Montreal condo to ‘showcase urban heritage’

Condo development in Montreal’s Golden Square Mile neighbourhood keeps climbing with the MAA Condominiums and Penthouses project on Peel Street.

Led by developers Fonds immobilier de solidarité FTQ and Devimco Immobilier, the 34-storey high-rise will bring a range of 300 units to the historic area, rising directly above MAA Sports Club, a well-known heritage building.

Slated for completion in 2022, the $160 million project will feature refined, contemporary architecture that combines glass and other materials to showcase the facade of the existing building, which will also be restored.

“The MAA development has tremendous appeal because of its location in a sought-after neighbourhood where exceptional condo projects are sprouting and attracting many buyers,” said Normand Bélanger, president and CEO of Fonds immobilier de solidarité FTQ. “The immediate neighbourhood has high-density buildings with architectural interest and tremendous heritage value. The large-scale project is also great for job creation and will ultimately generate 1,100 jobs.”

Marco Fontaine, vice-president of development, sales and marketing at Devimco Immobilier, is looking forward to revitalizing the iconic heritage building.

“MAA’s residents will be mostly professionals who want to live close to work and enjoy the neighbourhood’s lively “live, work, shop, play” environment, which includes close proximity to Parc Mont-Royal,” he adds. “At every step of the way, we made sure the MAA project respected the memory and spirit of this rich historic neighbourhood.”

Timber tales of wood and nature

For many of us, our first lessons come not from school books but from informal encounters. Sometimes our school books echo these encounters, other times they anticipate them. A history I grew up with was rooted in a curriculum partial to daring European explorers pushing their way into a vast, underexploited landscape, with little to say about the lives of those living here prior to “contact.” The focus of this history was “our natural resources”—forestry, mining, and fishing.

“Here,” said the tinsmith who once a month parked his camper at the end of our block and waited for our mothers to bring him our dulled cutlery. “Take this hook, run a line through its eye, and voilà—you’re halfway in business.”

We shrugged.

“You can’t just put a worm on its end and throw it in the water, right?”

We nodded, wishing we knew why.

The tinsmith got up from his stool, walked over to a neighbouring fir, and snapped off a branch. “Need something to keep the hook away from the shore,” he said, tying the line to the end of the branch and dropping the hook end in a puddle, where the line curled up, the hook nestled within it.

“You need a sinker,” one of us said.

This time it was the tinsmith who nodded. He kicked at the earth and dislodged a jagged piece of rock and tied it above the hook. But instead of tossing the rock in the puddle, he held it high and, as if we were not already hypnotized by his demonstration, swung it back and forth before us. “Hook and line notwithstanding, what you have here is what this province was built on: wood from our forests, minerals from our mines, and . . .” he said, with an eyebrow raised.

“The fish you catch with that hook?” another of us offered, cautiously.

Lessons like this are what I mean by an informal encounter. And since my time growing up, school curricula and industry have come to have a more progressive, socially-conscious relationship with our vast forests and landscape, one of mutuality and sustainability.

My own relationship with the land has me spending more and more time on its roads. Rather than take the quickest route from A to B, I have learned to slow down, savour the journey, count its trees and rocks among my friends. A recent trip had me travelling south from Pemberton via the Lower Mainland to Penticton—all in a single day.

Because of my earlier than expected start, I decided to stop at the Cheakamus Centre in Brackendale, a half hour’s drive south of Whistler. I was familiar with the site when it was the North Vancouver Outdoor School (est. 1969), but I had yet to visit it since the construction of the BlueShore Environmental Learning Centre in 2012. Although the Centre’s program continues to emphasize learning with and through the land (“Nature is in session”), its new building designed by McFarland Marceau Architects Ltd. is for all ages—a modern “green” structure situated among living cedars and built in part with reclaimed beams. Here, wood is not simply a convenient material used to keep the heat in and the rain out, it lives on through its thoughtful placement in relation to the forests from which its boards and beams were born.

The lessons of the Cheakamus Creek building remained with me as I drove past the site of the new Vancouver Art Gallery (VAG) at downtown Vancouver’s Larwill Park. Back in 2015, the VAG unveiled its Herzog & de Meuron–designed, all-wood building to a buzzing public, many of whom were astonished that a modern building could be made of anything other than concrete, glass, and steel. Never have I heard such a debate over a material, even more so than the structure’s ambitious Jenga-like design. Rather than continue along Georgia Street to Highway 1, I decided to visit another ambitious building—the VanDusen Botanical Garden Visitor Centre at Oak Street and 37th Avenue.

Primarily constructed of wood, the “treehouse” design of the Cheakamus Centre/ BlueShore Environmental Learning Centre in Brackendale is composed of glue-laminated timber post and beams and cross-laminated timber floors. Michael Elkan Photography

Unlike the Cheakamus Centre, which is in a forest, the VanDusen’s visitor centre (the second visitor centre in the VanDusen’s almost fifty-year history) is in a cultivated garden space. Moreover, whereas the site of the Cheakamus Centre was originally designed for school-age children, the VanDusen’s earlier centre, with its compact Shhh, no running! layout, had become associated with seniors. This new environmentally-friendly visitor centre envisioned by Perkins and Will, with its rhythmic, undulating wood design and fluid interior spaces, seems aware, if not encouraging, of the energies of children. To see a pair of nine-year-olds swan past in blanket capes and chamomile crowns is to ask, who says children have no patience for gardens? And indeed, who says they can’t be inspired by modern architecture? One of them likened the wood rafters of the VanDusen’s exterior canopy to the gills of a mushroom.

The quickest route to Penticton from the Lower Mainland is Highway 5 through the Coquihalla Connector, but on this trip I chose river valleys over mountain passes and took Highway 3 instead. A highlight on this route is that Las Vegas of fruit stands known as Keremeos, which, with its hand-painted wooden signs, was in full bloom. Another is the recent west wing addition to the Penticton Lakeside Resort designed by HDR | CEI Architecture Associates, Inc.—a six-storey wood-primary hotel whose mass-timber construction includes an atrium that evokes the 1930s forest-as cathedral paintings of Emily Carr, but also Barnett Newman’s equally inspirational Voice of Fire (1967), an eighteen-foot-high “elemental” painting commissioned to echo Buckminster Fuller’s geodesic dome pavilion at Expo 67, and now on permanent display at the National Gallery of Canada.

