Clean healthcare facilities without cutting corners

Cleaning surfaces in healthcare environments, such as hospitals, long term care (LTC) and assisted-living facilities, presents a unique challenge not found in other buildings due to the presence of pathogens and soils that require a higher cleaning protocol, especially in hard to access areas like floor corners.

Traditional methods, such as wet mopping, are largely ineffective at removing soils in corners; the mopping moves soiled water across the surface, depositing the bacteria-laden water back into the corners where it dries.

New methods, materials and equipment are entering the healthcare market every month, often without much science to back up their efficacy claims. As a result, users should always consider using a systems-based approach that examines cleaning efficiency, how the process fits within the guidelines of infection prevention and control and how new methods and equipment impact labour. The adoption of a systems-based approach to cleaning floors and corners is a suggested best practice.

Some common areas in facilities that harbour potentially harmful bacteria and soils include the back wall behind toilets and urinals in washrooms, behind equipment in medical treatment rooms and in surgical suites, patient and resident rooms.

Washroom corners

Cleaning a washroom is often challenging because it’s a confined area. Full-size scrubbers will not easily clean corners in washrooms due to their size and mobility. As mentioned earlier, mops simply move soil and pathogens around, without actually removing them. To deodorize, lift soils and kill pathogens, the use of steamers has proven very effective; steam vapors penetrate hard-to-access corners and the resident soils. The heat destroys the bond between contaminants, soils and the surface while also destroying bacteria, viruses, odours and fungi.

Clostridium difficile is one of the most serious pathogens found in washrooms, Because C. difficile is shed in feces, any surface (toilets, for example) that becomes contaminated may serve as a reservoir for the C. difficile spores. C. difficile can live for long periods on surfaces, and the recent emergence of more resistant and virulent C. difficile strains, coupled with the inability of many liquid chemical disinfectants to kill C. difficile spores, has highlighted the need for new surface disinfection technologies, and steamers are an excellent tool.

Medical treatment rooms

Medical treatment rooms typically have equipment and furniture that inhibits access to corners. For effective cleaning, use a vacuum with attachments that will reach under, over and around equipment and furnishings. The removal of loose dust and soils will help to prevent buildup. Follow with a bi-weekly or monthly project cleaning schedule that involves moving equipment and furnishings to deep clean this area.

Surgical suites

Surgical suites require a rigorous floor cleaning procedure that addresses all areas, especially the corners. To start, flood floors and corners with the disinfectant solution and then machine scrub them. Move equipment away and scrub into each corner as closely as possible. After allowing the chemical to dwell for the time prescribed by the manufacturer and IPAC guidelines, vacuum floors and corners thoroughly using a wet/dry vacuum to remove any remaining cleaning solution.

Patient rooms

Hospital patient rooms often have cleaning challenges due to the immobility of beds with patients in them. The common procedures of a “terminal clean” help to resolve this challenge effectively. When a patient is discharged, deep clean the room and floors by moving all equipment and furniture to the hallway or opposite side of the room. Liberally apply the floor solution into corners and crevices with a mop or compact auto scrubber. Allow the chemical to dwell and then remove. Generally, high touch surfaces are a higher priority when cleaning patient rooms, and a patient room clean will take approximately 25 minutes. Time is dependent on the number of tasks and the process used to perform each task in an effective manner.

Resident rooms in long-term care facilities

Cleaning a resident room in long-term care and assisted living is similar to the process above. While LTC rooms are typically cleaned every day, it is less likely that furniture and equipment will be shuffled around in order to clean corners. In order to maintain optimal cleanliness, utilize a scheduled project cleaning process to allow for periodic deep cleaning of corners. However, take caution here; in the event of influenza and Norovirus outbreaks, you must have and follow an outbreak cleaning protocol.

Steven Hughes is the Western Canada Strategic Accounts Manager for Kärcher Canada. Steven works to support the equipment and cleaning process needs of a diverse range of industries. He combines Kärcher’s rapidly developing technology and his knowledge of industry practices to help promote the cleaning industry’s continued growth and improvement. Steven has extensive experience as a consultant, speaker and trainer in the healthcare cleaning industry and is a published author on public speaking and presentation skills.

Energy efficiency in older stock apartments

Looking for ways to boost energy efficiency in your older-stock apartment buildings? We spoke with Mike Mulqueen, Lead, CDM Business Development (MURB) at Toronto Hydro for insights into the latest incentives and energy efficiency opportunities in 2017.

What are the biggest energy drains you are still seeing today in older-stock apartment buildings?

When looking for energy drains, lighting is the obvious place to begin as there have been huge advancements in the industry, with an efficient LED solution for almost every application. Beyond lighting, we suggest looking at large pumps and fans, especially those with long run-time hours to determine if there is a right-sizing opportunity and/or the ability to control run-time or how hard the motor is working. For example, the domestic cold booster pumps are often over-sized for the maximum design condition (i.e. when everyone in the building is having a shower and flushing the toilet at the same time, which never actually happens). Adding a right-sized “variable frequency drive” booster pump system allows it to adapt how hard it is working to meet demand conditions, typically saving 80 to 90% of the energy consumed.

