Colpitts Developments started in 1996, when Shawn Colpitts and his father Wayne started building houses here in Fredericton. They started with a handful of houses each year and that has grown to 100+ units completed each year and a large portfolio of residential and commercial properties. Our construction division is focused mainly in the Greater Fredericton area, but we have properties in our portfolio as far out as Moncton.
Interview with Ryan Downe, Project Manager, Colpitts Developments
I started with Colpitts in 2012 assisting with smaller projects and gradually worked my way up to my current role as Project Manager for all of our multi-residential, commercial, and general contracting projects.
Tell me about your business? What does your business do?
We are a real estate development and construction company, so we build and sell spec and custom homes, build and lease apartments and commercial buildings, and our General Contracting division does construction management for clients in the commercial and institutional sectors. We also have our own design, realty, and property management teams so we can handle everything in-house.
Tell me a bit about your clientele, who are the people who use, buy or take advantage of your products and services?
We are very diversified in our industry so our clients are anyone looking to buy, build, rent, lease, or sell!
How many staff do you employ? Full time or part time?
We currently have over 125 great, full-time staff members.
Is your business involved in any community activities or organizations?
Colpitts gives back to our community whenever we can. We support our local Food Bank, Habitat for Humanity, several youth sports teams, Veteran’s organizations, and the Regional Foster Family Association, to name a few.
Can you tell me about one of the most rewarding experiences you’ve had while working for the business?
Handing over a completed project to a client is always very rewarding, and we get to do that a lot! For me personally, the more challenging a project is the more rewarding that final experience ends up being, and I have our great teams on each of those projects to thank for that.
What are you most proud of in your business?
I’m VERY proud of our entire Colpitts team and how we have been able to diversify and grow over the years. We have staff that have been with us from the beginning, and we have many young members of the staff and newcomers to the industry that are all helping us succeed every day. So, staff is certainly top of the list for things we are most proud of.
More recently, I’m proud that we have been able to give back to our great staff by implementing RRSP matching programs, workshop seminars and other staff events to compliment our existing health and dental benefits. We’re very fortunate to have quite a few of our staff that have been with us for 10, 20 and 25+ years and I think programs like these help keep our staff engaged.
Lastly, I’m proud that we are able to do our part as a “Green” builder through programs like Energy Star, R-2000, and LEED, as well as providing services like Electric Vehicle charging and using solar power for building lighting.
Has your business won any awards?
We have won several industry awards over the years:
Builder of the Year in 2021 and 2015
Membership (CHBA) Supporter of the Year in 2021, 2019 and 2016
Best New Home of the Year in 2019, 2018, and 2016
Energy Star Builder of the Year in 2017 and 2018
What kind of challenges have you experienced in your business and how were you able to overcome them?
The real estate and construction industries are quite cyclical, so we are often adapting to changes. In my (relatively short) time in the business I’ve seen the Residential demand flip from hot to cold and back again a few times and the same on the commercial side. We’re fortunately positioned so we can move with the demand, and we have been able to come out on top of most of those shifts.
Unfortunately, we don’t have a crystal ball and the few COVID years hit the construction industry harder than most. Some of those issues have passed but many are here to stay; we are still facing a severe shortage in skilled trades and costs remain at or near all time highs.
What is next for your business? Any exciting projects you want to tell us about?
We are always looking 5+ years ahead on our internal projects so we always have exciting things we are working on. Here are a few of our larger projects underway or starting in the next 12 months:
- 47-unit apartment building on High Point Blvd., the final phase of our 182 development in High Point Ridge
- 3 82-unit apartment buildings on Manhattan Drive in Fredericton North,
- 300 units on our York Street property beside the old train station
- A 38-unit building to start off our Stonecrest development off Kimble Drive
- 10-suite commercial strip mall on Two Nations Crossing