Nick Vidovic has been quietly rubbing shoulders with Vancouver’s rich and famous for almost two decades.

Even the legendary entrepreneur Murray Pezim counted Nick Vidovic as one of his trusted friends.

Yet, you probably haven’t even heard of him.

That’s the way Vidovic prefers it.

Bayne Stanley photos, Business Edge
Nick Vidovic honed his construction skills in Germany before coming to Vancouver, where he has built a reputation in high-end homes.

Ironically, while Vidovic has had a long association with Vancouver’s elite as a builder of some of the area’s most magnificent mansions through his Century Gate Construction company, the 59-year-old native of Croatia tends to shy away from publicity and the spotlight in the home building industry.

“Low profile, that’s Nick,” says Vidovic’s wife and business partner Jelka. “Nick just wants to do the job and he’s happy if his customers are happy.”

Vidovic and his 17-year-old company have long been renowned for craftsmanship and professionalism in building fine upscale homes for people like the late Pezim. Yet, the man and the company have remained one of the best kept secrets in Vancouver’s home building community.

Now Century Gate is finally taking centre stage as one of the companies being honoured at the Canadian Home Builders Association of British Columbia 2003 ‘Georgie’ Awards. Century Gate is a finalist (final two) in three Georgie categories – best single-family home valued at over $1 million, best single-family detached home over 4,000 square feet and best small-volume home builder (fewer than 10 units).

Some will say it’s about time Nick Vidovic, after four decades in the business, graced centre stage with the cream of the crop of home builders. 1. Why did you leave your native Croatia (in the former Yugoslavia) to embark on a career in construction in West Germany in 1965?

“I left because at that time it was a Communist system and, if you had any ambition or whatever, you could not create anything in that system. By going to Germany, me and my wife (Jelka) were able to create a little bit better of a life. That’s where I got my experience in construction for nine years. It was extremely valuable experience, because in Germany there was an attitude that everything must be done properly in terms of quality, finances and responsibility. My father was a bus driver, but I was always interested in construction because I liked architecture and Europe was a great place to learn the business.”

2. What led you to Canada in 1974?



“At that time, it was very difficult in West Germany to get a citizenship. If you had a job, they gave you an extension on your working visa. But at that time the economy was very bad and if you lost your job for any reason, they shipped you back to where ever you came from. But I didn’t want to go back to Croatia. I decided to come to Vancouver because I was born by the ocean.”

3. What was that transition like for you and your family?

“We didn’t talk one word (in) English. It was like you were coming to the moon. I found a job as a labourer in a machine shop and worked where ever I could. I had maybe $3,000 to $4,000 at that time, but then you buy a car and some furniture and you are clean, you know? I thought, ‘Oh, my God, I have to learn soon as I can the language, so I can do what I like to do.’ I even helped some people on a construction site for free just to see a little bit of how things worked here.”

4. How did your home-building business get started?

“Well, I borrowed the money from the bank and built one house. I thought we were going to move into that house. When I finished that house, I said to my wife, ‘What you think, maybe we can try to sell it and see what happens.’ We sold it and we made about $7,000 to $8,000 profit. At that time, that was OK, you know. So we stayed in our apartment and got into the home building business. Then, I realized it would be a good business, even with my poor (English) language. I worked as a commercial fisherman at the same time. While I was away working as a fisherman, my wife would look after the projects.”

5. How do you reflect now on those difficult early years in Canada?

“Oh, it was a very hard life. When you come to a strange country without language, it’s very hard. Believe me, it doesn’t matter what you can do or what you know, if you can’t speak. But we always worked together as a family and we didn’t look at who was doing more or less. It was just, ‘Go do it.’ ”

6. How did you cope during the building slump in B.C. in the early 1980s?

“At that time, I sold everything in my building business and I worked as a superintendent for bigger companies for a few years. My business started to really take off in about 1987.”

7. To what do you attribute the success of Century Gate?

“First of all, you have to be open and honest to your clients. Secondly, you have to deliver on what you promise. And, most importantly, quality is what they want. They want value for their money. I enjoy working on these homes because, by the time the home is finished – sometimes, it can take two to three years for one project – we end up friends with the clients.”

8. Of what project are you most proud?

“We built a very, very special 23,000-square-foot home (on Vancouver’s West Side). It took two years and four months to build. It’s like a big victory when you finish a home like that and it’s almost perfect.”

