Hillside Center Canadian Tire

The Opportunity

The Hillside Centre demolished the old Zeller’s store to construct a new two-storey shell commercial building, which is now the location of a Canadian Tire store. The building has over 93,000 square feet of retail space, and employees over 130 staff.

The Approach

The Hillside Centre demolished the old Zeller’s store to construct a new two-storey shell commercial building, which is now the location of a Canadian Tire store. The building has over 93,000 square feet of retail space, and employees over 130 staff. 

Westbrook Consulting provided civil engineering design and construction survey and inspection services. The design included the capture of half the runoff from the roof within a rain garden constructed at the rear of the store to detain and treat the runoff prior to discharge to the adjacent Bowker Creek. Also included was the design of a ground-water recharge system, located at the front of the store beneath the central promenade. Runoff from the front half of the roof is directed to an exfiltration system that directs the rainwater to a large rock pit beneath the walkway and parking area. The runoff both feeds the planted trees and landscaping along the promenade, as well as infiltrates to the ground. Infiltrating the runoff reduces the amount of water directed to the adjacent creek, as to not overwhelm the downstream system. The drainage system was designed and constructed to exceed the requirements of the City of Victoria.

Challenges of the project included working in an active retail environment and adapting the design to minimize the disruption to the public. Minimal disruptions where achieved by designing the upgrades to be constructed in sections, allowing for the construction zone and public access areas to alternate.

Construction was completed in 2014.

Key Personnel: Bruce Crawshaw; Ian Anderson