Similarly, garage exhaust fans—which, by law, need to run year round, 24 hours a day—use a tremendous amount of energy unless they are controlled by a CO sensor system. We find that with a CO sensor system installed, the fans will operate as little as 10% of the time while still protecting the safety of residents and meeting fresh air requirements. Other equipment we will look at for efficiency opportunities include main heating and cooling circulation pumps, make up air units and cooling tower fans. If you have central cooling in your building, there may be opportunities to upgrade your chiller to a higher efficiency model, as well as implement low-cost and no-cost measures to optimize the performance of your system (such as, changing set points). Finally, for electric baseboard-heated buildings, we will look at the opportunity for smarter controls to ensure the equipment is not working harder than it needs to in order to deliver the desired temperature. In all of these projects, we’ve found that we can typically demonstrate a solid business case with a payback anywhere between two to five years and sustained operating savings—which is a very cost-effective investment to grow your asset value.

Are there any new incentives landlords should be aware of?

In Toronto, we recently rolled out a great new program called PumpSaver (www.torontohydro.ca/pumpsaver), which provides a free variable frequency drive to reduce wasted effort by main heating and cooling circulation pumps. In many buildings, the pumps are working at full capacity against a balancing valve, which is a very inefficient set up. We will install the VFD at no cost to the customer, open up the pressure reducing valve and rebalance the system to maintain the same flow conditions, with the motor working a lot less hard. Typically this will result in 30 to 40% energy savings for free. Similarly, many landlords of smaller buildings may not be aware that they qualify for our small business lighting program through which they can get up to $2,000 worth of free lighting upgrades to highly efficient and long-lasting LED technology (www.torontohydro.ca/smallbusinesslighting). Otherwise, we are happy to work with landlords on an efficiency project that can save electricity, big or small and will pay up to half the cost, based on the energy savings.

What are the most popular retrofits, and why?

Lighting still accounts for about 70% of the projects we see in multi-unit residential buildings. We are seeing increasingly large numbers of CO sensor projects and VFD applications to booster pumps, make-up air and cooling towers. There is also widespread interest in combined heat and power. This is a more complicated project and incentive path with many steps along the way but there is a very attractive business case as well as the additional potential life safety benefits when operating as a back-up system to allow residents to stay in their building during prolonged power outages.

What are some of the less popular retrofits that can also help achieve long-term savings?

Increasingly we’re starting to look at some of the smaller motors in buildings such as fan coil replacements. These are fractional horsepower motors but collectively consume a lot of energy. There are new, highly efficient Electronically Commutated Motors (ECM) in the market now that for a small increase in cost can save between 30-40% of the energy consumed by these units. Similarly, we are also looking at ECM opportunities for some of the smaller circulation pumps within buildings when they are replaced at end of life.

Toronto Hydro’s team of energy experts is available to help you find savings opportunities, as are the experts from your local distribution company if not in Toronto. We will complete a free building walkthrough to help you identify the opportunities to reduce your operating costs and will assist with measurement and verification and the incentive paperwork and to ensure you get a solid return on your investments.

Promise of age-friendly communities rings false

Recent analysis of how Canadian suburbs accommodate aging residents concludes that the streetscapes, housing mix and array of neighbourhood services and amenities typically fail to meet seniors’ needs. Although many municipal governments have endorsed the World Health Organization’s concept of age-friendly communities, a new report, published by the Institute for Research on Public Policy (IRPP), suggests that approach has resulted in fragmented strategies rather than coordinated goals, budgets and results.

“It is fair to say that our current suburbs are no place to grow old,” asserts Glenn Miller, the report’s author and a senior associate with the Canadian Urban Institute. “The work being carried out to make communities more age-friendly is still removed from the formal planning and development processes that determine the physical form of urban and suburban neighbourhoods.”

Other agendas, such as smart growth and universal design for barrier-free accessibility, have been integrated more successfully into development criteria from overarching building codes and Official Plans down to site plans — in part, Miller maintains, because they can be enacted through clear measures that fall within the scope of planners’ responsibilities and control. In contrast, age-friendly communities (AFC) are defined in a more sweeping way, including social service deliverables like health care and intangibles like respect and inclusion.

Even the elements specifically pertaining to the built environment — outdoor spaces and buildings; transportation; and housing — require a broader base of champions on the budgeting and decision-making fronts. “The AFC built-environment domains blend capital items (for example, investments in low-floor buses) with operating service standards (such as the cleanliness of public toilets), which undermines the importance of the message,” Miller observes.

He calls for principles and guidelines embedded in the planning and development approvals process, beginning with provincial government directives such as Ontario’s Provincial Policy Statement governing land use planning and the Growth Plan for the Greater Golden Horseshoe. At the municipal level, his survey reveals that none of the 25 Ontario cities that have signed on to the age-friendly communities concept have followed through with commitments in their Official Plans.

“Amending the vision and strategy sections of official plans to acknowledge the impact of demographic change would create an additional, powerful impetus for rethinking development patterns with an emphasis on reurbanization over outward expansion,” Miller urges. “The AFC lens would reinforce citywide goals for urban design, neighbourhood walkability, and proximity to community services, amenities and public transit.”