How fortunate we are to have moments like this in our province, where nature, art, architecture, and industry come together and, without planes, trains, or automobiles, truly transport us, remind us where and what we are from—in the silence of a hotel lobby. It is encounters like this that we need more of.

Articles like this are featured in a newly released book, Naturally Wood, which showcases British Columbia’s sustainable forest management, cutting‐edge wood architecture, design and technologies.

Four continuing education units have been developed based on the book. They are recognized by the Architectural Institute of British Columbia and are available at naturallywood.com/naturally-wood-ceus.

Download the Naturally Wood e-book at naturallywood.com/nwbc.

Proptech potential still largely unexploited

Canadian real estate companies lag somewhat behind their global peers in the uptake of the IT and data-based technologies and services collectively labelled as proptech. Analysis of recent survey data from 188 companies worldwide shows Canadian respondents generally in sync with prevailing views of proptech potential, but still at a relatively early stage of recognizing and pursuing the full range of opportunities it could deliver.

“Canadian real estate companies are awakening to the digital era, albeit a bit slowly,” concludes Saqib Jawed, partner and proptech lead with KPMG in Canada.

“Historically, it’s been a conservative industry, but companies can no longer afford a wait-and-see approach,” asserts Lorne Burns, national lead with KPMG Canada’s building, construction and real estate group.

Those observations are a prelude to a newly released snapshot of Canadian attitudes and proptech initiatives — drawn from and compared against the complete findings of last fall’s global proptech survey from KPMG — which suggests proptech is more piecemeal than strategically deployed in many cases, hindering the capacity to integrate data collection and interpretation. KPMG analysts also urge companies to better harness proptech for tenant services and to more aggressively address cyber-security vulnerability.

As an optimistic starting point, Canadian companies boast universal buy-in with 100 per cent of participating companies reporting that they have a staff position dedicated to leading digital transformation and innovation. For more than two-thirds of companies, a senior executive, defined as “C-suite level or equivalent”, fulfills the role.

Yet, progressing to the seemingly logical next step, just 36 per cent of Canadian real estate companies have developed and implemented a formal digital strategy and just 8 per cent have done so enterprise-wide. That’s significantly divergent from the global survey results, which reveal 58 per cent have a digital strategy and 29 per cent of companies have rolled them out across their entire enterprise. Analysts see reverberations in companies’ self-assessment of their degree of systems integration, fulsomeness of there data strategies and their cyber preparedness — noting that companies with a digital strategy are more advanced in all cases.

Fragmented systems hinder data interpretation and strategies

The global average score for systems integration was a rather unimpressive 5.4 out of 10, but Canadian companies scored themselves even more critically. An average of 4.7 out of 10 was lower than other regional scores cited in the global report, which reported averages of 5.09 in the Americas (including the United States), 4.86 in the United Kingdom, 5.73 in the rest of Europe and 6.14 in Asia. Even so, KPMG analysts are universally wary of those numbers.

“KPMG’s anecdotal evidence suggests that the average self-assessment of 5.38 is, at best, optimistic. According to our estimates, a property manager or developer can operate up to 30 stand-alone systems to manage finances, operations and different stages of the property value chain (acquisition & construction, marketing & sales, property management, customer & facility services, portfolio optimisation, etc.),” the global proptech report states. “The lack of integration across systems and functions results in inefficiency, task duplication and, most significantly, unreliable reporting and several variations of the truth.”

To a large degree, fragmented and incompatible systems reflect the operations-driven agenda that both the global report and Canadian snapshot highlight. Improving efficiency has been a primary rationale for introducing smart technologies with less consideration given to how its data-generating capability could mesh with other building systems.

Global and Canadian survey results confirm that capital budgeters continue to view proptech potential from a cost-savings rather than revenue-generating perspective. Seventy-six per cent of Canadian respondents identified “improved efficiency” and 55 per cent tapped “improved decision-making” as main objectives of proptech investment. A smaller proportion, at 24 per cent, saw it as an avenue for “improve customer engagement”, with just 20 per cent tying the investment to “revenue maximization”.

Accordingly, the report implores real estate owners/managers to view data as more than an incidental output of operational efficiencies, and to invest in extracting and capitalizing on its value. Globally, the survey found that only 25 per cent of respondents “have a well-established data strategy that enables the capture and analysis of the right datasets”, but that shrinks to just 5 per cent of Canadian companies. Forty-four per cent of survey respondents report that data tends to be generated and kept in silos, benefiting immediate users, but not widely shared or consistently scrutinized for all potential insight.

“The reasons for these low numbers are likely similar at home and abroad: the speed at which big data has arrived on the scene has left companies ill-prepared,” the report surmises. “Canadian real estate has a valuable opportunity to embrace digitization to better serve tenants, customers and tenants’ customers by using data to gain a deeper understanding of their needs and behaviours.”

Similarly, the global report makes links between companies’ digital strategies and the burgeoning demand for what’s been dubbed “property as a service” (PaaS) from co-working providers. “The widespread adoption of PaaS is an acknowledgement of the need to become customer-centric,” it hypothesizes.

Transparency and cyber-security rigour poised to be market differentiators

While real estate companies may be late-starters in tapping into the value of their data, nefarious players are well aware that is lucrative. Analysts recommend proactive cyber-vigilance with a healthy increment of corporate nervousness to drive regular and rigorous testing.

Globally, 69 per cent of respondents claimed to be quite confident or very confident of their companies’ cyber-security, while 24 per cent stated they lacked confidence. In this case, the 7 per cent of respondents in the “don’t know” category would also seem to be indicative of less-than-robust vigilance.

“Somewhat surprisingly, more than a fifth of respondents had undertaken none of the five cyber-security assessments we asked about in the survey: cyber maturity assessment; system/building penetration testing; continuity management in case of breach; supplier security risk management; and data protection under the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation,” the global report states.

Drilling down to Canadian responses, six in 10 indicated they were confident of their organization’s readiness to deal with cyber-security risks. Meanwhile, 40 per cent had not formally assessed cyber preparedness. “Companies should be wary of overconfidence and institute formal measures to stay on top of security measures,” Canadian scrutineers stress.

