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DECEMBER 2018 | 77 The Wex RENDERING COURTESY RDG MANAGEMENT LTD. The Wex by ROBIN BRUNET G iven the volatile condominium market in Metro Vancouver, devel- opers for this type of housing are a tough breed who seize opportunities in the most unlikely of circumstances and have a gift for rolling with the punches in terms of design and construction issues. So, unsurprisingly, while The Wex condominiums in Langley and its accompanying townhomes called Wexley are the result of a fairly con- voluted development process, nobody would guess it judging from the easygoing manner of John Rempel, president of RDG Management Ltd. Instead, Rempel loves talking about the attributes of this latest addition to Langley's rapidly evolving Willoughby neighbourhood. Located in the middle of the new Willoughby Town Centre, The Wex consists of 94 condos that have been described as "affordable lux- ury," due to the fact the one bedrooms right up to the two-bedroom-with-flex homes have nine-foot ceilings; solid core Cambridge entry doors; floor-to- ceiling cabinets in shaker or high-gloss panel style; main baths with square- edge cabinets and quartz countertops; and elegant ensuites. The building itself is a strik- ing five-storey complex, with West Coast-style spanning overhangs, over- sized windows, glass balconies, and stone-accented siding. "It's a beauti- ful building," he says. "Perhaps it's not something I would have developed under other circumstances, but all the units have sold out, and its style is per- fectly in-keeping with the ambiance of Willoughby, which is a mix of urban ele- ments in a country setting, with plenty of boutique retail and amenities." Rempel's curious opening com- ment is understandable given that The Wex was originally developed by the Platinum Group of Companies, who retained Barnett Dembek Architects to bring it and Wexley to life. "Developers occasionally sell properties in mid-development for a number of reasons, including having too many projects in the pipeline, but in Platinum's case it was because the condo market in Surrey and Langley in 2015 was flat and had been for years," Rempel explains. RDG, whose portfolio contains numerous residential developments south of the Fraser River, was keen on establishing a presence in Willoughby, and its initial goal was to create rental units on the former farmland once owned by Platinum. "But then the mar- ket moved up by $80 to $90 per square foot, and suddenly condos became attractive all over again," Rempel says. RDG retained Barnett Dembek's design for the exterior of The Wex, but it used its own long-time collaborator, Focus Architecture Inc., to complete the working drawings and also to make a series of changes to the interior lay- out. "Condo development is such that you must count every square inch in order to justify the substantial sell- ing prices you see even in the Fraser Valley," says Rempel. "Increasing space even by just three inches per room has a noticeable impact, and Focus's great strength is designing fantastic unit lay- outs that maximize space and do away with unnecessary corridors and other components. Focus's staff also has an in-depth understanding of structural requirements, and its work is informed accordingly, which saves a lot of head- aches for engineers." For The Wex, Focus reoriented the kitchens to directly overlook windows and reworked the kitchen layouts for better flow. It also separated the bed- rooms for more privacy and visual interest; increased the size of the underground parking as well as added storage lockers; and, due to the large size of the building, added a second ele- vator. "Focus essentially worked inside a pre-determined shell, but everything eventually fell into place," says Rempel. "It took several months to revise the interiors, then another four months to obtain the building permits." The exterior West Coast contempo- rary design was left intact due to RDG's desire to go to market in a timely fash- ion. "It's a pleasing visual statement of big decks, big roof overhangs, lots of Hardie siding, and rich black and cop- per accents," says Rempel. Metro-Can Construction broke ground on The Wex five months after ground broke on Wexley, in January of 2016. Jason Stuart, senior struc- tural designer for Bryson Markulin Zickmantel Structural Engineers, says structural considerations for The Wex were favourable, "and essen- tially this was a standard strip footings suspended slab and wood frame con- struction – although this being a five-storey building, we used a truss joist engineered wood package in order to prevent any warping or shrinkage, and for better carrying capacity." The Township of Langley didn't allow for transportation of construction vehi- cles on the busy 208 thoroughfare, and this obliged Metro-Can and the own- ers to develop a complex transportation system along the one-way residential 77A Avenue, as well as co-ordinate with a local school to organize specific start and stop times. Additionally, although the owner of a neighbouring property provided space for staging, the progressive construc- tion of Wexley meant less space to work on The Wex, "and we wound up hav- ing to go with just-in-time deliveries to make everything work," says Rempel. But the biggest hitch occurred in the unusually cold and snowy winter of 2016. "We had to close for six weeks because the ground froze, and you can't pour on frozen ground," says Rempel. "This was followed by an extremely wet spring that obliged us to pump on site to keep everything operable. So what normally would have been an 18 month construction phase wound up longer, and we wrapped in the fall of this year." With The Wex completely sold out and Willoughby Town Centre becom- ing a genuine urban hub in Langley, Rempel is pleased with the way the ele- ments of this project fell into place. He concludes, "With every home I build I ask myself, 'Would I be able to live here?' and for The Wex the answer is definitely yes, thanks to the expertise of the original architects and Focus, as well as a great construction crew." A LOCATION 20829 77A Avenue, Langley, B.C. OWNER/DEVELOPER RDG Wexley Development Ltd. / RDG Management Ltd. ARCHITECTS Barnett Dembek Architects Inc. / Focus Architecture Inc. GENERAL CONTRACTOR Metro-Can Construction Ltd. STRUCTURAL CONSULTANT Bryson Markulin Zickmantel Structural Engineers MECHANICAL CONSULTANT Blueridge Engineering Ltd. ELECTRICAL CONSULTANT Gager Electrical Consultants Ltd. LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT M2 Landscape Architecture TOTAL SIZE 88,740 square feet TOTAL COST $25 million 11:06 AM 8:28 AM 1:13 PM 10:01 AM

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