Institutional construction
Schools, daycares, health centres, care homes and provincial park buildings for First Nations, the province and community organizations.
Institutional construction in Saskatchewan
Buildings a community depends on, built where the community is.
A school addition, a daycare, a clinic or a park service centre usually has a fixed budget, a public owner and a community waiting for it, often a long way from the nearest city.
ECM builds and renovates institutional buildings for First Nations, the Government of Saskatchewan and community organizations, as general contractor on public tenders and as construction manager. Recent and current work includes a new daycare and Head Start building for James Smith Cree Nation, a school addition at Muskoday First Nation, a learning centre at Sturgeon Lake [tk], and a $5 million addition and renovation of the health centre at Canoe Lake.
A lot of this work is on occupied buildings and remote sites. ECM’s first project, the Parkway Lodge care home addition in Weyburn, was delivered in stages at a working care home. At Canoe Lake, the clinic stays open while ECM builds, which means closer attention to safety and accessibility at every stage.
ECM has also built park service centres for SaskBuilds and Procurement at Blackstrap and Nut Point, and is building the one at Candle Lake, the prototype for future park service centres in the province. SaskBuilds brought ECM in to refine that design with the architect and bring the cost down.
Our Work
Institutional projects
Every project in the portfolio is tagged by focus area. These are ECM's institutional projects.
Parkway Lodge Personal Care Home
ECM's first project: a 6,400 sq ft, 13-suite addition, a new commercial kitchen and a heated-concrete entry at a Weyburn personal care home, delivered in phases as construction manager. Concrete, framing, metal roofing, insulating and siding self-performed.
What ECM built
- 6,400 sq ft, 13-suite addition
- New commercial kitchen
- New entry vestibule and canopy with heated concrete
- Renovations to the existing building, delivered in stages
James Smith Daycare & Headstart
A new daycare and Head Start building for James Smith Cree Nation, with an Elder and culture room, a shared kitchen and an outdoor play area.
- Client
- James Smith Cree Nation
Candle Lake Service Centre
A new service centre at Minowukaw Campground, the first built to the province's new standard design for park service centres. ECM is general contractor, with an expanded design-assist role on constructability and cost.
- Client
- SaskBuilds and Procurement
The full record
The project index can be filtered to this focus area.
View all Institutional projects
What ECM builds
Institutional building types
Schools and early learning
School additions, daycares and learning centres for First Nations. ECM built the Muskoday School addition and is building James Smith Cree Nation's new daycare and Head Start, with an Elder and culture room, a shared kitchen and an outdoor play area.
Health and care facilities
Clinics, health centres and personal care homes, new or renovated while they stay in use. Canoe Lake Health Centre is a $5 million addition and renovation; Parkway Lodge in Weyburn added 13 suites and a new commercial kitchen.
Provincial park service centres
Washroom and shower buildings for campgrounds, built for SaskBuilds and Procurement at Blackstrap, Nut Point and Candle Lake. Candle Lake, with a glulam timber roof, a glass block wall and universally accessible, gender-neutral spaces, is the prototype for the rest.
Community and cultural buildings
Gathering places built around a community's own practices. ECM was construction manager on the renewal of a First Nations traditional campus on the South Saskatchewan River: a renovated mess hall and kitchen, new cabins, a shower house and a permanent sweat lodge.
Delivery methods
Most institutional work is tendered in the open.
Institutional owners usually go to public tender, and many prequalify contractors first. ECM works under both delivery methods.
- General ContractingThe design is finished and the project is tendered, often after a prequalification on experience, safety, bonding and First Nations hiring. Muskoday, James Smith and Candle Lake are general contracts.
- Construction ManagementYou want ECM involved early, with the costs in front of you as they come in. Parkway Lodge, ECM's first project, was delivered this way, in stages, while the care home stayed open.
Why ECM
Occupied buildings, remote sites, and First Nations projects.
- Renovations of working buildings planned around the people who use them, with closer attention to safety and accessibility.
- Year-round work on remote and northern sites.
- Experience building for First Nations across Saskatchewan, from Muskoday to Canoe Lake.
- Three provincial park service centres for SaskBuilds, including Candle Lake, the prototype for the rest of the province.
- Bonded, COR certified, and a superintendent on site every day.
Who ECM works for
Institutional owners are mostly public: First Nations, the Government of Saskatchewan through SaskBuilds and Procurement, and community organizations. Most of this work is won through open public tenders, and many of them ask how a contractor hires from and works with the community.
Focus areas
Where else ECM works
CommercialService centres, offices, municipal shops and retail space for Indigenous organizations, municipalities and business owners, built new or converted from existing space.
InfrastructureAdditions and upgrades to municipal water treatment plants, reservoirs and pumphouses, built while the plant stays in service.Three focus areas
Commercial, Institutional, and Infrastructure.
All focus areas
Planning a school, clinic or community building?
Send the tender documents, a prequalification request or a first description of the building, or call 306-519-7569.