Everything’s COMING UP ROSES FOR PETER HUGHES LANDSCAPE

In May 1973, 22-year-old Peter Hughes scored a summer job with the City of Calgary Parks Maintenance department, but he was laid off after a month. With few options for other employment, his father suggested Hughes take what he’d learned mowing grass and start his own enterprise. With an old Chevy truck, a borrowed trailer and his dad’s lawnmower, he went to work for his neighbours, family and friends. His six regular clients quickly grew to more than he could handle alone so he hired a friend to be the first employee of Peter Hughes Landscape.

WRITTEN BY RENNAY CRAATS

PUBLISHED BY COURTNEY LOVGREN

PHOTOS BY RIVERWOOD PHOTOGRAPHY

Being self-taught in both landscape construction and business, Hughes expanded his residential lawn maintenance services to include landscape construction, hired more staff and within a few years, the company flourished.

It hasn’t always been a bed of roses for the business. Devastation struck the Alberta economy due to the National Energy Program in the early 1980s and business withered and dried up. It resulted in Hughes having to lay off about 25 workers, leaving only one other person and himself on the payroll by 1983. For the next three years, Peter was pushing a lawnmower by himself. Personal circumstances took their toll as well: a failed marriage, the death of his father and a workplace tragedy. It was a bleak time.

Knowledgeable professionals from Blue Grass Nursery, Eagle Lake Nurseries and Five Star Trees have come through for PHL with everything from sod to rose bushes to mature Mountain Ash trees, along with landscape products like planters and garden décor. Given the limited species of trees and shrubs that can thrive in Calgary’s climate, they have managed to bring ideas to life and create landscapes with WOW. Other valued, long-time partners for Peter Hughes have been Homes by Avi (Doug Beach) and Calbridge Homes (Andrew Linehan) for whom the company has completed numerous multi-family and residential projects.

A talented, dedicated team has been essential for the success of Peter Hughes Landscape. Many employees have been with the company for between 10 and 20 years. Since 2005, through the astuteness of Hughes who pursued the foreign workers’ program, the backbone of the company has been the dedication and strong work ethic of many employees from Mexico who were hired. They take pride in their hard work and have returned year after year, often bringing with them close relatives who are eager to work. It is largely their fine landscaping efforts that have led to numerous awards for the company.

When the company started offering year-round services including snow removal and ice management, employees were offered full-time contracts and the opportunity to build their careers. Positive working relationships with clients throughout the seasons have developed and employees have been appreciated for their reliability and continuity of service. As they feel valued at work, it has led to staff feeling secure and becoming more invested in the success of the company. Year-round contracts continue to be renewed, ensuring the growth of the company creating a win-win situation.

Peter Hughes Landscape has received many local and provincial awards for excellence in landscape construction and maintenance. The pinnacle of achievement was in 2015 when they received a National Award of Excellence in Residential Landscape Construction from the Canadian Nursery and Trades Association for a backyard paradise they created for clients in Lake Chaparral, Calgary.

“We’re the only company ever to receive that award outside of British Columbia and Ontario and we were so honored to receive it,” says Hughes. “It put our whole repertoire, all of our components, into one fantastic job.”

This two-year project showcased all of PHL’s strengths, from concrete and carpentry work to stunning designs of flowerbeds and shrubs. The lakeside backyard featured an outdoor kitchen, a gas fire pit and lounging deck, incredible stone masonry, a stream leading to a waterfall in a pond (which drew from an underground water tank) and lovely foliage that perfectly complemented the overall design. The National Award was a feather in Peter Hughes Landscape’s cap and Hughes acknowledges the hard work of the talented team who worked on this project, and every project, to make them so successful.

The dedicated, competent staff is what has made it possible for Peter Hughes to step away from the helm after 50 years and let the long-time employees assume the day-to-day operations. The company is in good hands and is ready to maintain the founder’s legacy by always providing exceptional service to their valued customers.

“I’m very proud of everyone who has been part of the company,” Hughes says. “I’ve had the wonderful, loyal support of my wife, Darlene, and the wider community. Calgary is a tremendous place to live and do business. This is a really important milestone for me. We’ve made it to 50 years in business by never settling for good –we’ve always strived for excellence.”

Whether Calgarians are looking for a yard clean-up, lawn maintenance, a complete yard renovation or snow and ice removal, they know if they want to transform their mediocre property into a gorgeous one, they just need www.5startrees.com

by Bethany Van Hecke | Photos by Riverwood Photography

Founded in 1983, WATT began as a leap of faith when Mr. David A. Watt ventured to start D.A. Watt Consulting in one of Calgary’s toughest economies. David put his values to work, laying a foundation for what is now a recognized name in multi-divisional engineering consulting across Western Canada. These same values continue to drive WATT Consulting Group forward: honesty, excellence, accountability, respect and teamwork. The relationships earned and nurtured in the last 40 years have resulted in many memorable projects and lifelong relationships with clients and partners. This year’s 40th anniversary is about recognizing a shared excellence in land development.

