Seventeen years of standing on the client's side of the table.
Owner's representative work for out-of-town developers, condo boards, and multi-family owners across Greater Victoria — building envelope remediation, subterranean parkades, and civil site development.
James Smyth
Owner and Owner's Representative of Solihull Contracting & Consulting. Seventeen years in international civil construction before founding Solihull, with direct oversight on capital projects up to $40 million — from subterranean parkades below the water table to civil site developments cut through rock.
Solihull was built on a simple observation: strata councils and remote developers keep hiring the same expertise the general contractor already has, and calling it "oversight." A GC protects a margin. An owner's rep protects you.
Standing behind the work
- Active corporation in good standing, BC
- Commercial general liability insurance
- Clean WorkSafeBC history
- Projects delivered up to $40M in construction value
Three roles, held by one person who answers only to you.
The Translator
Engineering reports on a 60-year-old envelope are written for other engineers. We read them, then explain to the council exactly what's failing, why, and what it will cost to fix properly.
The Bid Master
We build the RFP so every bidder is pricing the same scope, then read the bids for what they're not saying — the number that's too good is usually missing something.
The Enforcer
Thirty-minute site meetings, held to that length on purpose. Invoices checked against actual progress before they're paid, every time.
Seamless alongside the engineers and managers already on your file.
Solihull works routinely alongside building envelope engineering firms — including RJC and WSP — and the strata management brokerages already handling your building's day-to-day. We don't replace that relationship; we make sure the capital project inside it has someone accountable for it specifically.
Rescuing a $40M civil site development
The Challenge
An out-of-town developer launched a $40 million site development and watched costs run out of control with scope creep almost immediately. The civil scope was severe: blasting a fully serviced new city road through a forty-foot rock hill, extensive cut-and-fill earthworks, and forty-foot engineered retaining walls holding the whole thing together.
The Action
Solihull stepped in as Owner's Representative to run multi-disciplinary coordination across geotechnical and civil engineers, arborists, city staff, and commercial realtors — while directly supervising the heavy civil work, value-engineering the retaining and earthworks scope, and driving the schedule the developer could no longer see clearly from off-Island.
The Result
The project was steered away from a budget disaster. Financial visibility was restored for a developer working from off-Island, and every phase closed out in strict compliance with the project's specifications.