City Gardens is Kamloops’ largest residential development in downtown Kamloops, and one of the city’s largest in its history. A project of this scale could not be developed with excellence without a skilled and experienced team doing the work behind the scenes. The project and construction managers are the backbone of the City Gardens development, and we are pleased to introduce you to our Development Team; Steve Bergmann, Rob Hall, Jesse Schienbein, and Sydney Hall.
Putting Downtown Kamloops on the Map
Steve Bergmann is City Gardens’ Construction Manager. With over 19 years in the construction industry, Bergmann was drawn to assist on the City Gardens project, not just for the work, but for the vision of the development and the visionary behind it, Ron Fawcett.
“Ron is a great person to work for,” noted Bergmann. “His vision and the work we are doing will be a new focal point for those considering downtown Kamloops for their new home address.”
Bergmann believes City Gardens will change the face of the downtown and has already attracted a lot of attention. While on the ground level the work has just started with the excavation work for the three-level underground parkade, Bergmann has been working on the project for the past two years.
“The project is fast moving, and there are a lot of people involved,” Bergmann said. “For our team, it is different building a project of this size in Kamloops than in another city like Vancouver or Surrey where projects like this are more common. I believe City Gardens will put downtown Kamloops on the map, and we are excited!”
Coordinating Suppliers and Tradespeople
Also enthusiastic about the project is fellow Construction Manager, Rob Hall. The magnitude of the City Gardens project is a first for Hall, although he’s no stranger to managing construction projects.
“I have been involved in construction for 30 years,” remarked Hall. “Although I have worked on projects that are on sites bigger than City Gardens, this is new for me because of the number of buildings in one development with such density.”
One of Hall’s roles is to select tradespeople and suppliers, while managing workflow.
“My role is coordinating decisions that need to be made in the background and translating those into the actions that are carried out on-site,” Hall said. “City Gardens is going to be a modern upgrade to the downtown core and the tradespeople and suppliers working on the project are excited too.”
Building With an Environmentally Conscious Lens
Bringing an eye for detail and passion for coordination to the project is Project Coordinator, Sydney Hall, who has been working with multiple people to coordinate timelines for many projects to ensure the work is done on time.
“Helping to bring the details together for multiple aspects of the project has been exciting, especially for a project that is so visible in the public eye,” noted Hall. “Our team has been applying an environmentally conscious lens to our work as well. Our entire team at Kelson Group is very aware of what we are building for future generations, and strive we do this well.”
Quality Construction to Build a Community
For Construction Superintendent, Jesse Schienbein, getting to work on another Kelson Group project means building a quality development for future homeowners. Except with City Gardens, this translates into building a quality development for hundreds of future homeowners.
“The last residential buildings we developed are at Thompson Rivers University and to this day, I still have residents calling to tell me how beautiful their new home is,” shared Schienbein. “With the quality of work we do, and the attention to detail we have, we know City Gardens’ residents will be happy too.”
Schienbein, who has over 17 years of experience in construction, will oversee the on-site day-to-day work, focused on the quality of the workmanship and materials used throughout.
“We are using very complicated building assemblies on this project not commonly used due to the expense,” Schienbein said. “It is going to be beautiful when it is all done, a community within a community, and such a unique place to live.”
