Cascades to shut down Trois‑Rivières plant

Cascades, a leader in recovery and in the manufacturing of green packaging and tissue paper products, plans to close its plant in Trois‑Rivières, Que. As a result of this decision, Cascades will be permanently withdrawing from felt production for the floor covering market.

“Despite efforts to increase sales levels at the plant, the drop in popularity of vinyl flooring and the gradual market shift from felt backing toward fibreglass backing has had a serious negative impact on the plant’s operations. Unfortunately, the resulting low production volumes mean that the plant is not profitable, a trend that is not expected to reverse given the market outlook. In these circumstances, we, unfortunately, have little choice but to announce that the plant will cease operating,” said Luc Langevin, president and chief operating officer of Cascades Specialty Products Group in the press release.

In total, 35 employees will be affected by the resulting plant closure which is expected to shut down by July 1, 2019.

According to the release, the employees will be offered relocation to its other business units. Those who do not wish to or are unable to relocate to other plants will receive support in their search for other employment.

Davpart unveils plans to transform historic Toronto landmark

Davpart Inc. unveils plans to transform former Maclean-Hunter Building at 481 University Avenue to a 55-storey, mixed-use tower called the UNITED BUILDING. The development will be North America’s tallest architectural heritage retention project.

Located on the northeast corner of University Avenue and Dundas Street West, this location was home to Maclean Publishing and later, Maclean-Hunter, one of Canada’s most prestigious publishing companies and home to flagship Maclean’s Magazine, Chatelaine and the Financial Post newspaper.

“This is one of the busiest intersections in the city and a really significant piece of Toronto,” B+H Architects Principal Mark Berest said in an interview.

The United Building, which is designated under the Ontario Heritage Act, will house 224,245 square feet of commercial office space and 39,320 square feet of retail space from the ground floor to the 10th floor in the restored structure. The residential space will include studio to one bedroom, two bedroom and three bedroom designs, some with a den, flex or media room; some will have two storey plans. Suites sizes start at 300 to 1,400 sq. ft.

The design team includes B+H Architects as the prime consultant, ERA Architects Inc. (heritage consultant) and Tomas Pearce Interior Design Consulting Inc.

“The existing structure is an example of a commercial building from the interwar era and is the result of many bold design influences, from Beaux-Arts to Modern Classical. While restoring the exterior, we will complete the interior to the highest standard of contemporary office and retail available today, so their current uses can continue,” said Davpart’s president and CEO David Hofstedter in the press release.

“It’s a massive undertaking which started within the context of preserving and restoring the existing building. The complexities are enormous and it has taken lots of teamwork and patience to make it happen.”

“There are challenges with this kind of redevelopment, it’s not just preservation of the facade. We’re excavating four stories for parking,” Berest added.

Construction on the UNITED BUILDING is expected to start Spring 2020.

Tennant Company plans move to new HQ

Tennant Company plans to celebrate 150 years in business with new headquarters in Eden Prairie, Minn. The cleaning equipment manufacturer will move to a 40-acre campus at 3 Capital Drive in the first half of 2020.

According to the press release, the new location will bring together roughly 500 employees who are currently spread among three separate buildings on the company’s Golden Valley campus.

“Now is the right time for a move. We’re at capacity for office space on our Golden Valley campus, limiting our options for how to use our existing facilities. This move creates the ability to optimize our Golden Valley location to be a dedicated manufacturing and engineering campus,” said Chris Killingstad, president and CEO of Tennant Company in the release.

“Over the years, Tennant has thoughtfully and prudently managed investments in our facilities. This approach has served us well.”

Ultimately, we determined that purchasing an existing property and consolidating several locations into one was the most fiscally responsible choice for Tennant employees and shareholders.”

Prior to selecting the campus in Eden Prairie, the company evaluated several other options, including building a new building on its current Golden Valley site.

Tennant Company’s partners in this transaction include Oppidan Investment Company and Gensler, an architecture, interior design and planning firm.

Photo courtesy of Tennant Company

VICA announces finalists for inaugural awards

The Vancouver Island Construction Association (VICA) have announced the finalists for its inaugural VICA Awards.

The VICA Awards are designed to recognize the work its members do within the industrial, commercial, institutional, civil, and multi-family residential construction sectors across Vancouver Island, the Gulf Islands, and coastal areas of British Columbia. The awards are open to all VICA members in good standing.

“We’re thrilled to be hosting our inaugural Awards Gala to showcase our members’ diverse projects across Vancouver Island,” says Rory Kulmala, CEO of the Vancouver Island Construction Association.

“While we celebrate our members’ achievements throughout the year, the VICA Awards are our way of formally recognizing the hard work these men and women do to build our local communities.”

The finalists in various categories include:

GENERAL CONTRACTOR AWARD – Over $10 Million
Company: Kinetic Construction Ltd.
Project: 819 Yates Street, Yello on Yates

Company: Knappett Projects Inc.
Project: The Amica at Gorge

Company: Knappett Projects Inc.
Project: City of Campbell River Water Treatment Plant

GENERAL CONTRACTOR AWARD – Up to $10 Million
Company: Century Group Inc. Constructors
Project: 620 Superior Street Tenant Improvements

Company: Knappett Projects Inc.
Project: Union Club Building Renovation

Company: Saywell Contracting Ltd.
Project: Nuutsumuut Lelum (Nanaimo Passive House)

The recipients will be presented their awards at the formal Awards Gala at the Delta Ocean Pointe Resort in Victoria, B.C. on Tuesday, April 23, 2019 — the evening before the Vancouver Island Construction Conference.