Without active intervention, development trends suggest an even bleaker future. The density of many new subdivisions has declined since the 1970s, when newly constructed single detached homes were commonly 1,500 to 2,000 square feet in size, to today’s average of 3,500 square feet. This could make suburbs increasingly inhospitable for residents who no longer drive.

Niagara Parks issues RFP for waterfront development

A new waterfront development opportunity was announced in Ontario. The Niagara Parks Commission issued a Request for Proposals (RFP) to invest in the Niagara Parks Marina property at Miller’s Creek, 22 kilometres south of Horseshoe Falls in Fort Erie.

Both the marina and adjacent 26-hectare property are included in the site, described as a unique historic setting, surrounded by nature. Niagara Parks says the spot would appeal to vacationers, seasonal visitors, travelling public, local residents and boaters.

Avid boaters would be able to access and navigate hundreds of kilometres of lakes, rivers and canals in both Canada and the United States. Developers could also optimize tourism, recreation and the historical interpretation of the site.

“Niagara Parks is seeking a developer of international acclaim to design, build, finance and operate a new premier waterfront marina development, which captures the very essence of the cultural heritage and values of natural preservation that define and make Niagara Parks unique,” stated Niagara Parks Chair Janice Thomson. “Our vision for the Marina is to create an outstanding destination that is befitting of the Niagara Parkway, its historical river setting and the lands we are entrusted to protect.”

The development will be advanced under a performance-based long term lease. The successful proposal will demonstrate innovation, ecological sustainability, excellence in design, as well as demonstrate strong fiscal responsibility.

The submission period runs from March 2013 to June 30, 2017. Interested parties will find the RFP on the Biddingo procurement portal at: www.niagaraparks.com/marinaRFP.

How climate change could affect maintenance fees

Summer 2016 was one of the hottest on record in the Greater Toronto Area, with experts predicting summer temperatures could soar to 44 degrees Celsius by 2050. In this rapidly changing climate, the city’s high-rise buildings are also feeling the heat, with the provincial government tightening up the Ontario Building Code to meet new global imperatives.

Increasingly erratic weather has a direct impact on Ontario’s residential building stock. Condo maintenance fees are based on predictable historic norms, stable benchmarks and logical predictions, so what happens when those predictions no longer fit the weather outside the window?

Leading engineering firms have been pushing forward with research into the effects of climate change on the industry, including a look at a performance-based approach to dealing with the impacts of extreme weather on buildings.

Buyers, condo boards and residents all need to make sure they’re looking deeper than a building’s surface finishes and amenities when making purchases and planning budgets. With a rapidly changing and unpredictable climate, proper planning is important to avoid costly failures that will impact the maintenance fees and property values.

There are several issues that a rapidly changing and unpredictable climate pose for building resiliency. In urban centres such as Toronto the main issue is the glass towers — which are basically terrariums. They’re extremely hot in the summer and cold in the winter. This has a huge impact on building performance and now, with energy costs rising rapidly, boards are starting to appreciate what this means for condo corporations. Plus, an uptick in precipitation could mean more flooding.

Heavy rainfall

Climate change experts predict an increase in heavy rainfall and storms, which will increase the risk of flash flooding. Flooding could cause issues with basements and parking garages. Storm power outages can be costly for condos — renting a generator on short notice to ensure residents have power can be a costly emergency measure. There are also issues with high winds, although modern condos are usually designed to withstand the movement from wind. Older units require regular inspections to make sure that they are prepared for extremes.

Extreme heat

Extreme heat places enormous stress on buildings and future summers are predicted to get hotter still. The U.S.-based Climate Central group has suggested that Toronto will have a similar climate to Miami by 2100.

Glass windows promote solar heat gain and can create a greenhouse effect inside. This creates heavy energy demand as air conditioning units run non-stop just to keep residents comfortable. Increased stress on chiller units inside buildings means that they may have to be replaced or repaired more often. Heat also causes stress to building materials and ultraviolet damage can affect the look of cladding, again increasing the risk of costly surprise repairs.

Extreme cold and freezing

In high-rise buildings, porous materials are particularly susceptible to freeze-thaw. Water easily finds its way into porous materials and cracked or damaged cladding and then freezes. Rapid freeze-thaw cycles can cause materials to expand and shrink repeatedly until the build-up of stress causes fractures and failures. Making sure there is enough put away in a building’s reserve fund is an even more urgent priority.

Another impact is the increased stress put on heating systems within condos not designed with energy efficiency in mind. Crucial equipment may have to be replaced or repaired more often — again, this is something that condo owners want to pre-empt to avoid any surprise special assessments.

Special assessments aren’t just unpopular with residents; they can also have an effect on the building’s desirability and re-sale value. Suddenly having nine out of 10 units in a building on the market because owners can’t pay up is the worst-case scenario. It can be easily avoided by careful condo boards and good financial management. If in doubt, contact an engineer.

A lot of this isn’t new information but is only now being put in action by developers, as governments in Canada tighten up building regulations and the impact of climate change becomes inescapable.

