An Edmonton family business will have a major role in creating a space for local Jewish families to gather. Pemco Construction Ltd. is the general contractor for the new Jewish Community Centre (JCC) and has a history of building in the city for the last 35 years. 

Kevin Lapes, principal of Pemco, says they were invited to bid on the project through their previous projects with Mode Architecture Inc. and were interested because they are familiar with the old Scouts building, which will be the home of the new JCC.  

“We love projects where we can interact and work with the community. We’ve done a few community centres in Edmonton. This project fits well with the type of work we do,” says Kevin.  

The company’s biggest project to date is building the fire station in west Edmonton in 2015. It has also worked on school renovations, hospitals, and local businesses.  

Pemco’s role will be to oversee and coordinate all aspects of construction. The first phase is determining the budgets, researching pricing, and finalizing architectural drawings. “The engineers and that team will be working together to develop the details of the drawings. This can take three or four months depending on the timing of the engineers,” he explains.  

Once a budget is approved, the construction site is secured, and work begins. There will be a site supervisor who oversees quality control, safety, and the actual construction. This project could potentially have up to 20 subcontractors from all divisions of construction including anything from drywall and flooring, structural, to mechanical and electrical.  

The final phase of the project is post-construction where the building is turned over to the Jewish Federation of Edmonton and a detailed manual is provided which outlines all the work that has been completed.   

During construction, security is one of the main focuses for Pemco and there is a plan to have fencing throughout the site. There will be signage to alert those in the area that work is being done in the building.  

What Pemco loves about the JCC redevelopment project is that they get to work with a shell of a building as well as fulfilling a vision. “We’re excited to be working with the Jewish Federation of Edmonton. This project will benefit the community,” says Kevin.