For full list of finalists, visit www.vicabc.ca. All winners will be featured in Construction Business.

Early termination clauses open to possible abuse

Lately there has been a lot in the news about the cancellation of condominium projects in the Greater Toronto Area. These cancellations were met by frustration and anger from unit purchasers who, though they received their deposits back, along with the nominal interest prescribed under the Condominium Act, felt that this did not go far enough toward making them whole.

How, exactly, is a developer permitted to simply cancel a project, sometimes a number of years after the first agreements of purchase and sale were signed? The answer lies in the mandatory Tarion Addendum to the agreement and purchase and sale of a pre-construction unit. The Addendum requires a developer to provide a unit purchaser with a list of critical dates in the context of the Tarion delayed occupancy warranty.

However, with regard to the issue of project cancellation, the Addendum also permits a developer to insert into an agreement of purchase and sale certain early termination conditions which, if not waived, can lead to the termination of the agreement of purchase and sale. These include:

Conditions that permit the developer to terminate the agreement based on the fault of the purchaser. One such common condition is the assignment of the agreement by the purchaser without the consent of the developer.
Conditions that solely benefit the purchaser, such as to obtain financing or the statutory 10 day “cooling off” period following the execution of an agreement.
Conditions that make the agreement conditional upon receipt of approval from a government authority for things like planning/zoning changes (including minor variances), site plans and similar agreements, and the obtaining of easements or similar rights serving the property.
Conditions that solely benefit the developer, notably confirmation that financing for the project on terms satisfactory to the developer has been obtained by a specified date.

It is the final two categories of conditions that can lead to the types of cancellations that have been in the news.

A major problem with these types of conditions is that they are open to possible abuse. For example, a project that was marketed as having a certain number of floors or a certain range of uses, may be conditional on municipal approval for a greater number of floors or additional uses, even though there may only be a limited possibility of ever receiving this approval. Similarly, a condition requiring the developer to confirm that it has been able to obtain financing on terms satisfactory to the developer is not pegged to whether reasonable financing exists that would permit the project to proceed, only to whether the terms are “satisfactory” to the developer. So, even though the Addendum clearly provides that the developer must take “all commercially reasonable steps within its power” to satisfy early termination conditions, this still leaves open a tremendous amount of room in which something like financing could be used as an excuse to cancel a project for other reasons.

These problems are compounded by the fact that a financing term such as that set out above does not have a tight timeline within which it must be waived by a developer. Instead a condition of that type can remain open up until 90 days before the First Tentative Occupancy Date for the unit, which can be many months into the future. It is this factor that leads to perhaps the most troubling impact of the cancellation of a project. Although a project may be cancelled years after an agreement of purchase and sale was signed, the developer is only required to return the purchaser’s deposit, along with nominal interest as prescribed in the Condominium Act. There is no accounting for the fact that the purchaser has been kept out of a rising housing market for months, if not years, and now may not be able to find a similar home in a similar area for anywhere near the same price and may, in fact, be priced out of the market altogether.

The final aggravating factor is that even though early termination conditions are governed by Tarion’s Addendum, Tarion itself has no power to award damages to jilted owners. The most Tarion can do is investigate whether a developer has acted properly and use that to potentially prohibit that developer from registering further projects. That does little to help a purchaser on an already terminated project. Instead, purchasers are left out on their own to consult with lawyers as to whether they should litigate against deep-pocketed developers. Indeed, the latest round of project cancellations has already led to at least one court application already having been commenced on behalf of a large group of unit purchasers in the cancelled Cosmos condo project in Vaughan.

There is no doubt that purchasing a unit in a pre-construction condo project comes with risks. In return for the potential to own a brand new unit, at a price that is almost certain to appreciate in the current housing climate, a purchaser must recognize that they are shouldering certain risks that the project will not get off the ground. However, two relatively straightforward conceptual fixes that would help protect purchasers are:

Limiting the deadline by which a developer must waive certain types of conditions. Some have suggested that this should be a maximum of 90 or 180 days after the first agreement of purchase and sale for the project is signed. This would force developers to be more certain of their municipal approvals and financing prior to signing agreements, lest they go to the trouble of selling units only to have to cancel the project a few months later. This would protect purchasers by ensuring that their deposit money is not tied up for years and that, if a project is cancelled, they can quickly look for another purchase.
Requiring a developer to return to purchasers not only their deposit amounts, but instead an amount that reflects the estimated fair market value of a unit of similar size and quality in the same geographic area. This would certainly require some legwork, but could be overseen by Tarion, especially with regard to any security that may have to be posted in this regard.

