Parker: Ontario-based WalterFedy moves west with acquisition of Calgary's Riddell Kurczaba Architecture

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It’s an exciting start to the month for the staff of Riddell Kurczaba Architecture, as earlier this week the company joined the WalterFedy team, acquired by the Kitchener, Ont., firm in a significant milestone in its long-term goal to fully establish a presence in Western Canada.

WalterFedy is a leader in the architecture and engineering industry, proud of its 70-year history with a multidisciplinary team of 300 professionals operating in offices in Kitchener, Toronto and Hamilton, and now Calgary and Edmonton.

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Its plans to expand to the West began in earnest last spring when it opened an office here to look after national clients that had offices in Calgary, and to explore how best to build a permanent relationship here.

Tricia Smith, a partner in the firm, armed with her mechanical engineering degree from University of Waterloo and an MBA earned at the Ivy Business School, relocated here to take on the role of general manager of Western Canada.

She says when the decision was made that Calgary would be the best city for a base, her response was “pick me.” And she has never looked back on the move with her family as totally converted Calgarians.

Her husband and two children are avid outdoors people, and she proudly shows a photo of them all wearing Calgary Flames jerseys. As hockey fans, Smith says: “If we could get tickets to a Maple Leafs home game it was a long journey to Toronto, and a longer ride home. In Calgary we can enjoy an NHL game as a family and be home in 15 minutes.”

After a lot of research into the architectural community here, three local companies were put on the radar as being similar in character to the way WalterFedy runs its business.

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While CEO Garth Cressman was having a conversation in his office with a national contractor, he brought up the subject of trying to acquire an established, respected company. His response was to approach Riddell Kurczaba. Cressman says the company was already on his top three list; a firm with a similar alignment with the type of projects WalterFedy is known for, and with strong client relationships across the West.

Discussions began with CEO Ron Kurczaba, and this week Cressman was pleased to announce: “We are extremely excited to welcome Riddell Kurczaba to our team. A firm rooted in Calgary with over 35 years of experience, with a talented team that will enhance our ability to deliver exceptional architectural solutions.”

Riddell Kurczaba has worked much of its time with long-term clients such as Remington Development, responsible for the majority of its office buildings on the Quarry Park campus, including the massive head office structures designed for Imperial Oil and Jacobs Engineering. It also has a busy office in Edmonton, which adds a big bonus for the new Calgary venture. Smith is relocating her five staff from its downtown space to Riddell Kurczaba’s office’s on 59^th Avenue S.E.

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They will join Riddell Kurczaba’s employees, who see the benefits of the new opportunity to be working with a strong national firm. They include members of the leadership team — Peter Schulz, Paul Ketchabaw and Niha Prasad-Kroliczek — who have been appointed principals of the new entity. Ron Kurczaba has been named CEO Emeritus and will continue to ensure a smooth transition between the two firms and their clients.

WalterFedy will soon be up to speed on Riddell Kurczaba’s many current projects, including Remington’s Barlow Crossing and Frontier Distribution Centre, Enmax Station No. 1 on 9^th Avenue S.W., two downtown conversion projects and the 63-unit Silvera Livingston community.

Cressman says combining the strengths of the two companies will enhance WalterFedy’s capabilities to deliver its high-quality work its clients have come to expect from his people-first company.

Notes:

The British High Commissioner to Canada, Susannah Goshko, will attend British Day on Saturday at the Spruce Meadows Masters, a celebration that has been held for more than 20 years. She will be entertaining a distinguished crowd while paying her respects to the Southern family, but you can bet she’ll sneak off to Tony James’ Keep Calm and Carry Out shop in the Founders Plaza for a packet of Walker’s Crisps, a British Cadbury bar and maybe even a Bacon Buttie.

David Parker appears regularly in the Herald. Read his columns online at calgaryherald.com/business. He can be reached at 403-830-4622.

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