The Steel Creek Developers story began in 2015 when founder, Ken Rempel saw a gap in the marketplace and had the vison and entrepreneurial spirt to develop and build projects focused in growing rural communities. Equipped with the expertise and acumen from his early development background, and in partnership with his three sons: Trevor, Tim and Andrew, who carry the tradition and commitment that reflects, above all, the experience and values of the Rempel family, the company was born. “I always wanted to start a business with my family. My brothers and I farmed together throughout our university years, so we knew we could all work well together. says Trevor. “At family events my Dad would say from time to time, “If I was 20 years younger, I would start my own company’. Even though my brothers and I had our own careers and had different skillsets, we knew there was a great opportunity to combine those skillsets. Dad’s focus is with business development, my brother Andrew handles the internal marketing for our brands and is leaning into the hotel operations side of the business, Tim is an engineer who prepares our mechanical or digital drawings and construction oversight, while my duties are managing the business side of things and meeting with the clients and managing those relationships.”
With the culture at Steel Creek Developers committed to collaboration, personalization, and a dedication to customer service, it allows for all those separate aspects to work together as a team to fulfilling the company’s vision, and everyone on board works hard to meet that commitment. “One thing that our clients have noticed fairly quickly throughout the project is how hard working we are and how hands-on we are with our projects,” says Rempel. “Our family grew up on a farm and we worked hard all our lives, our parents instilled a very strong work ethic in all of us. Instead of hiring a company to come in and assemble all the furniture for the hotels we all pitch in to help. Mom and Dad, our kids will come out and help unbox, assemble furniture, and set things up. Generally, we will work 18- or 19-hour days behind the scenes for the clients. They appreciate the level of work and effort we put in ourselves.”
PROJECT COMMITTED
“The reason we started Blue Crescent Hotels was because a lot of the larger hotel brands don’t want to brand a hotel that’s small or in a rural setting. We recognized the value to our clients, and created an opportunity to deliver city-style hotels in growing rural areas of the prairies,” Rempel says. “We are currently in the design and construction phase of a new 65-70 room hotel in Niverville, Manitoba because they have seen a very high rate of growth and development in their community, and they don’t have any hotel accommodations to help further drive the development in the area. The town of Niverville is growing with a Community Resource and Recreation Centre a few blocks away. The addition of a new hotel will only strengthen the area. The hotel will include our differentiated standard split room design, family bunkbed rooms, kitchenette suites, and a waterpark that will feature two large waterslides, a pool, and hot tubs.”
“We are also just finishing up on a 30-room hotel in Carman, Manitoba. Hotel amenities include single, double, accessible suites, a conference room, an exercise facility, with sports equipment storage rooms, a pool and waterslide,” he adds. The hotel is close to a high school, and a short drive to arenas and local golf course. We have also announced two projects, a 30 room hotel in Austin, Manitoba, and another 30 room hotel in Stonewall, Manitoba.”
MOVING FORWARD
Steel Creek Developers continues to be committed to honing their expertise and continues to strive for excellence in the industry. This reputation was hard earned and is still very much the focus of the Rempel family and their team.
“We’re going to walk before we run, but the highway is wide open, and there is a lot of demand and drivers for us as we engage in several developments that will further build both the Steel Creek and Blue Crescent brands,” he says. “When we first started Steel Creek Developers we figured the core of our business would be seniors housing, while hotels and assisted living facilities would be ancillary. It’s exciting to see the company expand to other markets as we continue to develop community projects that help drive and support the local economy.
“We receive a lot of calls to build assisted living facilities in these rural communities and we will continue to explore those opportunities and expand our expertise here in Canada and in rural states in the United States. On the hotel side, we have a large client that would like to differentiate their portfolio and want to work with us to develop multiple projects. They like the fact that we build in both the residential and hospitality sectors and understand our rural business philosophy. It’s going to be interesting to see where we can take the Blue Crescent Hotel brand while we continue to pursue new projects and developments that are aligned with our key beliefs.”