Building trust, providing schedule and budget certainty, and delivering excellence have been cornerstone tenets of PCL Construction since its founding in 1906. Trust enabled founder Ernest Poole to create a team, strengthen client relationships and earn new work, growing a small construction company into an industry leader that remains connected to its roots. As trust deepened through reliable project delivery, clients wanted PCL to not only deliver their base buildings, but to remain on call to deliver future project improvements. That demand led to a “jobbing” department specializing in smaller-scale repeat work that came to be known as PCL’s Special Projects (SP) Division. This is a core part of its business today, following a model of delivering "compact, complex, quick and competitive" service to meet the demands of smaller, fast-paced projects.

“Behaving like a skilled and competitive small contractor, our Special Projects team is backed by the resources and bankability of PCL,” says Sean Barnes, vice president of special projects for PCL. “We deliver smaller scale projects with the operational rigor, safety, quality and client- focused approach that is at the heart of our brand, and unmatched by our competitors.” 

These smaller projects not only allow for quick-turnaround work but also provide vital infrastructure to local communities.

Whether it’s leveraging modular construction, quickly building housing in remote areas or renovating schools to better serve the community, PCL ensures that each project is both impactful and efficiently executed.

Nestled in a remote, mountainous region of British Columbia sits Mica Generating Station and Dam, which is BC Hydro’s largest facility on the Columbia River. In 2022, the electricity supplier identified a need to upgrade accommodations for employees who stay onsite.

Pursuant to a long-standing Master Services Agreement with BC Hydro, PCL’s SP team in B.C. has successfully completed hundreds of smaller-scale projects of varying complexity for the client. For this one, BC Hydro needed a 40-unit building with improved longevity, soundproofing and energy performance. The challenge: the building needed to be ready within one year.

Engaging PCL’s Solution Provider approach, the Special Projects team quickly mobilized, developing a strategy to prefabricate modular units off-site, to accommodate the tight eight-month construction window within the remote, mountainous location that is prone to early winters. Given the location and limited number of qualified bidders, the SP team self-performed schedule-critical work packages, including the concrete foundation work and the construction of wooden roof structures and canopies atop the modular structure.

Over a three-month period, the modules were fabricated in Calgary, then transported over the Rockies to the site. By August, the SP team was ready to install the modules. Over four days, the team stacked all 20 modules in place. Three days later, the five truss sections were craned into place and secured. In just over a week, the structure had taken shape. From there, multiple crews completed finishing work on the roof, building envelope and interior hallways.

The PCL team handed over phase one of the project – what would typically take 18 months to complete using traditional methods – ahead of schedule and only eight months after it began construction. This allowed employees of BC Hydro to move into the first 20 units as scheduled. The remaining 20 units were completed with move-in eight months later.

The average Denver Public Schools (DPS) building is 56 years old and built at a time when central air conditioning wasn’t standard. In today’s warmer climate, this presents health and learning challenges. Studies show classroom temperatures above 79°F (26°C) impact student well-being and academic performance, leading DPS to declare "heat days" during extreme weather.

To address this, DPS enlisted PCL Construction for rapid summer retrofits in 2024, installing air conditioning at Thomas Jefferson High, Stedman Elementary, and Steele Elementary. These upgrades fulfill a 2020 bond commitment to cool the district’s hottest schools.

The age of many of DPS’ K-12 buildings makes renovation projects no easy feat. “With a lot of these older buildings, the record drawings you have available are inaccurate or sometimes don’t even exist,” says Ethan Powell, project manager for PCL’s Denver office. “You have to go in blind a lot, knowing the plan might change.”

Another challenge is scheduling work for when students and teachers are outside the building, to not disrupt learning with construction noise. For larger projects like the Thomas Jefferson High School upgrades, construction began in the summer of 2023 and continued through the school year and into the summer of 2024. Crews were required to work night shifts during the school year, completing as much work as possible in a short timeframe and cleaning up before the sound of the first school bell.

By the 2024-25 school year, these schools will have new AC, and five others will feature major mechanical upgrades. The successful navigation of these challenges is a prime example of the innovation PCL’s Special Projects team brings to every build. “We’re proud to create safer, more comfortable learning environments,” Powell adds.

Stantec Tower –  built by PCL and located in the heart of Edmonton – has quickly become a downtown icon for Alberta’s capital city. Eager to secure premium office space within the 66-story tower, leading legal firm Reynolds Mirth Richards & Farmer (RMRF) wanted a modern space that combined hospitality elements with high-end design. It also wanted to stand out from its competition, as two other legal firms had hired contractors for similar fit-out work in the tower.

PCL outbid the competition – in part due to the added value it provided as base building constructors – to earn the work with RMRF pursuant to a Construction Manager at Risk (CMAR) delivery model. With a non-negotiable move-in date just six months after mobilization, PCL’s special projects team was the perfect “small contractor” for the high-end, fast-track tenant improvement work.

The team mobilized rapidly. As construction manager, PCL collaborated closely with the client and designer through preconstruction to ensure an optimized design, lean constructability and fast-track schedule. The PCL team identified structural design modifications needed to the feature staircase to achieve building code compliance. To adequately support the steel staircase, which was being added to connect the 18th and 19th floors, the team had to cut into the concrete slab and add a massive structural beam running from slab-band to slab-band to support the horizontal force.

Focused on driving value to the client’s bottom line, the team revised the original handover plan, phasing delivery of furnishings and equipment to protect the project schedule.

In the end, the Special Projects team handed over the project one week early, to the delight of RMRF partners, who were able to move in while their competitors within the tower dealt with construction delays.

“I have no hesitation in recommending PCL for any construction project,” says RMRF Director of Operations, Kelly Diewert. “Their exceptional team, unwavering attention to detail, proficient scheduling, and transparent communication set them apart as a reliable and competent partner.”

Data centers are critical infrastructure in the rapidly evolving digital ecosystem. While often thought of as large mega projects, data center infrastructure also includes smaller-scale edge, micro, colocation or regional facilities with compact designs serving localized needs. Speed to market (without compromising quality) is priority one, pushing the data center sector to modernize its infrastructure to meet global demand.

For its Minneapolis expansion, data center and IT solution provider Flexential sought PCL’s small contractor services, knowing that its Special Projects teams excel at project delivery in an operational mission-critical workspace, and typically on a fast-track schedule.

With speed to market critical to the client, the project delivery model is a key factor to consider. Traditional lump sum tenders are common for smaller scale projects but can hinder fast-track delivery.

The CMAR delivery model chosen by Flexential allowed PCL to begin construction work on early scope packages, even while the design was still not fully complete. The CMAR framework enables contractors to be involved early in preconstruction and, crucially, in the design phase. In this case, that early engagement allowed the SP team to start and sequence construction as design progressed to meet the client’s aggressive timeline.

Chris Tauscheck, Special Projects manager in Minneapolis credits the open and collaborative relationship with Flexential as a key driver of the project’s success. “Flexential appreciated our open-book policy. There were no surprises when it came to budget. The biggest surprise for the client was when we handed over the project in under six months as promised.”

The success of the data center expansion has led to additional work with Flexential as it continues to shape the future of an ever-evolving data center industry – one in which PCL provides mission-critical teams that leverage pre-construction expertise to ensure speed-to-market and reliable infrastructure, while offering cost certainty.

When time is a driver, forging early trust is foundational to project success. PCL’s Special Projects Division is built for speed without compromising quality, cost or safety. While scale and scope differ from project to project, PCL’s commitment to delivering for the client has remained the same throughout its long history.