LO home office renovation project blog
In June 2018, a vital step was taken in the Landscape Ontario Horticultural Trades Association home office renovation project when WGD Architects submitted the Building Permit Application to the Town of Milton.
The long-discussed, long-planned out, and long-dreamed of renovation projects was now a reality.
With a budget of just over $4 million, funds for the project were secured when the association sold off approximately 25 acres of excess land.
Approved by the LO Provincial Board of Directors, both the sale and renovation have the end result of creating a world-class, professional office, education and conference space for the association and its members.
Below is an ongoing blog of the construction project:
July 1:
Feature staircase glass installed. Wall coverings going up. Doors installed, emergency lighting. Starting to get a good feel for this professional looking space. See gallery.
June 24:
Lots of progress in just the past week. Pictured here, the entire 3,200 sq. ft. CNLA office tile floor is now installed. See gallery.
June 16:
Interior drywall complete. Interior finishes taking shape (paint, door, glass, etc.). See gallery.
April 10:
Prep work for the new siding that will cover the plywood areas. Roof work has also begun.
March 29-31:
Prep work for new building exterior plus more interior shots. See entire gallery.
March 14:
Exterior windows and framing is being worked on. Interior walls are drywalled one side. CNLA office walls are starting to be installed. See entire gallery.
Feb. 25:
Windows now around the entire first floor LO offices and meeting rooms are shaping up. See entire gallery.
Feb. 24:
Progress on window installation. View entire gallery.
Feb. 14:
The first window being installed.
Jan. 27:
Interior wall framing is all in place and dry wall is now being installed. View online gallery.
▲Steel structure for the new entrance (vestibule) added and entire building has been tarped, allowing inside work to continue.
▲The interior of the new classroom. The large overhead beam is where a dividing wall will hang, allowing the room to be converted into 1, 2, or 3 rooms.
▲The entire large classroom. Drywall is starting to go up.
▲The new lunchroom area will also include a skylight.
Jan. 9:
A video by Seferian Design of the landscape plan for the LO site in Milton was presented to members at the AGM.
A master landscape plan of the site is being worked on in coordination with the building construction.
Dec. 20
Exterior demolition. Building being wrapped to protect from elements.
Dec. 18
Exterior demolition has started for installation of the new windows. The new windows (curtain wall) are much taller than the old ones.
Nov. 28
LO's IT Department set up a few remote cameras to capture various parts of the construction. This one it aimed at capturing construction of the dry stone wall along the south side of the building that faces Highway 401.
Nov. 16
Concrete foundation is being poured that will support the dry stone wall on the south face of the building.
November 2018
Interior work on reinforcing existing steel structure and cutting concrete floor for elevator pit and new pluming for washrooms.
Sept. 14
Demolition phase is complete. Building cleaned and ready for construction. View the entire gallery from week 4 online.
Sept. 8
Building completely gutted. View the entire gallery from week 3 online
Sept. 7
It's finally here.... the Building Permit!
Second floor offices are completely gone. Drywall and insulation removed. Insulation in warehouse also removed.
Sept. 6, 2018
Sept. 5, 2018
An on-site construction update meeting was held with all key players involved: Maple Reinders, WGD Architects, various LO staff and LO Building Committee members.
Aug. 29, 2018
Demolition photos of the warehouse and main floor offices.
Pictured here is the old lobby/reception desk from just inside the front door to the office.
Main floor offices completely demolished.
The main staircase and former entrance into the back hallway/meeting rooms.
Former location of the washrooms, back staircase and classrooms. All completely removed in addition to VBI offices in warehouse.
Another view of the removed classrooms and VBI offices from the warehouse.
Aug. 29, 2018
The scheduled construction project meeting was held in the LO greenhouse, since the meeting rooms previously used no longer existed.
Aug. 27, 2018
Demolition moved into the LO offices on the main floor.
Front lobby.
Aug. 21, 2018
Some home office staff took a quick tour of Global Office Furniture in Toronto to look at workstations and furniture for the renovation.
A sit/stand workstation.
Collaborative meeting room tables that can be arranged in any configuration for break out groups, etc.
Lunchroom chairs.
Easy store classroom tables on wheels.
July 17, 2018
Items that remain in the LO offices that are still required are moved into the greenhouse temporarily for storage during the construction.
June 25, 2018
Movers arrive at 8:30 a.m. and in just a few short hours they deliver the furniture, equipment and supplies needed to LO's new temporary offices at 470 Bronte Street South.
June 14, 2018
Ontario Parks Association moves out of their offices located between the warehouse and greenhouse.
June 1-3, 2018
LO's IT infrastructure (multiple servers and systems) are moved out of the home office, to a new data centre located just a few kilometers away. Systems (phones, websites, email) continue to work throughout the transition with very minimal downtime or glitches.
June 1, 2018
Canadian Nursery Landscape Association moves out of their offices on the second floor of the LO home office and moves into their temporary offices in downtown Milton.
May 31, 2018
Some LO staff looked at temporary office space in Campbellville.
May 25, 2018:
LO staff toured various office units available for rent at 480 and 470 Bronte Street in Milton to determine if any of the spaces would meet the needs to continue servicing members while the current building is renovated.
May 15, 2018
LO staff and tenants are notified construction will start in early July and the building will need to be completely vacated by June 13.
May 1, 2018
A kick-off meeting (the first construction project meeting) was held at LO's home office in Milton where all key players (construction, design, staff and members) gathered for the first time.
April 23, 2018
WGD Architects presented design boards with options for interior finishes of the project.