Here, too, analysts urge companies to view the investment as more than an operating cost.

“Information security should be viewed as a strategic function and a source of competitive advantage,” the global report asserts. “Transparency is crucial here. By being forthcoming about how they handle data and privacy — even to the extent of showing how they deal with data breaches — real estate companies can differentiate their brands and foster greater trust among consumers.”

New trends to disrupt residential market, study finds

Canadian residential real estate is the next industry ripe for disruption, with new technology, innovation and business models poised to shift the sector.

Disruption in the Residential Real Estate Industry is a new study by the Ontario Real Estate Association (OREA) and T3 Sixty, a real estate consulting, research and analysis company. The report looks at the market forces of technology, capital and consumer demand—showing how quickly markets can change when all three align. The report is designed to make Ontario realtors aware of factors driving change in today’s connected society and to help them see the opportunities and risks that come with disruption.

“Smart money is investing in new technologies to help skilled realtors streamline the home buying process and save their client time and money,” said OREA CEO Tim Hudak. “That’s why OREA has taken a leadership role in getting technology in the hands of Ontario realtors to help them improve the home buying and selling experience for their clients.”

The report also looks at the new companies that are making waves in the industry, including Compass, eXp Realty, Opendoor, Properly and Zillow Group, and shows how new innovations can impact the future of real estate.

“Technology is a benefit to realtors in many ways,” Hudak adds. “In fact, we’re already seeing realtors using technology to stay accessible, implementing artificial intelligence on their websites, and using chatbots to interact with visitors and leads, showing that realtors are here to deliver the best client experience possible.”

Luxury condo prices rise amidst high demand

Luxury home prices are on the rise in Montreal, Toronto and Ottawa, according to Royal LePage’s annual market forecast.

Royal LePage defines luxury homes as those that sell for at least $1.32 million. Supply is limited in Toronto’s high-demand areas, with confidence lacking among potential move-up buyers worried over not finding a suitable listing if they sell their current property.

“Luxury condominiums in Toronto saw significant price appreciation as the region’s international reputation continues to grow,” said Kevin Somers, chief operating officer, Royal LePage Real Estate Services Ltd. “Demand has remained healthy for luxury houses in Toronto and Ottawa, however, Montreal’s detached luxury home market continues to show significant upward price momentum.”

In Western Canada, both the greater regions of Vancouver and Calgary showed year-over-year declines in luxury home prices.

“We are seeing encouraging signs that Vancouver’s luxury market is stabilizing,” said Somers. “While no near-term price increases are expected in Vancouver and Calgary’s luxury markets, buyers and sellers are increasingly more confident that the market is stable.”

Greater Toronto Area

The average price of a luxury house in the Greater Toronto Area was up 1.2 per cent to $3,629,916, while the average price of a luxury condo rose 7.0 per cent to $2,402,650.

“Luxury buyers face the same low inventory scenario that challenges the overall residential market,” said Steven Green, sales representative, Royal LePage Partners Realty. “Some of the city’s most desirable pockets have a very low inventory of listings, which is unfortunate for sellers who want to move up in the same neighbourhood.”

Green added that high demand for condos reflects the range of buyers the housing type attracts. Boomers and young executives looking for low maintenance, luxury property are competing against investors and foreign buyers also seeking a low maintenance property to use as a secondary residence. However, all luxury listings, whether detached or condominium, mid- to downtown including central, east and west, are getting a lot of attention.

Over the next year, luxury houses are expected to increase by 2.5 per cent to $3,721,000 while luxury condos are expected to spike 6.0 per cent to $2,547,000.

Montreal

The region saw the highest rate of year-over-year price appreciation for both luxury houses and luxury condominiums in the twelve-month period ending January 31, 2020. During this period, the median price of a luxury house in the Greater Montreal Area rose 8.5 per cent to $1,853,513 year-over-year. The median price of a luxury apartment-style condominium rose 8.3 per cent to $1,409,262 over the same period.

Most in demand are neighbourhoods are Westmount and Outremont, but interest in luxury properties in Le Plateau and Griffintown is surging. West Island is another desirable area where prices are going up. The average luxury condo price is forecast to rise 5.0 per cent to $1,480,000.

“Luxury house sales are happening quickly because buyers know there is significant competition for a limited supply of listings,” said Marie-Yvonne Paint, Royal LePage Heritage. “However, while demand continues to grow for luxury condominiums, buyers still have excellent selection and there is less pressure to move quickly when a listing becomes available.”

Ottawa

Luxury condo prices rose 2.2 per cent to $1,010,870 in the last year. The IT sector and senior public sector employment are said to be driving demand, but also high-earning families

While the market is balanced for luxury properties under $1.8 million, buyers looking for properties listed above $1.8 million will find more selection.

“Luxury new build condo projects are selling between $800 and $1,000 per square foot, which is more than what is being asked in the luxury resale market, said Charles Sezlik, sales representative, Royal LePage Team Realty. “The price gap is putting upward pressure on resale luxury condo prices. Rising land acquisition and construction costs are significant contributors to increasing prices in the luxury home market.”

Moving towards building electrification

Lowering carbon emissions from the building sector is critical to mitigate climate change impacts. To achieve a decarbonized economy, interest in building electrification is growing with modern high-performance buildings moving towards all-electric mechanical systems.

“In B.C., the main way to reduce carbon is to use electricity. Natural gas is 17 times more carbon intensive than electricity. That’s why decarbonization equates with electrification,” said Andy Chong, managing principal at Integral Group, who shared insights on building electrification in a session for Buildex Vancouver.

He started with the rationale for the trend toward electrification, discussing the evolution of building codes and the need to reduce cost and energy. The trend and conversation today is about reducing carbon emissions and fuel switching (from fossil fuels to electricity) is a necessary step to meet climate action goals.

He cited an IPCC special report on the global impacts of 1.5 °C warming above pre-industrial levels, noting that all three levels of governments in Canada are missing the mark despite setting climate change targets.

“We’re cruising past 1.5 °C. Whether you believe that’s important or not, carbon is a conversation right now,” said Chong.

When looking at electrification of building mechanical systems, Chong said it’s about satisfying end uses of energy with electricity that were coming from somewhere else such as cooking and space heating. Furnaces and boilers constitute one of Canada’s largest sources of carbon pollution.