In the future, expect much stricter building codes that take into account climate change — both the causes and the effects. The same goes for retrofitting older buildings. The condos of the future should actively work to reduce greenhouse emissions and climate change costs by being more energy efficient, for example, or employing the latest in technology and materials. It is important for savvy condo boards to get a head start.

As the general public and governments come to grips with the new climate change reality, the condo market will have to catch up too. Who’s going to pay to retroactively fit these tall, glassy buildings that fill cities such as Toronto? How will condo boards plan ahead for the potential side-effects of extreme weather events? Could Toronto even see a new age of austerity in the condo market?

Likely not. With careful and methodical planning, the majority of corporations and property managers will be well-placed to ride out the worst Canada’s future climate can throw at them.

At Entuitive, Brian Shedden is a senior building envelope specialist, delivering assessment and restoration services for a broad range of project types, including condominiums. With a career spanning more than 30 years, Brian provides building condition assessments, performance failure investigations, reserve fund studies and recommendations for restoration and renewal of building envelope systems.

Concert CEO shares vision for affordable rental housing

On February 22, Concert Chairman and CEO David Podmore was a panelist on the Tyee’s sold-out “Home for Good” event, which explored bold solutions for solving Vancouver’s desperate need for more affordable rental housing.

The event began with a video interview with Leilani Farha, UN Special Rapporteur on the Rights to Housing and one-on-one interview with Kishone Tony Roy, CEO of the BC Non-Profit Housing Association, followed by presentations on innovative ways to increase the affordable rental housing stock in Vancouver from both the “demand” and “supply” perspectives.

Affordable rental housing topics ranged from planning strategies to tenant rights, while Podmore, representing the development industry, offered valuable insight into the factors needed to more quickly and affordably meet increasing rental demand.

“The private sector can and does play a role in providing rental housing. Our company was founded in 1989 on the principle of building rental housing,” said Podmore. “The biggest problem we have today is that land costs in most of Canada are simply too high to support the development of rental housing – we have to look at other ways of freeing land that can be used for rental.”

To view the full video of the discussion, click here: https://thetyee.ca/Tyeenews/2017/03/02/Apartment-Home-For-Good/

Province should address affordability: OHBA, OREA

The Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area (GTHA)’s population growth and strong economy has created a high demand housing market where housing supply is critically low and home prices are becoming too steep for many families and first-time home buyers, say the Ontario Home Builders’ Association (OHBA) and the Ontario Real Estate Association (OREA).

The OHBA and OREA are calling on the provincial government to create a housing experts task force to provide ideas for increasing housing supply in Ontario, which would ease the growing home affordability challenges many Ontarians are facing.

“The Canadian dream of home ownership is at risk in the GTA. This is the year for provincial and municipal governments to step up with solutions to ensure the dream of home ownership does not slip away from future generations,” said Tim Hudak, CEO of OREA, in a press release. “The housing supply issue is a real problem, but the solutions exist. We need the government to get real estate experts together on this issue, to hammer out a plan for putting more homes on the market and making home ownership more affordable for young families and first-time buyers.”

The OHBA and OREA have provided a few suggestions that the government could take to relieve the underlying housing supply crunch, including:

Fixing the “one size fits all” growth plan – give municipalities more flexibility and create more choice in housing for growing families and empty nesters.
Improving the planning approvals process – with municipal and provincial housing priorities better aligned, including the requirement for updated zoning around transit corridors, new homes can come to market quickly in locations where they’re needed.
Addressing the “missing middle” of housing supply – the modernization of outdated zoning laws to create supply in existing communities that are connected to transit and closer to jobs, including solutions such as laneway housing, townhouses, stacked flats or mid-rise buildings.
Target infrastructure to support new housing supply – the province should support new housing supply with targeted infrastructure investments to bring more housing to the market.

“Ninety-five per cent of Ontario’s new housing supply is built by our industry, and new home prices reflect the market conditions affected by government policy, like municipal and provincial approvals. It only makes sense to bring together private sector expertise and government policy makers if we are serious about making home ownership more affordable,” said Joe Vaccaro, CEO of OHBA.

The OHBA and OREA agree that sustainable, long-term solutions are necessary to fix the affordability problem, and it starts with increasing housing supply. Together, they are appealing to the provincial government to take stock of the housing supply issue and work with real estate industry leaders to design solutions that will improve affordability for all Ontarians.

Slate Office REIT to purchase Dream office properties

Slate Office REIT (REIT) has acquired three office properties from Dream Office REIT, for a total purchase price of $165 million.

The West Metro Corporate Centre in Etobicoke, in the Greater Toronto Area will be the REIT’s largest property. The three-building complex located at 185, 191 and 195 The West Mall is 616, 364 square feet and 93 per cent occupied by multiple credit-quality tenants, including SNC-Lavalin and The Bank of Nova Scotia. SNC-Lavalin will become the REIT’s largest tenant.

In downtown Fredericton, New Brunswick, 250 King is a four-storey, 80, 162 square foot office property. The building is 100 per cent leased to the Province of New Brunswick since its original construction in 2000. The site is set on approximately 1.41 acres and provides 132 above ground parking spaces.

