An Industrial-themed office for an Industry Leader.

It’s been a long-time coming for the PBS System Inc. headquarters. The base building was designed for construction in 2015 before being putting on hold due to the economic downturn at the time. It wasn’t until 2019 that PBS reached out to the Shepard Development Corporation to make a deal and turn the building into their new headquarters.

At 80,000 ft², this project marks the first office building in the Shepard Station area off 130 Ave SE, and gives PBS prominent exposure being just off Deerfoot Trail. The building stands out with its reflective glass and coloured lights in the evenings. From the fourth floor inside, you can see everything from downtown to the Rocky Mountains. Inside, there’s a gym, training room, large cafeteria, offices, collaboration rooms, a feature metal and wood staircase that winds up through the middle of the building, and a large parkade underneath.

The theme of the building is “steam punk” or “industrial” and careful considerations were made to keep this look consistent throughout the building. Wood from an original Levi’s jeans factory was refurbished and made into panelling for the lobby, and the ceilings were left open to complement these elements. Light fixtures and doors also all retain this look and make this building one-of-a-kind.

Construction of the shell and core of the base building began in the summer of 2019 while design changes were made in the fall to accommodate PBS’ vision.

Senior Construction Manager Terry Bateman explains that “due to the celling height constraints, the mechanical and electrical systems that had to go into the celling had to be coordinated through clash detection and 3D modelling in order to have the systems fit and provide the nine foot ceiling heights PBS wanted.” By using this technology, the team was able to keep the project on track and meet all of PBS’ needs.

The consultant project team consisted of Kasian Architecture, Entuitive Engineering, Remedy Engineering, SMP Engineering, Building Envelope Engineering Inc., Tetra Tech, IDEA Group, and Scatliff + Miller + Murray Inc. While the pandemic certainly created some challenges with procurement of materials and other delays around mandated health orders, the team worked extremely well together and were able to deliver this project on budget and ahead of schedule.

Construction Manager Scott McKenna says it best: “The strong teamwork and collaboration of this group is a major testament to the project’s success. We were essentially unaffected by the pandemic because of everyone’s efforts, and that’s something I’m really proud of.”

With the tenant move-in happening now, PBS is looking forward to getting to work in their new headquarters in the New Year. Congratulations to everyone who took part on this project and worked tirelessly to produce another quality job by CANA.