“Decarbonization is an unavoidable theme in our industry right now,” he said. “In B.C., under specific conditions, it means weaning ourselves off fossil fuels for the end uses in buildings that electricity can be used for.”

The biggest challenge is electricity is expensive. “If making a decision purely on operation costs today, it’s hard to make those numbers work,” he acknowledged. “But when we look at carbon cost – it’s huge. There is a huge difference [with using electricity] against even the highest efficiency gas systems in terms of carbon.”

He cited a hypothetical 100,000 square foot commercial building as an example, illustrating that electricity annual cost is three times more than high efficiency gas. But in terms of carbon emissions, electricity is significantly lower at 17 times. Heat pumps offer even more carbon reduction.

Heat pumps are an important technology in the push to decarbonize. Chong provided an overview of how heat pumps work and the different types of pumps available: air to air, air to water and water to water.

“Are we ready to move from fossil fuel appliances to all electric systems? Combustion is really simple and convenient and cheap. Boilers are dead simple at their core,” he said. “Heat pumps are complicated.”

Performance, complexity, operating costs, reliability, maintenance, and limitations in cold-climates are some of the challenges with heat pumps.

“It’s important that we don’t treat them as oversimplified, silver bullet, black boxes connected to a pipe in the ground with unlimited energy. They’re not,” he cautioned. “They are a great application – great solution to some of the problems that we have but they take some sophistication to do right.”

Making heat pumps work requires following best practices with careful treatment of compressors being a priority.

“Compressors are the heart of a heat pump system and we have to treat them well. We need to design and specify with redundancy, backups and maintenance in mind,” said Chong, advising to purchase equipment that comes with service and 10-year warranty for compressors.

For a 100 ton heat pump system, he recommended using 10×10 modules where compressors can be worked intermittently (and not overworked) to meet fluctuating heating and cooling loads.

“Another easy solution is to put in a buffer tank. The buffer tank strategy is simple and will save your compressors,” he said.

Heat pumps also need a better robust cold weather strategy because they don’t “like operating in cold.” Chong cited a project where the heat pump was connected to two sources of energy as a cold weather strategy: an air heat source pump on the roof is used in warm weather while a geothermal field under the parkade is used in cold weather.

Another tip was to be opportunistic with energy sources. Chong highlighted example projects such as the sewage waste heat recovery at Olympic Village; heat recovery from the data centre for Telus Garden; and heat recovery from product refrigeration systems at a Whole Foods store in Victoria.

“Refrigeration loads are a great source of energy. Heat rejected can heat other buildings on site or go back into heating system for make-up air,” he said about the Whole Foods project.

Synergies with other high-performance building technologies can help maximize heat pump performance. Many radiant heating systems are coupled with heat pumps because of their lower design temperature. The lower the design temperature, the higher the performance of a heat pump, explained Chong.

“Pairing a heat pump system with a good building envelope and a lower temperature application like radiant systems is a match made in heaven,” he said. “The heat pump is there to replace the heat you are losing through the skin of the building in the first place. Reducing the demand for heat pumps in the first place is super key.”

He concluded by saying: “Heat pumps can be a very efficient part in decarbonizing and electrifying our buildings. But if you use a heat pump, it’s not an unlimited black box of energy.”

Cheryl Mah is managing editor of Construction Business.

VRCA Awards of Excellence nominations now open

Project nominations for the 2020 VRCA Awards of Excellence are now open. Taking place October 23, 2020 at Vancouver Convention Centre West, the annual awards event is an opportunity for the industry to showcase their company’s commitment to quality and professionalism.

Each year, VRCA recognizes the finest companies, projects, and individuals in the construction industry. Three Silver Award winners are selected in 15 project categories for their use of innovative techniques, new materials, and/or exceptional project management. At the Awards of Excellence gala, one Silver Award winner from each category is chosen as the Gold Award winner.

This year, VRCA has moved its project award nomination process to an online platform. Click here to create a profile and start the nomination process.

Nomination submission deadline is Monday, April 6, 2020.

UPDATE: The NEW submission deadline for project award nominations is now Monday, May 11, 2020.

Alberta to curb spending on asset upkeep

The Alberta government plans to centralize capital maintenance and renewal (CMR) budgeting under the provincial Treasury Board’s authority, shifting the function away from individual ministries. The reorganization of responsibilities was announced in the 2020 Alberta budget, released yesterday, and is to be effective for the 2021 budgeting process.

“Treasury Board will determine ministry funding levels based on a government-wide needs assessment and prioritization process,” the budget document states. “This will increase transparency, improve tracking and reporting on CMR effectiveness and ensure government capital assets can be reasonably maintained.”

The government currently estimates it will allocate about $2.7 billion to that asset management over the next three years, equating to about 16 per cent of capital spending. However, year-over-year spending will incrementally drop by 7.7 per cent over the same period, as a $937-million budget for the fiscal year 2020-21 is trimmed to $865-million by 2022-23.

The largest cut is slated for seniors facilities and housing, where the Ministry of Seniors and Housing will invest $52 million in asset upkeep during 2020-21. That’s targeted for a $21 million, or 40 per cent reduction next year, with spending on maintenance and renewal then holding steady at $31 million for the fiscal year 2022-23.

Currently, based on findings from Alberta Infrastructure’s facility condition assessment, which is conducted at five-year intervals, approximately 24 per cent of the seniors’ and affordable housing portfolio is deemed to be in good condition. The largest share — 71 per cent — is rated in fair condition, with the remainder judged to be in poor condition. As outlined in its 2020-23 business plan, the Ministry of Seniors and Housing is targeting a slight improvement over the next three years, which would push 25 per cent of the portfolio into good condition and reduce the share of units in poor condition to 4 per cent by fiscal year 2022-23.

Spending on provincially owned and occupied facilities will drop by 16 per cent, from $81 million to $68 million, over the three-year period, while the budget for maintenance and renewal of roads and bridges shrinks 9.7 per cent, from $411 million to $371 million.

Maintenance and renewal budgets will remain static for health care facilities and post-secondary institutions, while increasing slightly for primary and secondary school facilities. Spending on the latter is expected to nudge up 2.5 per cent — from $119 million in 2020-21 to $122 million in 2021-22 — before inching down again to $121 million in 2022-23.