WATT Consulting Group is a multi-disciplinary engineering firm with regional presence across Western Canada including Victoria, Vancouver, Kelowna, Edmonton and Calgary. With a one-studio mindset, this dynamic team of engineers, technicians, land surveyors and planners dedicate their day-to-day professional skills to clients and projects that are shaping cities and communities. Services include civil engineering, geotechnical engineering, transportation engineering & planning, and geomatics & land surveying. The WATT team is united in a shared vision to be a recognized leader in the creation of vibrant and livable communities.

Calgary is known as one of the most livable cities in the world. Having made Calgary home for over four decades, WATT attributes the city’s unique culture of ‘neighbourhoods within a city’ as a driving factor of land development excellence. Each neighbourhood, whether new or reimagined, possesses its own identity. This, combined with Calgary’s favourable economy, family-friendly affordability and diverse talent pool makes the city an attractive business opportunity for land developers and visionaries. For WATT Consulting Group, Calgary represents all that we can look forward to as concepts of new urbanism take shape in the built environment.

Tania Wegwitz, vice-president of Transportation and senior planning consultant, attributes ‘made in Calgary’ solutions as one of the top drivers of successful communities in the city. “While we bring an objective lens from experience elsewhere to our Calgary transportation projects, it’s a ‘made in Calgary’ approach that helps facilitate the best conversations,” says Tania. “What makes these projects interesting is the challenges and opportunities associated with connectivity between neighbourhoods – whether it be cycling, walking, transit or the road network.”

New ideas are on fertile ground in Calgary. Brendan Stevenson, regional lead for WATT’s Transportation team in Alberta, attributes collaborative and dedicated teamwork as a primary driver for successfully pushing the envelope. “In our work on Alpine Park with Dream Development, we advocate for progressive, pedestrian-focused streets. The entire team works together, building off the City’s Complete Streets guide, to envision what works best for today’s communities.” The result is a streetscape that everyone is happy with, including the City of Calgary.

Many of WATT’s relationships span several decades and project phases. Jessica Barich, practice lead for Legal Surveys and project manager with WATT’s Geomatics Division, has been working for land development clients for the entirety of her 14-year career at WATT. The Cityscape project, a mixed-use development by Mattamy Homes, is just one example of a long-standing relationship built on exceptional customer service. “One thing that contributes to our long-term relationships with clients is that we always strive to be helpful. When our clients call us with a question we listen closely, even if it’s not within our direct role on the project and help direct them towards the solution.”

For WATT’s team, client relationships are not limited by contractual terms, instead each relationship is viewed as a dynamic professional investment with long-term returns.

When it comes to what makes a project successful, Moh’d Al-Heneiti, vice-president of Civil Engineering and project manager believes it’s about teamwork. “Our work with Vesta Properties on Southpoint in Airdrie and Copperfield in Calgary is a success because of our adaptability to client requirements. Clear communication has been key to collaboration.”

For Moh’d, reaching the milestone of Final Acceptance Certificate on behalf of clients and celebrating that achievement with the entire consulting team is what brings the most satisfaction. “Many of these projects span over four to five years. To reach the finish line with an excellent multi-disciplinary team, having achieved the client’s vision, is a great feeling.”

With much gratitude, WATT Consulting Group recognizes the clients and partners who have helped us achieve this 40-year anniversary milestone: Brookfield Properties, CIBC, Dream Unlimited, GGA-Architecture, Mattamy Homes, McKee Homes, Minto, Silvera for Seniors, Tristar Communities, University of Calgary Properties Group, Vesta Properties and Whissell Contracting.

WATT’s values have remained the same while the company has modernized and grown. Today WATT is led by president and CEO Bruce Nelligan who first joined WATT Consulting Group in 2006 as manager of Transportation. Under his leadership, the company has remained focused on client relationships as the unique value-add that WATT brings to projects across Canada. “We have a fresh team of leaders who are genuinely invested in the success of our projects. What makes a project successful isn’t just about being on time and on budget. For WATT, success is also about the bonds created within project teams and the joy that comes from realizing a client’s dream together.”

To obtain a complimentary proposal for multi-disciplinary land development engineering services in Alberta, please contact WATT Consulting Group: info@wattconsultinggroup.com | 403-273-9001.

To learn more about WATT Consulting Group, please visit: www.wattconsultinggroup.com