Wakefield Construction bankruptcy ‘a great loss’

Wakefield`s Sechelt office on Mermaid St. went quiet this week. Rik Jespersen photo

The local construction industry has been rocked by the financial collapse of Wakefield Construction, one of the Sunshine Coast’s biggest and most prolific building companies.

Word leaked out Jan. 9 that Wakefield had suddenly terminated dozens of employees, most of them on the Coast. A search of bankruptcy records at Industry Canada showed that Wakefield Construction Inc. had filed a Notice of Intention, also on Jan. 9.

None of the several employees of the company that the Local Weekly has tried to contact has responded to requests for comments or interviews, including company president and founder, Lance Sparling.

It’s believed the bankruptcy leaves a number of major creditors with unpaid bills, including the Coast’s building supply companies, who also have declined comment.

Kim Darwin, president of the Sechelt and District Chamber of Commerce, said Wakefield’s closure, “will be a great loss to the community.”

“The impact will surely be felt through the trickledown effect to sub-contractors, construction supply outlets and other local businesses.  We sincerely hope that our other local construction companies will be in a position to fill some of the void that will be left as Wakefield exits the local construction scene,” Darwin said.

Sparling started in 1999 with construction of The Embers, a lodge on Thormanby Island. He then formed Wakefield Homes in 2004, which built a 46-home, seven-acre development on the highway in West Sechelt, which was followed by a string of custom home and commercial projects, including the Watermark condominiums in downtown Sechelt.

The company opened a marine services division, and in 2012, expanded to the Lower Mainland with the opening of an office in West Vancouver to service the Sea to Sky Corridor. It opened another office in Vancouver in 2013. Rik Jespersen