“A long-term capital maintenance and renewal strategy is needed to ensure that capital assets in operation are most effectively sustained and repaired to generate the most value,” the 2020 budget document maintains. “Effectively regulating, monitoring and responsibly managing the total CMR invested in each asset will directly affect their lifespan.”

B.C. Budget 2020: record capital spending

In the 2020 budget, the B.C. government made new capital commitments totalling $22.9 billion over three years – the province’s highest level of spending in history.

“From new roads, hospitals, housing, schools and child care centres to better, more affordable services in every community, we’re seeing fundamental changes that are making life better for British Columbians,” said Carole James, Minister of Finance.

Work that is underway on new and upgraded hospitals and health facilities, highway and transit projects, schools and new housing is expected to support more than 100,000 direct and indirect jobs during construction.

Capital investments over the three-year fiscal plan period include:

Health: $6.4 billion to support new construction projects and upgrading of health facilities, medical and diagnostic equipment, and information management systems. Major projects include redevelopment of the Royal Columbian Hospital in New Westminster, new patient care towers at the Royal Inland Hospital in Kamloops and the Penticton Regional Hospital, replacing Mills Memorial Hospital in Terrace and building a new St. Paul’s Hospital in Vancouver (photo above).
Transportation: $7.4 billion for priority projects, including the Pattullo Bridge replacement, the Broadway Subway, four-laning on Highway 1 through Kicking Horse Canyon and improvements to highway corridors in Delta, Langley and along the southern coast of Vancouver Island.
Education: $2.8 billion to maintain, replace, renovate or expand K-12 facilities in North Vancouver, Sooke School District, Quesnel, Coquitlam, the Greater Victoria School District, Vancouver, Abbotsford and an addition to Valleyview Secondary in Kamloops. Many of these new and upgraded schools will also include neighbourhood learning centres and child care spaces.
Post-secondary education: $3.1 billion to build capacity and help meet the province’s future workforce needs in key sectors, including health, science, trades and technology. Projects include a new health science building for students at the British Columbia Institute of Technology in Burnaby.
Housing: More than $1 billion over three years will support the construction of new low- and middle-income housing throughout B.C. This includes more housing for seniors, Indigenous peoples and families. Budget 2020 also provides an additional $56 million for 200 new units of supportive modular housing for people who are homeless or at risk of homelessness.

Peter Menkes named to Order of Ontario

Peter Menkes, president, commercial/industrial, at Menkes Developments, has been named to the Order of Ontario. The distinction is conferred to individuals who have made exceptional and lasting contributions to the fabric of Ontario and the well-being of Ontarians, and is the Province’s highest honour.

“Members of the Order of Ontario exemplify, individually and collectively, the best qualities of good citizenship,” says Elizabeth Dowdeswell, Lieutenant Governor of Ontario. “Through their voluntary service, creativity and the relentless pursuit of excellence, they demonstrate how we in Ontario are working to build a more just and sustainable future.”

In Peter Menkes’ case, that’s literally building sustainable venues for productivity and growth. In a nearly 40-year career with his family company, he has played a guiding role in the development of more than 25 million square feet of commercial, retail and industrial space throughout the Greater Toronto Area.

That includes some of the city’s earliest LEED Platinum office towers, and pioneering projects in Toronto’s prominent SouthCore business district and along the bustling north Yonge corridor. A current 400,000-square-foot development, slated for completion in 2021, is positioned to anchor an innovation, research and technology node in the nascent East Bayfront sector of the city’s vast waterfront lands.

“Peter has been a true leader in the growth of Toronto, both physically and socially. He really kicked off the SouthCore office construction boom with his 25 York project,” observes Michael Brooks, chief executive officer of REALPAC, the association representing many of Canada’s largest commercial real estate companies, funds and institutional investors. “Menkes as a company has been a quiet leader in ESG (environmental, social, governance) and sustainability, for example as one of the first in Canada to adopt the Fitwel health and wellness standard and roll it out to many of its office buildings.”

Peter Menkes joins a select group of 706 honourees since the Order of Ontario was established in 1986. This year’s 21 appointees also include former Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty and Brit Smith, founder and executive chairman of Kingston-based Homestead Land Holdings.

“It is a privilege to be recognized among so many remarkable individuals who have had a vast impact on our city and country,” Menkes says. “I am also fortunate to work with so many great people who have been part of these exciting projects.”

“Peter has been extensively involved in charity, recently with the University Health Network, and has been a leader within REALPAC for more than a decade,” Brooks adds. “It’s a fitting award for a first-class individual and true leading citizen of Ontario.”

5 (More) Reasons to Design with Timber

When it comes to visual appeal in the built environment, mass timber is in a league of its own. A renewable building material with low embodied energy, wood is durable, versatile, and can add significantly to the value of a building over the long-term.

Once used modestly in high-rise construction, wood is increasingly becoming a primary material of choice, thanks to advancements in products and manufacturing. All across Canada building codes are changing to allow for taller structures made predominantly of mass timber, opening the way for some of the most innovative, beautiful structures our cities have ever known.

“As both a structural and decorative element, timber provides a warm and natural aesthetic unlike anything else on the market,” says Mark Ritchie, a Principal with RJC Engineers. “But the benefits of timber go beyond visual appeal. Research is showing human exposure to natural, organic materials like wood, has a calming effect and may play a significant role in our health and wellness. It is also the only renewable building material that is harvested from responsibly managed forests, making it an environmentally-conscious choice among builders.”

Architect: HCMA

According to Ritchie, a significant benefit of using timber is that unlike other construction materials (steel or concrete), timber stores significant amounts of carbon, preventing it from entering the atmosphere. “Building with timber also cuts emissions linked to steel and cement production, which is the second-largest industrial emitter in the world after the fossil fuel industry,” he says.

Renewability, durability and beauty aside, timber delivers numerous other benefits to occupants and builders alike. Whether it’s exposed heavy-wood structural components within an interior space, or a multi-storey building constructed entirely from mass timber, wood is a trend that’s here to stay, and here’s why:

Wood is safe.

