About Us
Brett Sheffer – Career Biography
“One Entrepreneur’s Story”
Mr. Sheffer has been active in the construction industry since 1979 when he migrated to Edmonton, Alberta and worked as a drywall installer. Mr. Sheffer traveled from Texas, USA to Uranium City, NWT for various drywall/steel stud projects and worked in Vancouver at the 1980 Expo grounds and Vancouver Stock Exchange installing special acoustical flooring.
Upon returning to Nova Scotia he owned and operated his own company in the drywall and steel stud industry. Mr. Sheffer was an integral part of such development as Summer Gardens, in Halifax and many of the Highfield Park Apartments complexes in Dartmouth. One of Mr. Sheffer’s final contributions to the drywall/steel stud industry was as a project leader on the Barrington Gate project, in Halifax, where he coordinated the work of steel stud installations, insulation/vapor barrier, drywall and taping, spraying ceilings, painting and trim work.
From 1986 through 1996 Mr. Sheffer built a number of single-family residences. In 1997 Nickkels Contracting focused in earnest on the single-family market and Mr. Sheffer became a prominent builder in communities like Keystone Village, Hampstead Court and Auburn Drive during this time.
In 2000-2001 Mr. Sheffer was responsible for the design and construction of 24 townhouses in the Downtown Dartmouth Core. This project was the result of a ‘Request for Development Proposals’ by the Waterfront Development Corporation and Halifax Regional Municipality in December 1998, and Mr. Sheffer’s development proposal was the successful applicant. The result is the remarkable Cheltonham Village located along King and Wentworth Streets, and bordering Alderney Drive. This development was the forerunner to many other successful condominium projects in the Downtown Dartmouth area.
Other projects by Mr. Sheffer include the Windmill Road Townhouses located at 69 through 79 Windmill Rd., in Dartmouth and completed in December 2004. Another four unit complex was just completed in 2007 at 81-87 Windmill Rd. and has three units sold.
Both of these projects focused on reclaiming unused and rundown properties and making Downtown Dartmouth a better place to reside. It has spun off new commercial businesses in the area, as well as increased the awareness of the advantages of downtown living and what Dartmouth in particular has to offer – amenities galore and a fantastic view of Halifax.
Nickkels Contracting’s current development – Spider Lake Country Estates – is the result of Mr. Sheffer’s efforts in the conception and design of the subdivision itself and his vision of a country style suburban lifestyle with easy accessibility to the urban core and with Dartmouth Crossing only minutes away.
Exciting future developments are again focusing on Downtown Dartmouth and reclaiming unused or abandoned property. For the last few years, Mr. Sheffer has been designing Wentworth Terrace – sixteen exclusive ‘New York Loft’ style condominiums ranging in size from 1700 to 2300 square feet, and promoting a high urban lifestyle. This project, still in design phase, is certain to be another example of Mr. Sheffer’s incredible vision of extraordinary residences.
Stay tuned for more!