There is always risk in buying something sight unseen, and many developers take great pride in delivering their purchasers a quality completed product. However, that does not mean that purchasers, many of whom may view this purchase as a home or a long-saved-for rental unit, should be left to the whims of a developer who may take advantage of the leeway afforded by early termination conditions.

Patrick Greco is a partner at Shibley Righton LLP with a practice specializing in condo law.

Developing an IT roadmap in facility management

The IT Community of the International Facility Management Association (IFMA) often gets asked about how to get started with IT in facility management (FM) and how to develop a long-term strategy for FM IT solutions.

This fall, at IFMA’s World Workplace in Charlotte, North Carolina, the IT Community set out to provide practitioners with the tools to do just that. The interactive session was setup as a two-way interview between a practitioner and ‘consultants’ using a real example in the practitioner’s workplace. The goal was to develop an understanding the needs and goals of a practicing facility manager while getting feedback from small to medium-sized enterprises on how to get started in developing an IT roadmap.

During the presentation, the more than 100 audience members were polled to understand where they stand with respect to FM technology. The response was almost universally consistent: regardless of organization size, everyone was challenged by budgetary constraints, the ability to differentiate need from technology platform, and a strong concern that they and their department were behind the curve in adopting effective base technology to run their businesses (let alone looking at leading edge technology solutions).

The practitioners were asked some fundamental questions: “Do you have an accurate inventory of your space portfolio including usage and occupancy?” “Do you have an accurate and detailed inventory of all of the major assets in your portfolio that require Preventative Maintenance?” “Have you created a detailed list of all resources that both receive and deliver FM services?

Their answers revealed a common concern across a wide range of portfolio types and organizations: “How do we know what best suits our organization from a technology platform perspective?”

Experience suggests that supporting business processes and the stakeholders involved should always come first when discussing the need for automation and analysis. To that end, it’s important to start with the why and the who. The what and the when will follow logically.

Before developing an IT roadmap, a facility manager or commercial real estate practitioner will need to both understand the needs the IT solution will be solving as well as the defining challenges that will be faced in reaching the goal. Having a simple, clear vision for an IT project is the first step in creating a successful plan. But, planning a perfect roadmap for such a project can be anything but simple.

The following is an outline of the key components required to assemble an IT roadmap:

Evaluating readiness
Always start with the obvious question: “Are we ready?” The business process for developing and executing an IT project is similar to any project planning process. Breaking the process down into the following categories can make getting started less intimidating:

Determine the scope of the IT project;
Know whether the project has management buy-in;
Define who needs to be on the project team;
Establish who the customer is;
Ask whether return on investment is important;
Determine whether any process changes are needed;
Decide whether there are any “new” features or functions;
Develop an awareness and training program plan;
Establish a system of record matrix to help ensure data integrity; and
Develop reporting and key performance indicators

Defining the team
Once readiness has been confirmed, it’s time to select a cross-functional team. When defining the team, it’s important to consider including subject matter experts if specific expertise does not exist within the department. Team members may include facilities department staff, the IT department, user groups from within the business, user groups outside the business (contractors, consultants), and outside experts.
Developing the roadmap
Often, there is a tendency to overlook technology elements and data already in place. Where possible, leverage technology and data that is already in place.

Which systems does the organization currently have? Do they accomplish what they were intended to? Are the current systems user-friendly? Web-based? Mobile-friendly?

Develop and document the system’s current infrastructure design as well as the application ’s current configuration and design. Review and assess data integrity. Conduct a gap analysis between the current state and an anticipated future state.

Solidify the roadmap
With a solid understanding of the current state, look for opportunities for improvement. Close the gaps; document processes that are undocumented, not being followed or are error-prone; define metrics to measure success; and understand the value of vital data that is not currently being captured.
Completing the roadmap
The last step in roadmap development is to formulate a “master” plan. This plan should include a clear understanding of the components needed to achieve the future state; plans for small incremental “baby steps” to achieve goals and build towards the future state; and plans for pilots that will allow for testing and refinement in controlled environments.

To sum up, the successful implementation of an FM IT solution involves taking some key steps: gathering data to get the best possible view of an organization’s resources, asking for feedback from like organizations/portfolios both from technology providers and peers, and then developing a roadmap that makes economic and cultural sense for the FM department.

Geoff Williams is the current treasurer and past chair of the IFMA Technology Community, past president of the Toronto Chapter of IFMA, past director on IFMA’s Global Board of Directors and also serves on the IFMA Americas’ Advisory Board. He has more than 20 years of experience in facility operations and strategic planning. He is co-editor of The Facility Manager’s Guide to Information Technology and is based in Toronto, Ontario.

Ted Ritter is the current global chair of the IFMA Technology Community, past president of the Greater Phoenix Chapter and also serves on the IFMA Americas’ Advisory Board. He has more than 30 years of experience in facility operations and project management. He a co-author of The Facility Manager’s Guide to Information Technology and based in Phoenix, Arizona, where he supports FM education at Arizona State University.

Toronto office vacancy rate hits record low

Downtown Toronto office vacancy rate tightened, dropping to a new record low of 2.6 per cent in the first quarter, according to a newly released report by CBRE.

