As a family construction management firm focused on complex infrastructure, structural rehabilitation, and other specialist projects, Harrington and Associates Ltd. in Richmond Hill, Ontario is built on strong relationships, efficient teamwork, and precision born of true skill.
Serving the Greater Toronto Area and beyond, the company’s openness to complexity and problem-solving skills have earned it a sterling reputation. Founded in 2008, the firm has always taken pride in genuinely understanding its customers’ needs, processes, and envisioned outcomes, a commitment that has stood it in good stead over nearly two decades in a tough industry.
While many construction management outfits do their best to become true partners with clients, Harrington and Associates has perfected its strategy to the point where clients know they can trust it with Herculean tasks. “We truly are an extension of the owner. We believe we understand their business and what they’re trying to do,” says Chris Flanagan, Principal.
Harrington and Associates continues this legacy of excellence by maintaining a comparatively small, select client pool that it provides with quality work. This does not, however, make the company’s presence in the market a small one—on the contrary. By following a judicious growth strategy, the company continues deepening its skills in its target sectors, such as utility projects and data centres. This is how it was awarded a historic contract by Lakeview Community Partners Limited (LCPL) for its largest-to-date, 15-year, seven-phase build-out. As the biggest energy and housing development of its kind in North America, it is a remarkable milestone for Harrington.
One of the project’s collaborators is Enwave, a next-generation energy company. Based in Toronto with satellites across the country, Enwave is tasked with the development’s energy generation. Providing heating and cooling energy generation, Enwave is best known for its decarbonization technology underpinning all its models, including the Deep Lake Water Cooling System. Noted as the planet’s biggest lake-based cooling system, this project sees water from Lake Ontario pumped from 83 meters deep, providing cold water used to cool everything from data centres and hospitals to office blocks. Energy reduction rates are reported to be around 80 percent.
Shane Ravindranath, Director of Complex Projects at Enwave, is full of praise for the company’s capabilities. “It’s all about big thinking… Harrington was a key partner in helping us develop the plan,” he says. But that is not all. The company’s experience and organizational skills are additional pluses in collaborating with the firm. “[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, explaining that, for Harrington, even the “basement” elements of the development, which other contractors typically pay minimal attention to, are a shining star. “They know this is the guts and the blood of the system. This is what makes everything work,” Ravindranath says, lauding the company for its transparency, flexibility, and risk tolerance underscored by its sophisticated planning capacity.
The 45,000-square-foot Lakeview District Energy project in Mississauga, Ontario, is a two-storey, below-grade collaborative and sustainability-focused project constructed from 12,000 cubic meters of concrete and steel, the first of its kind in North America. Located at the site of Ontario Power Generation’s (OPG) former Four Sisters’ coal-fired plant, one of the project’s differentiators beyond its size is the conversion of effluent water for regulating the temperature inside the homes of its neighbouring 12,000-unit housing development comprising a combination of townhouses, condominiums, and other residential units. The new Village Lake Pier development will also contribute its wastewater for heating and cooling the units.
The green space development was preceded by eight years of planning and is highly complex in nature. The first phase of the project has been under construction for four years and is on schedule, estimated to be completed in 18 months. This will be followed by the installation of high-voltage electrical infrastructure, which will include pump arrays with boilers, complete with remotely controlled Siemens regulation technology. The energy centre is flanked by Mississauga’s G.E. Booth Wastewater Treatment Plant. The effluent from this plant, which will be processed to power all cooling and heating systems at Lakeview Village, will also replace the cooling towers and heat recovery pump systems typically used in less advanced systems. This makes natural gas obsolete for the function, significantly reducing carbon emissions. Based on a four-pipe distribution system, a hot-water and chilled-water loop will circulate heating and cooling mediums to every home from a central utility plant.
Built in response to the City of Mississauga’s 2030 greenhouse gas reduction targets, the 117-acre, low-carbon Lakeview Village development’s energy centre is a decisive step toward a more sustainable future for the city. “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 part of Enwave’s team responsible for design innovation.
The energy centre doesn’t just promise sophistication, however. It will also be beautiful, and every contributing partner along with the broader region is excited to see the completed project come to life. Complementing the project’s advanced technology, an aluminium lace façade will be illuminated at night. “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 and Associates is naturally proud to be a part of this monumental undertaking. With an overall team of around 50 permanent management staff, Harrington’s design team features 10 consultants and design engineers. There are also component servicing contractors. Another team of 12 takes care of the finer details in the office and on site, while more than 100 painstakingly sourced contractors take care of the rest of the work. The overall process has provided the entire team with an opportunity to meet the challenge with fortitude and a commitment to personal and professional growth.
As the housing development has seen many changes over time, the energy centre has also adapted to maintain harmony between the two entities. Careful planning and management are crucial to good long-term outcomes, and to maintain order, construction plans, schedules, and logistics strategies are reviewed and adapted weekly.
“We’re well underway for a successful build-out for phase one for next year. It’s a very large team,” says Cheyenne Boone, Senior Project Manager, highlighting the importance of careful communication, organization, risk management, and the immediate remediation of issues and challenges. The result has been an extraordinarily well-coordinated project without the typical high-stakes stress responses such projects are traditionally known for.
“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.
Boone is proud of the level of synergy and harmony the team has maintained throughout the project, especially considering the complexities and scale. “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. “It’s a wonderful addition to the community. It’s going to be phenomenal.”
To be sure, the Harrington and Associates team’s vision for success is remarkably straightforward. Its strict adherence to transparency, regular follow-ups, clear processes, and committed follow-through makes for drama-free construction. Boone is positive about the commitment: “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.
Harrington and Associates is a company that aims to do the right thing in the right way, and this approach underpins every decision the team makes. With integrity the deciding factor in everything it does, Harrington and Associates continues to abide by its guiding maxim of being only as good as its last job. Considering the long-term implications and value of projects like Lakeview Village, always owning the outcome of its work is a solid promise.