The third office property strengthens the REIT’s Atlantic Canada presence even more and is also located in Fredericton, but in the suburban area. Two Nations is a three-storey, 50,945 square foot building built in 2008. It is also 100 per cent occupied by the Province of New Brunswick. The property is located on Two Nations Crossing just northeast of downtown Fredericton, and within 30 minutes to the Greater Fredericton Airport.

Photo of The West Metro Corporate Centre

OAA announces Design Excellence award finalists

The Ontario Association of Architects (OAA) has announced the finalists for the OAA Design Excellence awards.

Representing Ontario’s new talent and some of the province’s most established architecture firms, 20 projects have been shortlisted for the Design Excellence category this year. This month, each of the 20 finalists will be featured on the OAA’s blOAAg.

“The OAA Awards showcases the exceptional work that Ontario architects are doing in the province, Canada and around the world,” said John Stephenson, OAA president, in a press release. “Each year I’m blown away at the creativity and forward-thinking architects bring to their projects.”

Selected from over 140 submissions, this year’s 20 finalist projects range from education facilities to community centres to residential buildings. Finalists were judged on a number of criteria, including creativity, context, sustainability, good design/good business and legacy. Winners will be announced on April 3.

The 2017 OAA Design Excellence award winners will be celebrated at Ottawa’s Westin Hotel on May 26 at the Celebration of Excellence Ceremony concluding the 2017 RAIC/OAA Festival of Architecture. Winners in other categories have yet to be announced.

The 2017 OAA Awards – Design Excellence finalists are:

2015 Pan Am and Para Pan Am Games – BMX Supercross Legacy Track, Toronto, ON
Kleinfeldt Mychajlowycz Architects Inc.

Boulevard Club West Wing Replacement, Toronto, ON
Teeple Architects Inc.

Centennial College Ashtonbee Campus Library & Student HUB, Toronto, ON
MacLennan Jaunkalns Miller Architects Ltd.

Conestoga College Student Recreation Centre, Kitchener, ON
MacLennan Jaunkalns Miller Architects Ltd.

Core Modern Homes, Toronto, ON
Batay-Csorba Architects (Design Architect for interior and exterior design) and Turner Fleischer Architects (Prime Consultant)

East Point Park Bird Sanctuary Pavilions, Toronto, ON
Plant Architect Inc.

Emerald Hills Leisure Centre, Sherwood Park, AB
MacLennan Jaunkalns Miller Architects Ltd. + MTA

Eva’s Phoenix, Toronto, ON
LGA Architectural Partners (formerly Levitt Goodman Architects)

Great Plains Recreation Facility, Calgary, AB
MacLennan Jaunkalns Miller Architects Ltd. + MTA

Kawartha Trades and Technology Centre, Peterborough, ON
Perkins+Will Canada Inc.

Meadowvale Community Centre and Library, Mississauga, ON
Perkins+Will Canada Inc.

Mike & Ophelia Lazaridis Quantum-Nano Centre, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, ON
KPMB Architects

Nathan Phillips Square Revitalization, Toronto, ON
Plant Architect Inc. and Perkins+Will Architects in Joint Venture

Philip J. Currie Dinosaur Museum, Wembley, AB
Teeple Architects Inc. and Architecture: Tkalcic Bengert

Ports 1961 Shanghai , Shanghai, China
UUFIE INC.

Queen Richmond Centre West at 134 Peter Street, Toronto, ON
Sweeny &Co. Architects Inc. (formerly Sweeny Sterling Finlayson &Co. Architects Inc.) Project was commenced by Sweeny Sterling Finlayson &Co Architects Inc. and completed under Sweeny &Co. Architects Inc.

River City – Phase 1 & 2, Toronto, ON
Saucier + Perrotte Architectes / ZAS Architects Inc., in joint venture

Rosemary House, Toronto, ON
Kohn Shnier Architects

Story Pod, Newmarket, ON
Atelier Kastelic Buffey Inc.

Williams Parkway (Phase 1), Brampton, ON
Rounthwaite Dick & Hadley Architects Inc.

Chinese investment consortium acquires LEDVANCE

OSRAM has sold LEDVANCE, a general lighting provider for professional users and retail customers, to a Chinese investment consortium consisting of strategic investor IDG Capital, LED packaging manufacturer MLS CO., LTD., and Yiwu State-Owned Assets Operation Centre, effective March 3^rd, 2017. This comes after all parties obtained all necessary approvals from the relevant authorities.

“We are very pleased with this transaction, as MLS and LEDVANCE complement each other in an ideal way. Through MLS, we gain access to very cost-efficient and powerful LED components and will strengthen our market presence in Asia, especially in China,” said Jes Munk Hansen, CEO of LEDVANCE, in a press release. “This supports the LEDVANCE strategy to expand our product portfolio, foremost in the areas of LED lamps, LED luminaires and Smart Lighting. We look forward to pursuing the many new opportunities that the partnership with MLS brings.”

The companies will now focus on leveraging synergies. Through MLS, the firm is able to access cost-efficient LED components for its LED products and will be able to expand its market presence in China, the largest lighting market in the world. MLS also benefits from LEDVANCE’s vast industry experience and its strong international market presence.