9. Are you a perfectionist?

“I try to be but . . . it’s very difficult. I can tell you a story about that. I was told that one client I was building for was very, very particular. A perfectionist. But after the home was built, I heard that she said, ‘I’m fussy, but I’m not as fussy as Nick.’ For me, that was a very nice compliment.”

10. What was it like working for the late Vancouver business tycoon Murray Pezim in building his mansion?

“It was fun. It was really fun. He was a great person. When I came to his office, he never asked, ‘How are you?’ or, ‘Why did you come?’ He’d only say, ‘How much you need?’ I remember he was raising some funds from a gala dinner with Hollywood stars and the premier and everything else. I didn’t know much about it. One day, he called and asked me to come to his office. He handed me an envelope and said, ‘This is for you.’ When I left, I opened it and found he had handed me 10 tickets to that gala dinner. (Laughing) And I had to pay! Four thousand dollars! So I ended up going with friends.”

11. At 59, are you slowing down a bit as far as the workload?

“Believe me, I’m still working six days a week. There will probably be a time when I have to slow down. Eventually, it looks like my son (Nicholas, 27) will slowly start to take over my business.”

12. What has it been like working in business with your family?

“It’s very good if everybody is having one direction. Then, it’s easy. Obviously, there’s going to be some stress but it depends on how you deal with the stress. For us, it’s a very healthy work relationship. My wife and myself are like one, helping each other any way, physically, mentally or whatever.”

13. How is Nicholas being groomed to eventually run the company?

“Right now, he is taking a degree in construction engineering and he will be finished in June. He’s building up connections and getting to know the business.”

14. What do you need to teach him?

“Mostly, what he has to learn is about the traffic on a job site. He knows just about everything else about the business.

“When you’re on a site, it’s much different than looking at a piece of paper. He’s a very trustworthy young man. He has the advantage of knowing the language. Probably, I’ll never speak English completely and grammatically.”

15. What’s the most important lesson your business has taught you?

“The most important thing is to build trust with the client. That makes everything a lot easier. I always say, ‘If you don’t take pride in what you do, then don’t touch it, don’t do nothing.’ I have always had good trades people and we don’t have to talk too much anymore because they know my standards. That makes it simple for everybody.”

16. How have you done financially?

“My company is stable. It’s nothing that I can say, ‘Oh, we are rich guys.’ But we’re comfortable with the company and make a comfortable living.”

17. How is the market now for upscale homes, like the ones your company specializes in?

“It’s average right now, but the market is a little slower now with the high-end, expensive homes than it was six or seven years ago.”

18. How important is money to you?

“Without money, you can’t live. But for me it’s not like Number One. Money doesn’t mean everything. I think what’s important is family life and health – and being proud of what you’re doing. I appreciate how well things have worked out for us since we came to Canada.”

19. Ideally, how long do you want to continue running your company?

“I’d like to work as long as I can, but soon I won’t have to be here full-time once my son takes over. But I don’t have to be here for eight to 10 hours. I can be like a consultant and work maybe three to five hours.”

20. How do you see your business changing in the future?

“So far, we haven’t thought too much about expanding the business. But my son has big ambition and who knows? Maybe one day we will expand.”

IN PROFILE: Nick Vidovic
* Title: President, Century Gate Construction Inc.
* Born/raised/age: Split, Croatia; 59.
* Education: Construction Technical School, Croatia.
* Career: Vidovic began his career in construction in West Germany in 1965 and has been building homes in Vancouver and area for 30 years. Vidovic founded Century Gate Construction in 1987 and remains president. He has also worked as a construction superintendent and commercial fisherman.
* Passions: Hiking, biking, skiing.

THE COMPANY: Century Gate Construction
* Profile: Century Gate is a family-owned construction company that specializes in building fine custom homes ranging in size from 6,000 to 25,000 square feet in Vancouver and area. The company also builds multi-family and commercial projects.
* Accolades: Century Gate is a finalist for three 2003 Canadian Home Building Association of British Columbia ‘Georgie’ Awards – best single-family home valued at over $1 million, best single-family detached home over 4,000 square feet and best home builder in the small-volume category (less than 10 units). Final award recipients can be viewed at www.businessedge.ca
*Website/E-mail: www.centurygate.com, info@centurygate.com.
* Address: 2442 Nelson Ave., West Vancouver, V7V 2R7.
* Phone/Fax: 604-925-4418, 604-925-4473.