As building codes change to allow for 12-plus storeys in mass timber construction, many people remain skeptical about wood’s combustibility and potential threat as a fire hazard. Mass timber structures are designed for one- to two-hour fire events, much like steel or concrete structures. “A mass timber building will be designed to the same fire resistance as compared to concrete or steel structures. Not only will it meet current fire ratings, the volume of timber used make a mass timber structure difficult to ignite,” says Ritchie.

Wood is cost-effective.

Abundant and readily available, wood is lighter than other materials allowing for a reduction in foundation costs.

Wood is a great insulator.

Whether you live in a warm, damp climate or one that fluctuates season-to-season, wood is an excellent insulator with flexible thermal properties. Another advantage is that timber naturally buffers moisture without compromising integrity: “Timber has a low thermal conductivity (high insulating capacity) when compared with structural steel or concrete,” says Richie.

Wood offers seismic resilience.

For builders and architects in Western Canada, seismic activity is a major concern. Wood is naturally flexible, and combined with the right connectors and structural elements, timber design can match the energy dissipation (joint flexibility) found in steel or concrete structures.

Wood absorbs sound and is quiet during construction.

Designing an interior space that will maximize the occupant experience means considering how sound will move throughout the building. Wood can be formed to amplify and enhance sound—or mute it, if desired. “Mass timber sites are quiet during construction as the need for heavy structure equipment found with steel or concrete builder construction sites are not required,” says Ritchie.

As a leader in structural design, RJC has a long history of pursuing innovative uses of building materials, and the firm’s expertise in timber has placed it at the forefront of best practices and code development across Canada.

Find out more about the many ways to incorporate timber into your next project by contacting Mike Richie at [email protected] or visiting www.rjc.ca.

Pomerleau opens new Vancouver office

Pomerleau has opened a new state-of-the-art office in Vancouver. Formerly located in Surrey, the office move brings the construction company closer to the economic heart of the city, as well as its clients and partners. This strategic decision also reflects the company’s continued business growth in B.C. and its desire to invest in its employees by offering them a modern, open-plan work environment.

“I am very proud of this new location, which is our way of demonstrating Pomerleau’s dedication to expanding its presence in Vancouver,” commented Pierre Pomerleau, president and CEO. “Investing in our people and leveraging innovation to keep raising the bar is what defines us. We look forward to continuing to work and grow with our esteemed clients, trusted partners and talented teams as this move is an important milestone in establishing our company as a prime partner from coast to coast.”

Led by Gordon R. Mann, senior vice president, construction, Pomerleau’s B.C. team seeks to increase its ability to support new and ongoing projects, including construction of the South Burnaby Arena and the new outfall pipeline for the Annacis Island Wastewater Treatment Plant, among others.

To celebrate the new office opening, Pomerleau donated $20,000 to local charity RainCity Housing. RainCity Housing creates, implements, and manages housing and support programs that sustain relationships, strengthen communities and drive change for people experiencing homelessness and mental health, trauma and substance use issues, throughout the Lower Mainland.

“Establishing ourselves in the B.C. community means more to us than just doing business. It also means giving back and playing a key role in making our community a better place,” said Mann.

Mass timber buildings and acoustical challenges

The new decade and new year brought big change for the industry. The National Building Code now allows the construction of tall wood buildings up to 12-storeys, up from the previous limit of six. With the exception of British Columbia which secured permission to adopt the new rules last year, all provinces from coast-to-coast are now allowed to build taller mass timber buildings.

Even before the changes came into place, the number of mass timber projects has been rising. For example, the University of British Columbia’s Brock Commons 18-storey Tallwood House is one of the tallest contemporary mass-timber hybrid structures of its kind in the world. In addition, Toronto’s Sidewalk Labs is proposing a collection of mass timber buildings with the tallest one reaching 30-storeys.

Once considered a fire risk, the wood industry has evolved, making mass timber the material of choice. These buildings can be defined as one in which the primary loadbearing structure is made of either solid or engineered wood such as cross-laminated timber (CLT), nail-laminated timber (NLT) or glue-laminated (glulam) timber.

Mass timber delivers both environmental and economic benefits. As a natural resource, it is readily available, renewable, and has a lower carbon footprint than other building materials such as steel or concrete. From a cost perspective, there can be significant savings due to greater construction efficiency. Mass timber structures are often built as components offsite and transported ready to be installed at the project site. It means these buildings are quicker to construct and require fewer people to assemble which reduces labour costs. The University of British Columbia’s Brock Commons tower in Vancouver was completed within 70 days after the prefabricated components were ready for assembly.

Despite the many benefits to mass timber construction, they do present some unique acoustical challenges. Since wood-framed buildings are lighter than concrete, it is harder to stop the transmission of sound which makes it easier for lower frequency sounds to travel through the walls compared to concrete structures.

With proper acoustical design, it is possible to achieve a similar level of privacy in mass timber buildings at the same level as steel and concrete buildings. The following are a few ways to minimize sound transfer in mass timber buildings:

Minimize flanking: Sound travels through the walls, floors, ceiling, gaps and cracks. This is known as flanking and wood buildings are more susceptible to noise issues due to the number of flanking paths where sound travels through assemblies other than the wall itself. This includes the floor, joists, cavities, pipe penetrations, junctions between floors and walls, and ceiling cavities. To avoid sound getting into the floor and then travelling to the adjacent horizontal room, a buildup of layers is necessary. This also applies for sound travelling through the ceiling element via a structure-borne path to an adjacent horizontal room. This should be included in the initial design to ensure adequate space is allocated for the additional layers.
Determine the right mass timber option: There are various options when considering mass timber. This includes glulam timber, CLT, NLT, mass plywood panel (MPP), and dowel-laminated timber (DLT). Acoustical testing found CLT is slightly better as the laminates are cross-oriented in a panel.
Increase mass: More mass means better noise control so mass timber buildings need to be designed in a way that increases mass in order to achieve the same sound levels expected from steel and concrete. Start by using a minimum 5-PLY layer of CLT or equivalent. An alternative is to incorporate a hybrid design which combines mass timber with other heavier materials such as concrete that are better at stopping sound. This is accomplished by pouring a 1-3 inch thick layer of concrete or gypsum on top of the wood base assembly. A soft rubber or semi-rigid insulation matt is placed between the mass timber and the concrete layer for increased noise control.

