The History of Sutherland Development

They say that necessity is the mother of invention. And that was true for the Sutherland clan, who picked up where the patriarch Hugh left off. To this day, people still extol the virtues of Hugh Sutherland -- a man for whom everyone has the fondest recollections.

 

He hailed from Nova Scotia and launched his own business in 1957, after a stint as a carpenter. He began with one lot and one home, slowly building a reputation. In 1962 he incorporated Hugh Sutherland Limited, a firm based in Burlington and specializing in custom home contract work, renovations and additions. In 1975 he changed the company name to Hugh Sutherland & Sons Limited.

 

Hugh, who had been raised on a farm, possessed a down to earth demeanor that earned him legions of friends through the years. He was ingrained with a great work ethic along with an enormous capacity for caring and he passed these traits on to each of his children.

 

Hugh’s son, Scott, started in the business at the age of seven.  Hugh would take him out to a home under construction, give him a broom and tell him to clean up. In his teens Scott would work after school and during the summers. Scott joined the business straight out of high school in 1974 and has never regretted his decision to forego university. After five years of doing carpentry work he moved into the office to help with the piles of mounting paperwork and the expanding business.

 

A year later Scott had to take over the daily running of the business as a result of his father becoming ill. Hugh passed away in August of 1983.  The family then pitched in to pick up the slack. Hugh’s wife Isabel continued in the accounting department. Another son, Ken, a trimmer and carpenter, helped out for two years; and younger brother Craig, a journeyman plumber, joined the firm.  

 

Today, Scott and Craig work as a team with Craig handling the site, supervising the trades and construction, while Scott manages the business side, along with his wife Barbara, who oversees the administrative duties.  Both Scott’s and Craig’s children are now involved in the firm, each dealing with different aspects of the business.

 

Scott and Craig continued the custom work business using the same high standards, integrity, and attention to detail, quality materials and craftsmanship that had made Hugh Sutherland & Sons a legend in the industry. Eventually they began to notice a need in the market place for affordable housing and decided to change their focus to multi-residential units. Crosspointe, an 88 unit stacked condominium project built in 1986, was the first of its kind in Burlington and won the HHHBA Sales & Marketing award for the Best Townhouse Design. 

 

Forest Chase, a 252 unit mid-rise project, followed in the success of Crosspointe and since that time, Sutherland has continued to build with the same multi-unit focused designs. Completed projects in Burlington include Wedgewood, Woodbridge, Tansley Gardens, and Orchard Uptown.  In Oakville they built the Abbey Oaks condominium development. 

 

In 2006 Sutherland moved their building operations to the rapidly developing Milton area, completing Maple Crossing, Bristol on Main, The Courtyards on Main & 6Ten Condo projects totaling 1006 condo units.

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Sutherland is currently working on their next condo development (Creekside Condominiums) which will be located at the corner of Louis St. Laurent Avenue and Hwy 25 in Milton.