The Q1 2019 Quarterly Statistics report also finds that Toronto’s industrial market, which has had 16 consecutive quarters of positive net absorption, saw its availability rate hit an all-time low of 1.5 per cent in Q1, with 2.2 million square feet (sq. ft.) of positive net absorption.

CBRE Canada vice-chairman Paul Morassutti said, “Canadian office markets continue to gather momentum, in large part as a result of rapidly growing tech and co-working sectors. The remarkable office market momentum continues to build, but tenants have fewer and fewer options if they don’t plan ahead.”

Overall, the national office property vacancy rate decreased by 40 basis points (bps) quarter-over-quarter to 11.5 per cent in Q1 2019, the lowest level since Q2 2015. The amount of office product under construction nationwide in the first quarter reached 16.0 million sq. ft. for the first time since Q4 2015. The national industrial availability rate dropped to a new record low of 3.0 per cent.

The press release said the rise of online retail sales and the associated warehouse space needed to keep up with consumer demand has pushed the Canadian industrial market into overdrive.

Some market highlights include:

Vancouver
Vancouver saw an additional 1.4 million sq. ft. of new office development break ground this quarter.

Montreal
Montreal’s downtown office vacancy now sits at 8.6 per cent, the lowest it has been since Q4 2013.

Calgary
Calgary experienced 289,515 sq. ft. of positive net absorption of downtown office space in Q1 2019, the largest quarter of positive absorption since the oil downturn in 2014. Much of the activity came from tenants taking back space previously listed for sublease, spaces being converted to co-working uses, and landlords turning unoccupied supply into amenity space.

Halifax
The Halifax industrial market had 50,465 sq. ft. of positive net absorption in Q1, the ninth straight quarter of positive net absorption for that city.

LTB collects $13 million in Ontario fee revenue

A majority of Ontario landlords opted to e-file applications to the Landlord and Tenant Board (LTB) Tribunal in the first year it was possible to do so, but a sizable minority relinquished the potential $15 discount and submitted traditional paper documents. An even smaller proportion of tenants took advantage of the online portal, as 59 per cent spent the extra $5 dollars it costs them to apply through paper-based channels.

The Financial Accountability Office (FAO) of Ontario’s recently released tally of approximately 1,100 provincial service fees reveals that landlords paid more than $12.5 million toward the administrative costs of the 100,706 applications they filed with the Tribunal between April 2017 and March 2018. Tenants chipped in another $377,000 for 7,723 submissions.

“E-filing began in earnest in the spring of 2017, but, in a lot of scenarios, it’s more of a convenience for the Board than applicants,” observes Joe Hoffer, a partner with Cohen Highley LLP, whose work regularly takes him to one of the LTB offices. “We are at the Board almost every day picking up Notices of hearing and it is more convenient for us, administratively, if we just drop off our applications at the same time.”

Including $95,200 associated with 4,688 applications from the co-op housing sector and $175,000 from all parties’ requests to review an order, the LTB accounts for just 0.45 per cent of $2.9 billion in Ontario fee revenue collected during the period the FAO scrutinized. Nevertheless, the volume and sum of Tribunal admin charges exceed most other tolls tied to commercial real estate and/or professional and skilled personnel who work in the industry.

Flow-through costs to real estate

In comparison, the Assessment Review Board garnered about $320,000 from 1,760 non-residential appellants challenging the value assigned to their properties, while the Local Planning Appeal Tribunal collected about $629,000 from 2,099 appellants disputing planning decisions. The Building Materials Evaluation Commission exacts the highest single fee developers/building owners are likely to encounter — $11,000 to seek permission for innovative construction materials, systems or designs not explicitly authorized by the Building Code — but it was levied just six times during the year.

Building service providers’ registration and license fees account for another modest fraction of provincial fee revenue. The Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing took in about $1.3 million in various examination and licensing fees for building officials, designers and design firms, and sewage system installers. That includes nearly 3,350 practitioners who each paid $150 to take an exam required to prove their qualifications to apply the Building Code. If demand remains relatively stable, the Ministry’s fee revenue should increase in 2018-19 and again in 2019-20 since 23 of its administration charges rose by 2 to 2.8 per cent at the beginning of this year.

Together, security guards, private investigators and their employers submitted about $3.4 million in license fees to the Ministry of Community, Safety and Corrections with the bulk of that in $80 outlays from nearly 39,600 individual guards and investigators. Meanwhile, landscapers, grounds-keeping and pest control contractors and building owners/managers with in-house grounds-keeping services were among the 5,500 proponents who paid $90 to $200 for pesticide licenses, collectively rendering $701,000 to the Ministry of the Environment.

Discount sways more landlords than tenants

The Landlord and Tenant Board Tribunal accepts online applications for four categories of appeal, aligned with the two most common appeals that landlords and tenants make. In 2017-18, landlords paid more than $10.7 million to submit: 47,578 applications to evict a tenant for non-payment of rent and collect rent owed; and 11,397 applications to terminate a tenancy and evict the tenant. Tenants paid nearly $223,000 to submit 2,829 applications related to subjugation of their rights and 1,814 addressing neglect of maintenance.