LEDVANCE will continue to use the OSRAM brand name for its products, and SYLVANIA in the U.S. and Canada. Intellectual property rights have been clearly allocated.

GTA home sales up 5.7 per cent in February

Although February 2017 was one day shorter than February 2016 due to the leap year, the number of homes sold that month increased 5.7 per cent year-over-year, climbing from 7,583 home sales in February of last year to 8,014 last month, says the Toronto Real Estate Board (TREB).

“The February statistics tell me that many Greater Toronto Area households continue to view home ownership as a great long-term investment,” said Larry Cerqua, TREB president, in a press release. “The high demand for ownership housing we’re seeing is broad-based, with strong sales growth for most low-rise home types and condominium apartments. This makes sense given the results of a recent consumer survey undertaken for TREB by Ipsos, which found an even split between intending first-time buyers and existing homeowners who indicated that they were planning on purchasing a home in 2017.”

According to the Ipsos survey of intending GTA home buyers, first-time buyers will continue to account for the majority of the demand for ownership housing in the region. For the GTA as a whole, 53 per cent of likely buyers say they would be first-time buyers, up from 49 per cent in 2016.

First-time buying intentions were highest in the City of Toronto, where 64 per cent of potential home buyers are first-time buyers, compared to 56 per cent in 2016. The higher percentage in the City of Toronto is likely due to the number of condominium apartments available, as they are a common entry point into home ownership.

Cerqua says that although there has been a lot of speculation surrounding foreign buyer activity in the GTA, a recent Ipsos survey on the matter found that the impact of foreign buyers in the GTA has been somewhat overblown. GTA-wide, the number of foreign buyer transactions was less than five per cent, yet 80 per cent of foreign buyers were purchasing a home as a primary residence, for another family member to live in, or as an investment to rent out to a tenant, which Cerqua notes is helpful in a tight rental market.

“To date, the provincial government and municipal governments have resisted the implementation of a foreign buyer tax in the absence of empirical evidence,” added Cerqua. “The Ipsos survey of TREB members should further solidify the argument that the solution to strong rates of price growth and related affordability concerns lies not with taxing foreign buyers more, but rather with addressing the supply of homes available for sale, or lack thereof.”

Although the demand for ownership housing grew over the past year, new listings for February were down by 12.5 per cent year-over-year to 9,834. This continues a pattern seen throughout much of 2016, with the sales trend pointing up while the listings trend has been down, resulting in a reduction in the inventory of homes for sale. TREB’s average months of inventory trend for February was one month, but in many GTA neighbourhoods, was down to just weeks.

“The listing supply crunch we are experiencing in the GTA has undoubtedly led to the double-digit home price increases we are now experiencing on a sustained basis, both in the low-rise and high-rise market segments. Until we see a marked increase in the number of homes available for sale, expect very strong annual rates of price growth to continue,” said Jason Mercer, TREB’s director of market analysis.

The MLS HPI Composite Benchmark Price climbed 23.8 per cent year-over-year in February. The average selling price was also up by 27.7 per cent to $875,983. Annual rates of price growth continued to be strongest for low-rise homes, particularly detached houses. Growth rates for condominium apartment prices were also in the double digits, possibly due to strong demand from first-time buyers.

“Over the past year, we have reached a point where government policies that target only the demand side of the market, whether we’re talking about foreign buyers or further changes to mortgage lending guidelines, will not be enough to balance market conditions and moderate the pace of price growth,” added Mercer.

“In 2017, policy-makers at all three levels of government must turn their attention to the supply of homes available for sale,” said Cerqua. “They should consider revisiting land-use designations in built-up areas to allow for a greater diversity of home types, streamlining development approvals and permitting processes, and looking at ways to incentivize landowners to develop their land.”

At TREB’s recent Economic Summit, a panel of industry experts shared their opinion on the growing housing supply crisis in the GTA. Discussing the nature and scope of the crisis and possible solutions, the TREB’s meaning was clear: there is a housing supply crisis and the only way to solve it would be coordinated and innovative solutions by the government, private and not-for-profit sectors.

BuildForce Canada launches productivity campaign

BuildForce Canada has launched a campaign to encourage the construction industry to work together to improve productivity.

From company owners and contractors to workers, all sectors and all members of Canada’s construction and maintenance industry are being urged to join a national effort to change the way they plan, work and build.

“A changing global economy, rapidly aging workforce and slower growth, are forcing our industry to take a hard look at every stage of construction in order to stay competitive and attract new investment,” said Rosemary Sparks, executive director of BuildForce Canada. “We’re engaging industry in a national conversation about tackling many of its biggest challenges and that includes productivity.”

BuildForce is raising industry awareness about best practices and how companies can work smarter. A new portal on www.buildforce.ca will link industry to best practices, research and resources. Productivity is being incorporated into BuildForce’s online training courses and will also be a focus of a national construction industry summit planned for this fall.

Productivity is considered essential to keeping Canada’s economy competitive. Even small practical steps can help improve productivity, from communication between owners and contractors to ensuring equipment arrives on time.

