How Harrington & Associates has built its reputation by leading technically demanding projects through collaboration, constructability, and disciplined execution.
As a construction management firm specializing in complex infrastructure and technically demanding projects, Harrington & Associates Ltd. has built its reputation on constructability, disciplined execution, and long-term client relationships. Since its founding in 2008, the Richmond Hill, Ontario-based firm has partnered with owners across the Greater Toronto Area to deliver projects where planning, collaboration, and technical expertise are critical to success.
Harrington has deliberately focused on complex assignments where it can provide the greatest value to owners. By understanding each client’s business, operational priorities, and long-term objectives, the company can help guide decisions from early planning through construction.
“Our role extends well beyond managing construction. We become an extension of the owner’s team, taking the time to understand their business, their priorities, and what success looks like for them. That perspective allows us to make better decisions, solve problems earlier, and ultimately deliver the project with confidence,” says Chris Flanagan, Principal.
Harrington’s disciplined strategy has continued to strengthen the firm’s expertise not only in ICI construction but also across district energy, utility infrastructure, mission-critical facilities, and other complex projects, leading to its appointment by Lakeview Community Partners Limited (LCPL) to deliver the Lakeview Village District Energy Centre. As one of the premier integrated energy and residential developments of its kind in North America, the project reflects the confidence sophisticated owners place in Harrington’s ability to successfully manage complex, multi-phase infrastructure projects.
One of the project’s key partners is Enwave, Canada’s leading district energy company and the organization responsible for developing and operating the community’s innovative energy generation system.
Based in Toronto with satellites in Ontario and PEI, Enwave is tasked with the development’s thermal energy generation. Enwave is best known for its decarbonization technology underpinning some of its models, including the Deep Lake Water Cooling (DLWC) system. Buildings connected to Enwave’s DLWC system typically have over 90 percent less electricity usage compared to conventional cooling.
Drawing cold water from 83 metres below Lake Ontario, the system provides highly efficient cooling for hospitals, data centres, commercial buildings, and other critical infrastructure while reducing energy consumption by approximately 80 percent. The same commitment to innovation underpins the Lakeview District Energy Centre, establishing a new benchmark for sustainable community infrastructure.
Shane Ravindranath, Director of Complex Projects at Enwave, credits Harrington’s collaborative approach, technical expertise, and constructability leadership as key factors in the project’s success. “It’s all about big thinking… Harrington was a key partner in helping us develop the plan,” he says. Beyond collaboration, he points to the firm’s ability to simplify highly complex challenges into practical, executable solutions. “[Harrington has] a deep constructability mindset. They take complex problems and are able to simplify them into something that’s tangible. They’re not a common construction management team,” he continues.
Ravindranath also notes that Harrington’s attention extends well beyond the visible elements of the project, recognizing that the critical infrastructure beneath the surface ultimately determines long-term performance. “They know this is the guts and the blood of the system. This is what makes everything work,” he says, highlighting the team’s transparency, flexibility, proactive risk management, and sophisticated planning capabilities.
The 45,000-square-foot Lakeview District Energy Centre in Mississauga, Ontario, is a two-storey, below-grade facility that represents one of the most advanced district energy projects currently under construction in North America. Led by ZAS Architects + Interiors as Architect and Prime Consultant, the facility’s distinctive design brings architectural character to a highly technical piece of infrastructure, including its prominent façade and integration into the surrounding Lakeview Village community. Supporting that vision, LEA Consulting is providing the structural engineering required to accommodate the significant loads of the facility’s heavy operating equipment while supporting the complex building structure and signature façade.
Constructed using more than 12,000 cubic metres of concrete and structural steel, the facility is being built on the former Ontario Power Generation Four Sisters coal-fired generating station site. Beyond its scale, the project’s defining innovation is its ability to transform treated effluent water into a highly efficient heating and cooling source for the surrounding 12,000-unit Lakeview Village community, which will include townhomes, condominiums, and mixed residential development. The adjacent Village Lake Pier neighbourhood will also contribute wastewater to the system, creating a fully integrated, sustainable energy network that establishes a new benchmark for low-carbon community infrastructure.
The development is the culmination of more than eight years of planning, design, stakeholder engagement, and regulatory approvals, reflecting the complexity required to deliver transformative infrastructure at this scale. Construction of the first phase has been underway for four years and remains on schedule, with completion anticipated in approximately 18 months. The next stage will include the installation of high-voltage electrical infrastructure, pump arrays, boilers, and advanced Siemens automation and control systems. Located adjacent to Mississauga’s G.E. Booth Wastewater Treatment Plant, the energy centre will process treated effluent water to provide a significant portion of the heating and cooling requirements for the Lakeview Village community, reducing the need for conventional cooling towers and as well as reducing reliance on natural gas.”
Utilizing a four-pipe distribution network, the system will circulate both hot and chilled water from a central utility plant to every building, creating a resilient, efficient, and low-carbon energy solution designed to serve the community for decades to come.