Landlords’ fees in both cases were $175 for online applications — an option that 52 per cent of appellants chose — or $190 for paper-based submissions. Tenants were charged $45 for online applications or $50 for paper-based applications, with just 41 per cent opting to e-file.

Hoffer speculates owners/managers with larger and more regionally dispersed portfolios may be the most enthusiastic e-filers since staff in a central location can coordinate the process and submit required forms to any of the eight LTB offices province-wide. “Then they’d have to have their staff in the different regions pick up the Notices of hearing at whichever LTB office was involved,” he adds.

Tenants may be less aware of the e-filing option or lack online access and/or the credit or debit card required to facilitate the process. Alternatively, they can submit paper applications at an LTB office, at a larger number of designated ServiceOntario centres or by mail.

“Many times tenants file in response to a landlord’s application and they may get the idea to file when they go to the Board office and ask counter staff for help,” Hoffer advises. “As time goes on and the level of tenant awareness goes up, maybe we will see an uptick in tenants e-filing.”

Landlords also submitted more than 41,000 applications in 2017-18 related to; above-guideline rent increases; sublets; ending a tenancy with the tenant’s agreement; varying rent reductions; collecting owed rent; and determining whether the Residential Tenancies Act applied to units in question. Rarer matters included: 29 applications related to tenants changing the locks; five requests to review a work order arising from provincial maintenance standards; and one request to transfer a tenant from a care home.

Limited scope for sub-metering appeals

Just six tenants paid the $50 fee to apply for a rent rebate or other reparations related to unit sub-metering for electricity consumption. However, the avenues for appeal through the LTB are limited and tied to landlords’ conduct rather than that of unit sub-metering providers.

Tenants can argue that landlords did not properly inform them of expected electricity costs, failed to provide an appropriately energy-efficient refrigerator or to disconnect sub-meters from electric heat sources, but there is no opportunity to contest unit sub-metering providers’ pass-through administrative charges at the Tribunal. Meanwhile, the Ontario government’s newly adopted Restoring Ontario’s Competitiveness Act rescinds the Ontario Energy’s Board authority to regulate those charges.

Sub-metering companies are also among the building service providers who pay provincial fees as a cost of business. That includes an annual $800 registration fee for each license they hold, and a $1,000 fee for every application filed with the Ontario Energy Board.

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

Calgary condo market sees modest uptick as more renters look to buy

According to the latest Royal LePage House Price Survey, low rental vacancy rates and rising rental costs in Calgary are contributing to a modest increase in condominium ownership.

“Although our resale market is still challenged, rental vacancy rates are low, and rent is expected to go up 4% this year. This may contribute to more renters deciding to become homeowners instead, and specifically condominiums,” said Corinne Lyall, broker and owner, Royal LePage Benchmark. “We see this is already happening in the condo market and is expected to continue.”

Lyall anticipates a somewhat tighter real estate market in the spring as the supply of new listings sees a double-digit decrease compared to last year.

“Fewer new listings are resulting in some multiple offers for properties in desirable neighbourhoods that are priced right,” she noted. “That said, this activity is being spurred by price reductions and recently decreased interest rates. Despite fewer properties being listed, our inventory is still high and there are many options for buyers who are looking. As well, I imagine that will shift as we are moving into our spring market when sellers start preparing to move before the end of summer.”

She adds that there are Calgarians that may be waiting to make purchases until seeing results from the upcoming provincial and federal elections.

According to the survey, the median price of a condominium increased 0.2 per cent rising to $286,453 while the median price of a two-storey home decreased 0.9 per cent year-over-year to $513,616. In the same period, bungalows also decreased by 3.7 per cent year-over year to $490,170.

On a quarter-over-quarter basis, the aggregate price of a home in Calgary is expected to dip 0.5 per cent to $466,727 in the second quarter as home prices are expected to stabilize during the spring market.

Nationally, year-over-year home prices showed moderate gains in many regions across Canada in the first quarter of 2019. The Royal LePage National House Price Composite, compiled from proprietary property data in 63 of the nation’s largest real estate markets, showed that the price of a home in Canada increased just 2.7 per cent year-over-year to $621,575 in the first quarter of 2019, well below the long-term norm of approximately 5 per cent.

When broken out by housing type, the median price of a two-storey home rose 2.6 per cent year-over-year to $729,553, while the median price of a bungalow rose 1.1 per cent year-over-year to $513,497. Condominiums remained the fastest growing housing type on a national basis, rising 5.4 per cent year-over-year to $447,260.

“We are expecting this to be a sluggish year overall in Canada’s residential real estate market, with the hangover from the 2018 market correction and weaker economic growth acting as a drag on home price appreciation, balanced by lower for longer interest rates,” said Phil Soper, president and CEO, Royal LePage. “There is a silver lining here. This slowdown gives buyers, and first-time buyers in particular, an opportunity to buy real estate in our country’s largest cities.”

Alberta to fund recreation facilities upgrades

The Province of Alberta is providing $9 million to upgrade recreation facilities with energy-efficient technology under the Climate Leadership Plan to help municipalities cut energy costs and emissions. The Recreation Energy Conservation Program provides up to $750,000 per municipality, and all municipalities in Alberta are eligible to participate.

