Holly Tennant, Author at SalDan Construction Group

Sam Biasucci of SalDan Developments Limited has recently become one of the Home Construction Regulatory Authority’s newest board members. The H.C.R.A. is the official entity that regulates new home builders and vendors within Ontario. Licensed builders are held to professional standards to protect the public interest and strengthen consumers confidence in the industry.

Previously, Sam was the member of The Discipline Committee of the H.C.R.A., determining whether licensees have complied with the Code of Ethics.

Now being 1 of 9 board members, Sam looks forward to continuing his efforts with H.C.R.A. and apply his experience to help continue the growth and strength of the house building industry.

After a long year, SalDan is hoping to break ground this May on the much anticipated Missanabie-Cree Maskwa Elders Care Home! This home will hold 192 beds for the community.

The design of this home has it’s residents health and safety in mind; with half of the beds being designated for the Indigenous elders, and the other 50% being for the Sault Ste Marie community.

These investments are addressing the great need for long-term care beds, to assist in taking care of our elders within the community. The Indigenous residents cultural needs will be prioritized within the space, giving them a home that they can thrive in with their families.

We look forward to the progress in this amazing Long-Term Care Facility.

15 Years ago, SalDan had the pleasure of meeting and working with Robert Leachman during the build of the Avenue Road LCBO in Toronto Ontario (2015).

At the completion of the LCBO project, he agreed to work with SalDan full time and became one of our go-to men in the feild. He was able to manage our more complex projects with ease. During this time, Joey Biasucci (now President of SalDan) worked with Rob and learned a wealth of knowledge in the world of commercial construction. This is something Joey is very grateful for as his niche was in residential construction. Thanks to Rob, he gained invaluable construction experience that continues to serve Joey to this day.

Robert was a talented and knowledgeable tradesmen. His experience and attention to detail was something that was highly valued.

Throughout his time at SalDan, Rob was responsible for hundreds of thousands of square feet of construction and was one of SalDan’s most valued people, but more so a close family friend to the Biasucci’s, and someone who continues to be missed since his passing in 2015.

In memory, below are some photos of Rob on some of the sites we were honored to have him be a part of.

January 9th, 2023 Ahmed Hussen alongside Terry Sheehan, Ross Romano, and Matthew Shoemaker announced $32.1 million through the National Housing Co-Investment Fund for the new Royal Canadian Legion Branch 25.

This funding will support the nine-storey building in which will hold 107 units for veterans, 30% being affordable housing. Multiple amenities will be available within the building, including a restaurant, meeting rooms, hall, and gathering place that can be used by tenants, their families, and the community.

It was also announced that 276 affordable units to support indigenous people will be created by the Ontario Aboriginal Housing Services owning and operating nine projects serving communities across Ontario.

For more information, check out the following links…

Soo Today

CTV News

Sault Online

The SAH Residential Withdrawal Management Facility is on it’s way at 145 Older Garden River Road and is anticipated to be completed in December of this year.

The 28,000 sq. ft. facility will house 20 adult withdrawal management beds, as determined to be the number of beds needed within the community.

To learn more about this project, click here.

This past Saturday, June 11th, SalDan took part in Habitat’s first anual Touch-a-Truck event! We were so happy to be a top tier sponsor of the event and to contribute further to Habitat’s efforts.

SalDan was happy to partner with Avery Construction in our tent set up to run a give-away for 8 total Tonka trucks! Visitors were to play the game “Toss The Rock in The Tonka”, with the goal to get the bean bags into the back of one of the Tonkas. Participants got to submit their names into a draw for a chance to win 1 of 8 Tonkas!

The following Monday we drew the 8 winners, here are some of the lucky winners!

Congratulations to the winners and thank you everyone who took the time to come say hi and take part in our fun give-away! We are so happy that this fundraiser was such a success and that we were able to take part and contribute further to such a great cause!

Thank you AGAIN Habitat for running such an amazing fundraiser that allowed the community to get out, come together, and have some fun!!

If you want to see more about this event be sure to check out Habitat’s socials. If you want to learn how you can help families gain homeownership, visit their website.

Cheers!

This morning we had the pleasure in taking part in the breaking ground ceremony for the Missanabie-Cree Maskwa Elders Care Home; a 192 bed long term care facility. We were accompanied by Caroline Mulroney and Ross Romano in the reveal of this exciting build.

The facility is designed by architect David Ellis who has taken great caution in ensuring that the home maintains the health and safety of it’s residents and staff.