It is possible to reap the benefits of mass timber buildings without sacrificing acoustics. Combining these various recommendations will help to minimize sound transfer but it can come with additional cost, particularly if it is a design afterthought. It is critical that these acoustical decisions are determined at the outset of the project to avoid having to take down walls, tear up floors or ceilings to incorporate sound control methods after the construction is completed.

Tim Preager is a principal with Aercoustics Engineering Limited. The engineering firm specializes in acoustics, noise and vibration control. He can be reached at [email protected].

Windows and doors in the net-zero frame

A wider selection of high-performance windows and doors is expected to hit the market as Canada’s National Energy Code continues to push the envelope toward net-zero-energy-ready development. A new slate of proposed code changes, released for public review earlier this winter, include downward adjustment of permitted thresholds for heat loss through the building envelope and air leakage at the juncture of building components and assemblies. Developers and designers adhering to the code’s prescriptive path would also face stricter constraints on the number and/or size of windows in almost all of Canada’s climate zones.

While there will still be leeway to fall short of some requirements via the code’s performance path, which factors in counterbalancing tradeoffs elsewhere in the building design, the proposed updates will narrow the room for such manoeuvring. Industry insiders suggest the pending 2020 iteration of the energy code will pose more challenges for developers and designers than the previous 2017 version, and prompt window and door manufacturers to respond.

“I think the smart manufacturers realize this isn’t the time for baby steps,” muses Al Jaugelis, technical director with Fenestration Canada, the national association for window manufacturers and distributors. “These kinds of code changes are signalling to the industry: It’s time to upgrade your platform.”

He predicts market demand will pick up for triple-glazed commercial products such as storefront windows and building entrances that are now primarily sold as double-glazed configurations. Meanwhile, a proposed reduction of U-values for thermal transmittance, or the movement of heat from inside to outside, will most directly affect windows that are designed to be opened because they typically sport twice as much metal as fixed, inoperable windows.

“The highest performing part of a window or door, the part that gives you your efficiency, is the glass. The worst performing part of any window or door is the framing system,” Jaugelis explains. “In most of our market, we don’t have a big supply of operable windows and doors that can achieve this (proposed U-values).”

Lower U-values bring upfront costs and long-term operational savings

As proposed, allowable U-values — a measure of heat loss over surface area per degree Celsius of indoor-outdoor temperature differential, which is expressed in watts per square metre per kelvin (W/m²-K) — for doors and vertical windows will drop by varying amounts in all six of Canada’s climate zones. A complementary code change would introduce higher allowable U-values for skylights to recognize that their sloped formation alters how heat transfer occurs, but wouldn’t diminish performance expectations.

“The proposed skylight U-values will result in a skylight with the same physical components (i.e. low-e coatings, gas fills and warm edge spacers) as a window that complies with the lower U-values,” states the accompanying code change rationale from the Canadian Commission on Building and Fire Codes (CCBFC).

CCBFC projections, based on modelling of 16 archetype structures in the six climate zones, show a range of resulting upfront cost premiums and energy saving estimates. In general, added costs will be highest in climate zones 7A and 7B, covering much of the populated area of northern Quebec, northern Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta and northern British Columbia.

That’s pegged, on average, at $12,900 to $14,000 or a 2 to 2.2 per cent premium compared to compliance with 2017 code criteria. The same zones would reap the greatest energy savings, modelled at 94 to 114 gigajoules (GJ) or 2.4 to 2.8 per cent annual savings compared to performance of the 2017 U-value thresholds.

Nationwide, large office development would see the largest incremental cost increase, estimated at an average of $25,900 or 2 per cent compared to 2017 criteria, which would deliver a projected additional 178 GJ or 1 per cent annual energy saving. However, gains could be somewhat muted depending on seasonal intensity.

“The proposed reduction in window thermal transmittance results in reduced heating, but increased cooling. The better insulated windows reduce heat loss during the winter, but prevent cooling during summer nights/mornings,” the code change rationale acknowledges.

Supporting Canada’s clean growth and climate change commitments

In any case, Jaugelis speculates developers and designers will have to balance off superior performance of some window products for the non-compliance of others. That practice, known as area-weighted averaging, has already been employed to meet standards invoked in 2017 and 2015 editions of the energy code.

“The threshold at which you have to take those measures is now moving downward so this may affect some designs and development that wouldn’t have been affected before,” he says. “For fixed windows, with triple glazing, you can meet these (proposed) numbers. As you get to operable windows, it starts becoming almost impossible, although you might reach those numbers in the lowest climate zones, in places like Vancouver and Windsor.”

That’s arguably in harmony with the code’s overarching agenda to achieve net-zero-energy-ready (NZER) status by the end of this decade — a goal set out in the Pan-Canadian Framework on Clean Growth and Climate Change to support Canada’s commitment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 30 per cent below 2005 levels by 2030. It’s a challenging target that many building specialists agree requires a steady and aggressive schedule for improvement.

The CCBFC’s code change rationale confirms the proposed new U-values are aligned with driving 15 to 20 per cent better energy performance than the baseline of the 2017 energy code. Accordingly, Jaugelis sees evidence the emphasis on steady improvement is achieving results in the fenestration sector.

“The products on the market today are significantly improved in terms of energy performance from what they were 10 or 15 years ago, and the same will be true 10 years from now,” he predicts. On that front, further advances in thermal break technology will be key if operable windows are to deliver stricter U-values.

“The reason fixed windows more easily comply today is because they have less metal, more glass, but we use the same thermal break design in fixed and operable products,” Jaugelis advises. “I think a sophisticated manufacturer will look at the trend of the code going to net-zero and try to get out ahead of it.”

Codifying available products and common practices

The rationale for other proposed code changes related to windows and doors points to products and practices that have already been adopted in the market. That includes more stringent standards for allowable air leakage of doors, revolving doors and overhead doors, and reduction of the permitted ratio of windows and doors to overall wall area (given the acronym FDWR for: fenestration and door to wall ratio) in most of Canada for new construction built to the code’s prescriptive path.

The code change rationale calls the existing code allowance for door air leakage “excessive” and argues that “typically readily available doors in the market today” can meet more rigorous standards. Currently, the air leakage threshold is 0.5 litres per second per square metre (L/s-m²) for conventional doors and 5 L/s-m² for the revolving and sliding doors serving as commercial property entrances, while proposed code changes would lower those thresholds to 0.3 L/s-m² and 2 L/s-m² respectively.