“We’re working with industry to ensure the construction sector stays competitive,” added Sparks. “It’s all about a shift in thinking so that productivity becomes an important part of industry’s culture. How we work, is how we win.”

Evergreen targets carbon neutrality with retrofit

Evergreen, a non-profit organization whose mission is to promote sustainable cities, is targeting carbon neutrality in the retrofit of its heritage-designated kiln building at Toronto’s Brick Works site.

The project could offset 150 tons of carbon emissions through its planned design, construction process and operation, according to preliminary research. To put that figure into context, such a reduction would be comparable to saving 1,485 trees or taking 51 cars off the road annually, said an Evergreen spokesperson.

The redevelopment, begun this month, is designed to transform the 53,000-square-foot facility into a beacon for leaders confronting the challenges facing urban centres, said Geoff Cape, CEO of Evergreen.

“What we’re hopeful about is that there will be a real learning associated with how you retrofit an old building with a progressive, new, zero-carbon energy system,” said Cape. “We want to be a really clear, shining example of how you do that well.”

The project, among only a handful in the country to pursue carbon neutrality to date, moves forward the benchmark set by Evergreen’s earlier adaptive reuse of the Brick Works site, formerly home to a brick-making factory. Re-opened seven years ago, the site doubles as a community environmental centre and headquarters for the non-profit organization, which operates out of the LEED Platinum-certified Centre for Green Cities.

The kiln building is currently exposed to the elements on one side, limiting its use to six months out of the year. The facility often remains cavernous, cold and dark, outside of occasional events, for which it can be dressed up and warmed up with additional lighting and temporary heaters.

The kiln building was always envisioned as a place for people to congregate and collaborate around the work of building sustainable cities, said Cape, but the programming wasn’t pinned down until recently. Once transformed, the facility will serve as a venue for academic, government and industry leaders to solve pressing urban problems.

The redevelopment will carve out space for a classroom with a capacity of up to 120 people and a break-out room with a capacity of up to 40 people as well as for an exhibition showcasing the evolution of cities. The existing CRH hall can accommodate up to 1,800 people, making it appropriate for large conferences.

Industrial-sized bi-folding doors will fully enclose the kiln building where it now opens out onto gardens.

In cooler weather, a heat pump system will deliver heat captured and stored through the combination of a solar thermal system and a ground source system to low temperature radiant floors. The introduction of heat will allow the facility to stay open for 10 months out of the year.

Since the kiln building meets the definition of a ‘temporary facility,’ it’s free from the rigid bounds of the temperature range mandated for human comfort in the building code, said Janna Levitt, principal at LGA Architectural Partners. She said the project will be an opportunity to show that those bounds can potentially be relaxed, by encouraging changes in occupant behaviour, such as reaching for another layer of clothing before turning up the heat.

In warmer weather, large ceiling fans twirling in reverse rotation will suck hot air out of the space through skylights. Fully operable windows and a passive chilled floor are also expected to help provide relief from peak summer heat to reduce reliance on the mechanical cooling system.

The skylights are one part of the lighting strategy, which will also see feature lights added to the interiors of the kilns — some of the most important heritage features of the building. LGA Architectural Partners is working with heritage design specialists ERA Architects to protect these types of assets.

At present, the kilns are exposed to water damage, which is exacerbated by freeze-thaw cycles, at the flood-prone Brick Works site. The redevelopment will address these concerns by enclosing the facility, introducing heating and raising the floor.

Plans to pour the new floor, which will also level out the uneven surface, required permission from heritage preservation authorities, said Levitt. The new floor will bear the marks of the historic paths that bricks travelled along, which appear on the existing floor of the former factory. In addition, the work will occur in such a way as to allow the existing floor to be re-exposed in the future, if the use of the facility changes, by removing the new floor.

The glass-enclosed classroom and break-out room are other areas that required negotiation with heritage preservation authorities, said Levitt. Since the rooms will float over the kilns, there had to be a discussion about where would be an appropriate place to put the accompanying columns and supports.

Although the heritage preservation mandate adds a layer of complexity to the carbon neutral-targeting project, Levitt said it really comes down to respecting the artifacts. Walking into the space, the architect recognized the kiln building’s inherent qualities — its openness among them — which speaks to one of the big-picture messages she hopes others will take away from the project.

“Many existing buildings may not be perfect, but they’re great material to start a design with,” said Levitt. “The first thought shouldn’t be to demolish them or to tart them up — make them something they’re not — but actually use what’s there.”

“This project is important, not only for its historical significance, but because it has a carbon neutral target,” added Andrew Bowerbank, global director, sustainable building services, EllisDon. “By incorporating social, economic, and environmental principles within this heritage landmark, Evergreen’s leadership is showcasing a new direction for integrated building use and sustainable design.”

As the second project under EllisDon’s Carbon Impact Initiative, which aims to reduce carbon across all stages of development, the kiln building retrofit will be completed using green construction practices.

Construction is scheduled to take place in two phases, with work on the north side of the building running from March 1 to 31 and work on the south side of the building running through to winter 2018.