Built in response to the City of Mississauga’s ambitious 2030 greenhouse gas reduction targets, the 117-acre Lakeview Village development represents a significant investment in resilient, low-carbon community infrastructure. At the heart of the development, the district energy centre will provide a reliable, adaptable, and environmentally responsible energy solution designed to support the community’s long-term growth. “LCPL has made the choice to pursue District Energy (DE)—the optimal approach for enabling the development to achieve its low-carbon energy goals, while focusing on providing the customer with a solution that is reliable and resilient; cost competitive to the market; and adaptable over time,” says Kaid Al-Ani, Associate Vice President, High Performance Building Lead for AECOM, a member of Enwave’s integrated design team.
The energy centre is more than an advanced piece of infrastructure; it has been thoughtfully designed to become a landmark for the emerging Lakeview Village community. Complementing its sophisticated engineering systems, the building’s distinctive aluminum lace façade will create a striking architectural presence, illuminated at night to reflect the project’s innovative character. “Following eight years of evaluation, stakeholder negotiation, land siting, execution of master agreements with the chosen utility operator (Enwave), lease agreement execution, detailed design, and an extensive approval process, we are so excited to see the light at the end of the tunnel as we anticipate plant operation in 2028. This process was a tremendous undertaking for LCPL and their team, and it represents a huge win for the Lakeview Village Community, the City of Mississauga, and the Region of Peel,” David Scott, Professional Engineer and Project Director at the Lakeview Sustainability Centre, said in a statement.
Harrington’s role extends well beyond construction. The project is supported by an experienced team of construction management professionals, consultants, engineers, and technical specialists working in close collaboration with more than 100 trade partners throughout every phase of delivery. This integrated approach enables the team to coordinate complex design, procurement, logistics, and construction activities while maintaining alignment across all project stakeholders. The scale and technical sophistication of the development demand disciplined planning, continuous communication, and a commitment to proactive problem-solving—principles that define Harrington’s approach to project delivery.
As the broader Lakeview Village development has evolved, the energy centre has continued to adapt alongside it, reflecting the flexibility required to successfully deliver a long-term, multi-phase project of this scale. Maintaining alignment between design, construction, and stakeholder objectives requires disciplined planning and continuous coordination to ensure predictable project delivery, construction plans, schedules, logistics strategies, and risk assessments are reviewed and refined on a weekly basis, allowing the team to respond proactively while maintaining momentum across every phase of the project.
“We’re well underway for a successful build-out for phase one for next year—there’s a real team approach to this project. Harrington and the consultant team are in constant communication with BTY and Lakeview Village, working through strategy, planning, constructability, and quality together. That level of collaboration allows us to solve challenges early and keep a very complex project moving forward,” says Cheyenne Boone, Senior Project Manager, emphasizing the importance of disciplined communication, rigorous organization, proactive risk management, and timely resolution of issues as the project continues to advance. The result has been a highly coordinated project environment that has maintained schedule certainty and collaboration despite the complexity and scale typically associated with infrastructure projects of this magnitude.
“There have been a lot of changes, and Harrington has been nimble enough to adjust accordingly. We’re versatile enough to speak to all the elements of the project,” Flanagan adds. That adaptability reflects the firm’s broader philosophy: successful project delivery depends on anticipating change as the design evolves, maintaining alignment among stakeholders, and providing steady leadership throughout every stage of construction. Rather than reacting to complexity, Harrington embraces it through disciplined planning, collaborative decision-making, and an unwavering commitment to the owner’s objectives.
Boone is equally proud of the level of collaboration the team has maintained throughout the project, particularly given its scale and technical complexity. “We all have a similar intent for success. It’s been one of the more well-strategized builds with the consultant team, development team, and stakeholders that we’re working with,” she says. That shared commitment has created an environment where transparency, accountability, and collaboration consistently drive better project outcomes. “It’s a wonderful addition to the community. It’s going to be phenomenal.”
For Harrington, success is measured by far more than the completion of a structure. It is defined by the confidence earned from clients, the strength of long-term partnerships, and the consistency with which projects are delivered. Through transparency, accountability, disciplined processes, and dependable follow-through, the firm has built a reputation for delivering certainty in even the most technically demanding environments. Boone reflects this philosophy well: “Success isn’t measured solely by the structure we deliver, but by the partnerships we build along the way. When every stakeholder shares ownership of the vision, the entire team succeeds together,” she says.
For nearly two decades, Harrington & Associates has remained committed to a simple philosophy: doing the right thing, the right way. Integrity, accountability, and ownership are not simply values—they are the principles that guide every decision, every partnership, and every project the firm undertakes. By combining technical expertise with collaborative leadership and disciplined execution, Harrington continues to earn the confidence of owners delivering some of Ontario’s most complex infrastructure projects. As the Lakeview Village District Energy Centre moves toward completion, it stands as more than an engineering achievement—it reflects what can be accomplished when every stakeholder shares a common vision and a trusted construction management partner is committed to delivering complexity with confidence.