“Reducing the allowable air leakage rate for doors will encourage manufacturers to develop and produce more efficient products,” the code rationale submits.

“The trend to higher performing products has been occurring for some time, and manufacturers that engineer and produce these products tend to lead the market,” agrees Mike Plecash, general manager with Canadian Doormaster Ltd. and president of the Canadian Door Institute, an association representing manufacturers, dealers and distributors. “If we are going to develop effective strategies to deal with climate change, certainly developing high-performance products must be part of this.”

Proposed FDWR adjustments vary across climate zones and actually allow for an expanded proportion of windows and doors in climate zones 4 (Victoria) and 5 (Greater Vancouver, Niagara Region and Windsor). Code drafters maintain the new ratios will reduce thermal transfer through the building envelope, thus curbing the energy load for heating and cooling and saving capital costs for HVAC equipment and the envelope itself.

“Fenestration is typically an expensive element of the above-ground building envelope and, in some cases, is more costly per unit area than opaque above-ground building assemblies,” the code change rationale states. In line with that argument, it observes that many recently constructed buildings have a lower window-to-wall ratio than the current prescriptive path allows.

Nevertheless, new prescriptive ratios will be immaterial for a lot of the booming development in major Canadian cities.

“High-rise condo builders almost always use the performance path largely because condos would rarely fall within the required window-wall ratio for the prescriptive path,” notes Andrew Pride, an influential contributor to the energy code in his role as chair of the National Research Council’s Standing Committee on Energy Efficiency in Buildings.

“Developers and architects have a whole lot of tools in their toolbox,” Jaugelis concurs. “The window and door products you use in the building are just one element of the energy management strategy.”

All proposed changes to the National Energy Code are open for comment until March 13, 2020. Once an updated version of the code is finalized, Canada’s provinces and territories will have to adopt it into their own building codes before any new measures could go into force in those jurisdictions.

Barbara Carss is editor-in-chief of Canadian Property Management.

Marlin Spring’s mixed-use project in Junction to include condos

Toronto-based real estate firm Marlin Spring and Hines are slated to develop a 2.8-acre property in Toronto’s Junction Triangle.

The site on Sterling Road was previously home to the proposed Museum Flats condo project that was cancelled in 2017.

More than one million square feet of residential, retail and office space is planned, including a new child care facility, 6,000 square feet of affordable housing and 646 condo units.

According Marlin Spring’s Pedro Lopes, senior vice-president of developments, the project will fill in vacant lands near the Museum of Contemporary Art and offer a new public park and connections to the West Toronto Railpath.

The project is banking on its transit-friendly access. Close to public transit and cycling infrastructure, the site is located near the UP Express, which gets people to Union Station in a 10-minute ride and Pearson airport in a 15-minute ride.

“By developing new housing, retail opportunities and community infrastructure Marlin Spring hopes to make a positive contribution to this already thriving neighbourhood,” adds Lopes.

Perkins and Will expands Calgary studio

After 20 years of delivering research-driven, human-centered design solutions to clients in Alberta, Perkins and Will has expanded its Calgary studio.

“Expanding our presence in Calgary is a natural progression in the evolution of our Canadian practice,” says Phil Harrison, CEO of Perkins and Will. “It reflects our commitment to better serve our clients and communities in Alberta.”

The expanded studio space is located at 401-1550 5^th Street SW in Calgary’s vibrant Red Mile district. The studio offers clients integrated services in architecture, interiors, and urban design, with a focus on mixed-use, transit, higher education, civic, commercial, and multi-family residential projects.

With access to the firm’s global resources, the studio is able to leverage international expertise in a broad array of practice areas and work collaboratively with other studios on projects of all sizes and complexities.

“Since the first day we started working in Calgary, we’ve built a reputation for delivering high-quality, high-performance buildings and places that respond to each client’s unique needs,” says Brent Welty, a senior associate and one of two leaders in the Calgary studio. “We’re proud of our foundational projects and we look forward to building on that legacy.”

Some of the firm’s most well-known built projects in the city include the Energy Environment Experiential Learning building at the University of Calgary (photo above), the Aqua and Vento multi-family residential development, and the Calgary Public Building restoration.

Current projects include 128 3rd Avenue SW, a mixed-used project in Calgary’s Chinatown in partnership with Hon Developments that will help to revitalize the historical urban neighbourhood, and the new Interdisciplinary Science and Innovation Centre at the University of Calgary, a new state-of-the-art academic building that will transform the east campus gateway. Other key clients include the City of Calgary, City of Edmonton, and Oxford Properties.

Zero-carbon, mass timber college building revealed

Centennial College’s $105-million expansion to the Progress Campus A Block building will be first zero-carbon, mass timber higher-education building in Canada when it completes in 2023.

Forming a new gateway structure at Centennial’s Progress Campus in Toronto, the project will be delivered by the design-build team of Dialog, Smoke Architecture and EllisDon.

The six-storey addition will provide 150,000 gross square feet of space, which includes renovations to the existing A-Block building.

The design firms, Dialog and Smoke Architecture, approached the project using a uniquely Canadian concept of “two-eyed seeing” or viewing the world through the lens of Indigenous knowledge and the lens of western knowledge. The resulting design brings together Indigenous and Western cultures in both the form and function.

“This project grows beyond the simplistic application of Indigenous elements onto a mainstream design,” said Eladia Smoke, principal of Smoke Architecture. “This design is rooted in Indigenous principles, evoked in a contemporary setting. The building’s narrative is a story of seed, growth, culmination, and balance, revealing the seven directions teachings in a cyclical view of an interconnected world.”

The A Block expansion will create an array of new academic spaces with flexible classrooms that support active learning and Indigenous ways of teaching and being. There are new labs for the School of Engineering Technology and Applied Science (SETAS) program and numerous informal spaces for collaboration and socialization.

“This project will be a clear demonstration of how higher-education facilities can make an important contribution to reducing environmental harm by eliminating CO2 emissions,” said Craig Applegath, project principal, Dialog. “Its zero-carbon emissions design, and its ability to store thousands of tonnes of carbon in its sustainably harvested mass timber wood structure, will be an important precedent in both Canada and around the world.”