“Whether it’s for hockey practice or swim class, nothing is more Albertan than taking a trip to the community centre. By helping facilities make energy-efficiency upgrades, municipalities will save money and reduce their emissions, and people will notice the changes when they visit with their families. This program will have a big impact in communities across Alberta,” said Shannon Phillips, Minister of Environment and Parks and Minister responsible for the Climate Change Office.

In addition to buying energy-efficient technology, municipalities can use the funding for scoping audits and engineering studies. A variety of municipally owned facilities qualify for funding, including arenas, rinks, aquatic centres, community recreation centres and multiplexes.

The Municipal Climate Change Action Centre (MCCAC) is a partnership between the Government of Alberta, the Alberta Urban Municipalities Association and the Rural Municipalities of Alberta. It is responsible for funding, technical assistance and education to municipalities to address climate change, and will administer the Recreation Energy Conservation Program.

We know municipalities want to make energy-efficient choices, which will reduce energy costs and emissions. This program allows municipalities to purchase energy-efficient products, retrofit existing facilities or plan for future energy-efficient upgrades to recreation centres. It’s a win-win for municipalities and Albertans,” said Shaye Anderson, Minister of Municipal Affairs.

CaGBC launches energy disclosure challenge

The Canada Green Building Council (CaGBC) is challenging property stakeholders to be more open about their energy, water, and carbon usage. On March 27, the organization launched the CaGBC Disclosure Challenge Initiative to promote data transparency within the Canadian real estate market and encourage benchmarking programs.

“When collected and shared, building performance data is a powerful tool propelling Canada’s retrofit economy. With the Disclosure Challenge, we hope to increase understanding of how buildings are performing and where they can be improved. This, in turn, will help governments identify the sectors and building types most in need of retrofit to achieve maximum emissions reductions,” said Thomas Mueller, President and Chief Executive Officer at CaGBC. “We know the real estate industry supports disclosure in terms of good business practice and smart decision making for investments, but also as part of their role in supporting the low-carbon economy.”

Several real estate players are answering the call. QuadReal Property Group, Triovest Realty Advisors Inc., and Concert Properties Ltd. have agreed to fully disclose energy, water, and carbon data across their building portfolios.

“We understand what buildings mean to people and what they contribute to local communities,” said Jamie Gray-Donald, Senior Vice-President, Sustainability and Environmental Health and Safety at QuadReal Property Group. “There is also growing demand from tenants for this type of disclosure and access to environmental information. We are excited to participate in this challenge and look forward to seeing more organizations take part in the future.”

CaGBC says public energy disclosure is relatively new in Canada, with Ontario being the only province that currently mandates buildings to report their data. Herein, the organization hopes to expand the practice to jurisdictions across Canada to demonstrate the value of data transparency and industry benchmarking.

“To voluntarily disclose is to boldly demonstrate that transparency is a core value and that a commitment to sustainability and continuous improvement is good business practice,” said Cliff Majersik, Executive Director of the Institute for Market Transformation (IMT), a Washington, DC firm specializing in data disclosure. “The IMT commends CaGBC for hosting the Disclosure Challenge, which shines a light on valuable building energy information that sets a baseline for progress, allows for occupants and investors to make smarter leasing and purchasing decisions, and makes it easier for governments, utilities, and businesses to target market offerings and programs that help those most in need of assistance.”

Results of the CaGBC Disclosure Challenge Initiative will be presented at CaGBC’s Building Lasting Change conference in May 2019 with a final report to follow in 2019.

Justifying the costs of workplace ergonomics

You’ve identified the ergonomic hazards, developed solutions to address them, and researched the costs and resources needed to implement the solutions. Even still, you just can’t seem to convince upper management to invest in the change.

In some cases, it’s not about the solution or recommendation; it’s about how the information has been presented. Let’s change that narrative and talk a bit more about return on investment (ROI).

Remember, no matter the company or organization, everyone is accountable to a budget. By focusing on the return this initiative is going to have, you might make your ROI stand out and your project really resonate with upper management.

1. WSIB and Injury Claims
Step one requires identifying the number of employees that have experienced a musculoskeletal disorders (MSD) or near misses while performing the job. Generally, the more frequent or severe an injury, the more the need for some intervention. Look at your WSIB premiums and consider the direct costs associated with this worker being off (e.g., lost wages, retraining time, etc.).

2. Control Effectiveness and Cost Estimation
Step two requires that you estimate the overall effectiveness of, and the cost to, implement the solution to address the identified hazards. Ask questions like “What is the cost of this intervention?”, “Does the control eliminate or reduce exposure to the hazards?” (which determines the impact of intervention), and “What other controls/options are out there that might also address this issue?” Do your due diligence and know the ins and outs of what you are proposing, alternate solutions, and the cost of each so that you are building your business case in the best way possible.

3. Estimate the Benefits and Payback
In this stage, it’s important to attempt to provide a sound estimation of the overall benefits that the control implementation will have, specifically from a financial standpoint. Estimate the percentage of reduction in claims as well as the reduction in associated costs (e.g., WSIB premiums, employee wages) and indirect costs (e.g., training, production changes, re-training). Doing this should give you a good estimation of the expected savings and how quickly management should see a return on their investment.