Half of the beds will be designated to Indigenous elders, with the other 50% for all members who are in their later years in the Sault Ste Marie community.

With this impactful investment, the need for long-term care beds are being addressed and assisting in taking care of our elders within the community. It is being designed for the culture and unique needs of the Indigenous residents and their families.

We look forward to seeing how this build progresses. To read more about the design of the home, click here.

Journey grew up in an all women household- excluding her father. She was always encouraged to learn how to start and complete tasks independently. To be self sufficient was very important to the family as they believe it is a necessary quality to have to grow as a person; to gain experience and confidence. She has always been a hands-on person and enjoyed spending time on something, then seeing the result.

In high school, Journey was enrolled in arts related classes such as theatre and vocals. It wasn’t until later in high school that she took shop classes and learned about ADSB’s House Building Program through SalDan’s Site Supervisor, Shea Macgillivray. Journey has known Shea previous as she is a long-time friend with her older sister. The family had asked Shea to help them with the process of building a deck, which she happily accepted. While working on the deck, Journey assisted and watched as she found the process fascinating. The two discussed Shea’s background and how she began her career in the trades- through the House Building Program, sponsored by SalDan. The following school year, Journey transferred to White Pines to enroll into the House Building Program. “The only regret I have about entering the program was not doing it earlier” she explained.

Journey has loved the experience. Working on real jobs sites has motivated Journey to try all things construction. “Even if it’s something that I know is going to be challenging, I do my best and learn from mistakes”. During her first semester this year, Journey worked as a labourer and shadowed Shea during phase 7 of SalDan’s Crestwood Subdivision. “Having someone like Shea was comforting because she was always honest with me and gave me constructive criticism”. She explained that although she has received some comments about her being a young woman in construction, her co-workers and peers have been supportive and motivating. “There is always going to be someone that has something to say. It honestly just makes me want to prove them wrong and do a better job”.

Challenges that she has encountered is building up her upper body strength and being outside all day long. Over time Journey noticed that her stamina and strength had grown and allowed her to push herself physically. Because she is a red head and fair skinned, she is much more sensitive to the sun and can experience sun sickness. “I feel as though it can be annoying to some as it’s not a common issue that people see. It can be inconvenient, but I try to be aware of when I’ve been out for too long, I wear sunglasses and my hard hat help block the sun too”.

Finishing up her last semester, Journey is excited to work with SalDan in the summer while she works on applying to Sault College for their Civil Engineering Technician program. The 2-year program covers roadway design, construction techniques, electronic surveying, municipal services, and much more. This will help Journey gain further real-world experiences and make connections within the trades.

Journey encourages everyone to try out the trades if you are a hard worker and wanting to work with your hands. She believes that anyone is capable if they are determined and willing to learn.

Holly’s background and education consists of the arts, culture, and communications. She was an active student at White Pines who volunteered her time as lead in the yearbook committee and student council. Holly completed her co-op placement with the Sault Ste Marie Innovation Centre and was part of the organizing committee for the 2014 Energy Opportunities Conference. She graduated with a Specialist High Skills Major in Arts and Culture.

She continued her education by enrolling in Sault College’s Graphic Design Program where she won the First Year Merit Award and had the opportunity to work with Cavera Inc, a local marketing and branding company here in the Sault. She continued to do smaller design work on the side while working customer service for several years.

After 4 months of the first lockdown due to COVID-19, Holly started searching elsewhere for work. With connections to SalDan employee’s, a new opportunity made its way to her.

“Although I knew a handful of employees who worked for SalDan, I never considered working with the company before.” She admitted that it was intimidating at first. She started her career in the Media end of things, taking care of SalDan’s website, social media platforms, running errands, etc.

As she progressed, she started to become more involved in the development side and working with new homeowners in their house selections and warranty. “It made me realize how many moving pieces there are that make this company work. The attention to detail and communication is very important for the builds to progress smoothly. To be a part of the SalDan’s home developments can be nerve racking at times, but over all very fulfilling.”

Holly is now the Communications Coordinator and Customer Relations Representative at SalDan Construction Group. She works closely with the site supervisors and site manager to ensure that they are provided with homeowner’s selections and requests. She continues to work with homeowners after the closing of their homes through Tarion’s New Home Warranty.

“I have learned a lot about the process of building a home such as the permit applications, locates, materials, and phases within construction”.

Even though she may not be physically building the homes, she communicates important information that supports those out on the sites. She continues to learn new things every day and is grateful for her co-worker’s and employer’s support.

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