. It’s not like (phase two) is a little $1 million job, it’s another $100 million to do. It’ll be another positive for construction work here.”
kslavin@saanichnews.com
