Burquitlam Development

Background

In 1977, the City of Coquitlam in British Columbia, Canada, had acquired the land of Burquitlam Park in the hopes of creating a recreation facility there. However, for over two decades, this vision remained distant as the project was continually delayed.

Eventually, the city was able to break free from the status quo by forming a partnership between Concert Properties Ltd. and the YMCA of Greater Vancouver. Under this new partnership, the three organizations are not only developing a new YMCA recreation facility, but they are also developing a policing station, eight residential rental and strata towers, a parkade that connects one of the towers with the new recreation facility, a redesigned park, and multiple improvements to transportation.

It will be an extensive undertaking that each organization will need to play specific roles for. The City of Coquitlam is in charge of transferring 1.3 acres of the Burquitlam Park land to Concert Properties Ltd. for residential development as well as providing the funding for each development. The YMCA of Greater Vancouver will help the city with this by contributing to the funding of the new recreation facility. Meanwhile, Concert Properties Ltd. is responsible for developing the residential towers, managing the construction of the YMCA facility, providing 2.55 acres of land near Cottonwood Park to the city along with $700,000 toward improvements of the park, and a number of development contributions.

Each organization is expected to be fully done by 2023. But each development they work on has its own set of challenges. The new YMCA facility and the parkade, for instance, both have moisture concerns that need to be taken care of to reduce any future maintenance costs and keep the structure durable.

Solution

For the YMCA facility, the construction team there is building a pool that will be above grade and suspended.

That left the possibility for the pool’s concrete structure to experience loading and unloading when water within it is added and removed. If it became a serious enough issue, the concrete could crack and eventually form leaks. These would then flow downwards, damaging parts of the building, such as the walls and flooring.

Because of that, the team had to be especially careful about the pool’s concrete durability and waterproofing. As a result, they turned to Kryton for help. Knowing the company’s KIM admixture could enable the concrete to chemically react to water to block it permanently for the life of the structure, they were confident that this new suspended pool would get the waterproofing protection it needed from Kryton.

For extra support, they also worked with Kryton to plan a future walkthrough before and during the pool’s leak test to ensure the pool will remain as watertight as expected.

Then, for the nearby parkade, the construction team wanted a solution that would prevent interior mold and moisture damage. So they went with Kryton’s Hydrostop Sealer. Appearing in a clear, water-based liquid form, this sealer can be sprayed or rolled onto horizontal and vertical surfaces without affecting the look or feel of them. Once applied, it will seal the concrete with an insoluble, water-repellent barrier that can also protect concrete from de-icing salt and seawater damage. It also resists mildew and moss formation as well as any rust stains or efflorescence. All of which made it the perfect product for protecting the construction team’s parkade structure.

In the end, both KIM and Hydrostop Sealer were applied to the construction team’s desired areas, making the team certain that both the new YMCA pool and nearby parkade would remain dry and durable.