4. Determining ROI
Next, add and subtract all the costs to implement the control and the estimated benefits and returns that the company can expect over the next year. Keep in mind that the greater or more quickly the return, the more likely the approval from management becomes.

Show upper management and company owners the positive numbers. This process is a methodical approach, but one that should be standard practice in generating and driving ergonomic change initiatives at your facility.

This article was adapted and reprinted with permission from PROergonomics.

Plastic themed art drops in midtown Toronto

In celebration of Earth Month, Slate Asset Management brings Natural Plasticity – a plastic inspired art installation – to their properties at Yonge and St. Clair. The inflatable installations will be on display at 2 St. Clair W and 55 St. Clair W., until May 1.

California-based artists, Jana Cruder and Matthew LaPenta, created Natural Plasticity in 2013 in order to challenge the conversation around disposable culture by bringing plastic products into the hub of our everyday convenience.

The single-use plastic replicas stand 20-30 ft. tall and take the form of disposable cups, bottles, and straws.

Natural Plasticity’s 22-ft. tall plastic water bottle and 25-ft.-tall disposable straw, pictured at 2 St. Clair West, Toronto.

This is the first time the installations have travelled to Canada. Prior to the display in Toronto, Natural Plasticity’s travelling installations have been featured at widely visited destinations in California, New York, and Florida.

“Slate’s celebration of Earth Month highlights our commitment to public art and sustainability at Yonge + St. Clair, taking a more creative approach to spreading awareness about our daily habits,” says Lucas Manuel, partner & managing director at Slate Asset Management in the press statement.

“We’re always looking to engage with tenants, community members, and visitors and spark dialogue, especially at Yonge + St.Clair, where the ongoing transformation of the neighbourhood is top of mind.”

Photos courtesy of Khristel Stecher.

ASH REIT expands Ontario student housing portfolio

Alignvest Student Housing (ASH REIT) announced it has purchased a portfolio of four high-quality purpose-built student accommodation (“PBSA”) properties located in Waterloo, Hamilton and Oshawa. This acquisition brings the REIT’s total bed count up to over 3,300 PBSA beds across seven highly-amenitized properties for an asset base approaching $400 million.

“We are excited about adding these high-quality properties to our current portfolio,” said Sanjil Shah, Managing Partner. “This purchase maintains our best-in-class approach to the student housing market and elevates our platform to be a significant owner/operator of university student housing in Canada”.

ASH REIT has been a leading consolidator in the institutional-grade student housing market in Canada since its inception in June 2018. The company remains committed to the consolidation of the fragmented sector and is in conversations with owners of additional high-quality properties across the country.

333 and 339 King Street North, Waterloo, Ontario – King Street Tower I & II

King Street Tower I is a PBSA property located approximately 400 metres from Wilfrid Laurier University and 800 metres from the University of Waterloo. King Street Tower I is a 17-storey modern building that was built in 2011 with 536 beds in 126 fully-furnished units, is 100% occupied as of March 2019 and 100 per cent pre-leased for the 2019/20 school year.

King Street Tower II is a PBSA property adjacent to King Street Tower I. The 21-storey modern building was built in 2013 with 419 beds in 80 fully-furnished units, is 100% occupied as of March 2019 and 100 per cent pre-leased for the 2019/20 school year.

The two properties offer the highest-quality amenities in the Waterloo market, including exercise facilities, games rooms, study rooms, conference/boardrooms, a computer centre, a theatre room, a rooftop patio with a fire pit, tanning beds, saunas and several other attractive offerings. The two buildings currently operate as a single entity and consist of an optimal mix of suite configurations ranging from 3 to 5-bedroom units.

1686 Main Street West, Hamilton, Ontario – West Village Suites

West Village Suites is a LEED Platinum certified property and is the only PBSA property in Hamilton serving McMaster University’s 31,000 students. The property was built in 2008 and has established itself as the “go-to” off-campus housing in the market. West Village Suites is located close to campus and is adjacent to many shops and restaurants that are targeted to McMaster students.

The 9-storey building has high-end amenities for its tenants, including a fitness studio, various study rooms, student lounges, games rooms, a yoga studio and ~12,000 sq. ft. of ancillary ground floor commercial space. The building offers a mix of 2- to 5-bedroom units with a total of 449 beds in 107 units, is 100 per cent occupied as of March 2019 and 100 per cent pre-leased for the 2019/20 school year.

1700 Simcoe Street North, Oshawa, Ontario – Village Suites Oshawa

Village Suites Oshawa is a LEED Gold certified purpose-built student accommodation located approximately 600 metres from the main campus of the University of Ontario Institute of Technology (“UOIT”). UOIT has approximately10,000 students and shares its campus with approximately 8,000 students enrolled at Durham College, creating a total targeted tenant base of close to 17,000 full-time students.

The property consists of one modern 6-storey building and an attached modern 4-storey building, which were both built in 2010. There is a total of 588 beds in 133 units with a mix of 3 to 5-bedroom configurations and over 4,000 sq. ft. of ancillary ground floor commercial space. The building offers its tenants high-end amenities, including a fitness studio, various study spaces, student lounges, games rooms, a yoga studio, is 95 per cent occupied as of March 2019 and is well ahead of last year’s September occupancy targets.

CSLA College of Fellows to induct new members

The CSLA College of Fellows will welcome nine new members during the CSLA Congress to be held May 7-8, 2019, in Vancouver, in recognition of their outstanding contributions to the profession over an extended period of time.

In alphabetical order, they are:

John George, OALA, CSLA, (Burlington, ON)
Executed Works of Landscape Architecture

Monica Giesbrecht, MALA, CSLA, (Winnipeg, MB)
Executed Works of Landscape Architecture and Direct Service to the Society

Lynda Macdonald, OALA, CSLA, (Toronto, ON)
Administrative Professional Work in Public Agencies or Government Service and Service to the Community or the Public on behalf of the Profession

David Powell, SALA, CSLA, (Regina, SK)
Administrative Professional Work in Public Agencies or Government Service and Direct Service to the Society

Marie-Claude Quessy, AAPQ, CSLA, (Ottawa, ON)
Administrative Professional Work in Public Agencies or Government Service

Bob Somers, MALA, CSLA, (Winnipeg, MB)
Executed Works of Landscape Architecture, Service to the Community or the Public on behalf of the Profession and Direct Service to the Society

David Spencer, AALA, BCSLA, CSLA, (Calgary, AB)
Executed Works of Landscape Architecture

Lucie St-Pierre, AAPQ, AALA, CSLA, (Montréal, QC)
Executed Works of Landscape Architecture and Direct Service to the Society

Don E. Wuori, BCSLA, CSLA, (posthumously, Vancouver BC)
Executed Works of Landscape Architecture

Induction to the College of Fellows is the highest honour the CSLA bestows on its members. Candidates for Fellowship may be nominated by individuals through their CSLA component association. A jury of six Fellows, representing regions across Canada, selected the new Fellows based on extensive submissions documenting each candidate’s contributions to the profession.

CaGBC launches initiative to encourage data transparency

The Canada Green Building Council (CaGBC) launches the Disclosure Challenge – an initiative to promote data transparency in the Canadian real estate market.

The challenge calls for the industry to publicly disclose energy, carbon and water data from buildings.

According to CaGBC public energy disclosure is in its “infancy” in Canada. The organization hopes the challenge will encourage broader uptake of benchmarking programs across the country in order to catch up to many European and American states and cities that have been requiring building energy disclosure and benchmarking for years.

Another goal of CaGBC is to demonstrate the value of data transparency and remove barriers within the wider real estate community, which will enable more municipal and provincial jurisdictions to move forward with requirements for the public reporting of building performance data.

“When collected and shared, building performance data is a powerful tool propelling Canada’s retrofit economy. With the Disclosure Challenge, we hope to increase understanding of how buildings are performing and where they can be improved. This, in turn, will help governments identify the sectors and building types most in need of retrofit to achieve maximum emissions reductions,” said Thomas Mueller, president and chief executive officer at CaGBC in the press release.

Endorsed by The Institute for Market Transformation (IMT) in Washington, D.C., a pioneer in the field of data disclosure, the CaGBC Disclosure Challenge was made possible through financial contributions from the Government of Canada (Natural Resources Canada). Additional support was provided by QuadReal Property Group and the Real Estate Foundation of B.C.

The press release says the results of the initiative will be made publicly available at CaGBC’s Building Lasting Change conference in May, and a final report will be released in the fall of 2019, with key findings and recommendations on next steps to drive greater energy disclosure adoption.

QuadReal, Triovest Realty Advisors Inc. and Concert Properties Ltd. are among the first to volunteer to participate in the challenge.

HAVAN announces interim CEO for six months

The Homebuilders Association of Vancouver’s (HAVAN) board of directors has appointed Ron Rapp, formerly of Morningstar Homes, as HAVAN’s interim CEO for a period of six months.

Rapp has served as a board director for the past seven years including board chair. He also sits as director and chair of government relations committee for CHBA BC. He has a wealth of experience in industry; tremendous knowledge of the association; key relationships with staff and with industry and government influencers; and most importantly a passion for the association, as the voice and face of residential construction.

“The board’s mandate is to ensure the association continues to move forward and deliver on its core values of increased advocacy, education and opportunities for our members,” said HAVAN board chair Garett Wall. “We are fortunate to have someone of Ron’s calibre and in-depth industry knowledge to step up on such short notice. Ron’s history with the association will help to make the transition seamless.”

Rapp is taking over from Bob de Wit, who is taking a medical leave to focus on his health and family. An active CEO role is critical to ensure the association moves forward with its strategic plan initiatives and increases its role in government relations on behalf of its members. Residential construction is the largest employment sector in British Columbia and HAVAN is committed to do everything it can to support the industry.

“The circumstances under which I am joining HAVAN are unfortunate, however I am extremely honoured to fill-in for Bob during his medical leave,” said Rapp. “I am familiar with the board, the staff and the association’s initiatives. I’m passionate about our industry, and with the federal election upon us this fall, we have a lot of work and initiatives to push forward. I’m excited to take on the role.”

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