Michelle Ervin is the editor of Canadian Facility Management & Design.

Hotel inspired residential bathroom designs

Bathrooms have been elevated over the years from simply utilitarian rooms to highly stylized spaces that not only evoke personal taste but customized lavishness. Whether a “spa-like” retreat or simply a classic look that is big on functionality, today’s bathrooms deliver large on luxury.

Today’s bathrooms are finally garnering much needed design attention with homeowners who are increasingly looking to five-star resorts for inspiration where freestanding baths, beautiful surfaces and high-end finishes are synonymous with the world’s most luxurious hotels and spa oasis. With a wealth of luxury materials and products available, it’s now possible to create the look of a chic hotel bathroom in the home.

Homeowners are happily investing in their bathrooms the same way they are in other living spaces throughout their homes. Realizing that investing in hotel-style luxury in the bath can bring a higher return on investment (ROI), we have been seeing a surge in clients that are now seeking the best in design and finishes in order to maximize their ROI while also enjoying the luxuries of travel right in their own homes.

From tubs to warm metal finishes for lavatory faucets, beautiful quartz surfaces reminiscent of old vintage marble to one-of-a-kind custom designed vanity options, homeowners are striving to experience high-end design features in their own homes. According to a recent article in This Old House magazine, “People buying a house look first at kitchens and baths,” says Kermit Baker, director of the remodeling futures program at the Joint Center for Housing Studies at Harvard University. By investing in a luxurious bathroom, it’s likely to pay for itself when the time comes to sell; while creating a relaxing retreat for your client in the interim.

When homeowners make an investment in high quality products, they invest for a lifetime. High-end products and finishes are not only about the design aesthetic but also the quality and the design inspiration they evoke. Toronto-based designer Daniel Harland from Roundabout Studio has certainly noticed this, “When our client bought their house with intentions to do a full-gut renovation, the bathtub was the only item he specifically requested that we keep and re-use. In many ways, the new space was designed around this particular bathtub. Its shape and scale informed many of our decisions throughout the process.”

The refurbished bathroom is designed with a contemporary, earthy palette and features a practical wall-hung vanity and statement freestanding tub – a spa-like scheme that would be at home in a luxury hotel. Designing bathroom spaces around a particular statement piece help to create the “high-end hotel feel” in homes.

Well-appointed, beautiful, quality products and finishes are being sought out by homeowners and manufacturers, such as Victoria + Albert, are not only seeing the appeal but designing for it. They have recently released luxe looking tubs that are geared towards a slightly smaller footprint, responding to homeowners’ desires for upscale luxury. As we know, good design is not determined by the size of the space so as a designer being able to offer clients a luxury bath space on a smaller scale is definitely a great benefit.

When designing bathrooms, tubs such as these are a popular choice with clients who are looking to create the perfect sanctuary for relaxation from the bustle of everyday life. So whether designing a luxury retreat bath space on a commercial level or for a client with a small urban home, look to incorporate quality high-end finishes such as these to create the luxe oasis feel a bathroom deserves.

Linda Mazur is a nationally publicized designer and principal of Linda Mazur Design Group. With almost two decades of experience, the design firm is known for creating relaxed stylish spaces and full-scale design builds within Toronto, the GTA and throughout Canada. www.lindamazurdesign.com @LindaMazurGroup

photo: Victoria + Albert

Small deals drive multifamily investment market

Canada-wide investment in multifamily properties is projected to dip in 2017, but with a few markets recording an upward trend. Analysts from CBRE also preface this forecast with last year’s higher-than-usual investment activity, totalling nearly $5.7 billion.

“Strong multifamily fundamentals and the prospect of a stable income stream propelled national apartment investment volume to near record levels in 2016,” CBRE’s newly released 2017 Real Estate Market Outlook observes. “As multifamily valuations reach new highs, investment discipline will be the main story in 2017, particularly for larger assets.”

Among identified trends, forecasters see pension funds and other institutional investors kicking off a construction boom. This responds to a growing demand for new purpose-built rental and the lack of existing institutional-grade product in the marketplace.

“Smaller and medium-sized deals will emerge as the most attractive segment of the multifamily investment market in 2017,” CBRE hypothesizes. “Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver saw the total proportion of deals above $25 million decrease by a combined 57 per cent year-over-year, from $2.3 billion in 2015 to $1 billion in 2016. This trend is more a function of available product than it is demand.”

The total value of deals registered in those markets also slipped from 2015 levels, but still ranged from $1.1 billion in Vancouver to just above $1.2 billion in Montreal. Vancouver recorded the lowest cap rates, at 3 to 3.5 per cent, and they are predicted to slide as low as 2.75 per cent this year. Both Toronto, with cap rates at 4 to 5 per cent, and Montreal, with cap rates in the range of 5 to 5.75 per cent, promised better income yields.

Calgary and Halifax figure most noticeably in the markets where an investment uptick is foreseen for 2017, although forecasters also see slight gains in Toronto, where investment is expected to hit $1.2 billion this year. Meanwhile, $200 million in projected deals in Halifax significantly surpasses the $106 million tally in 2016.

Analysts predict more trades across all property sectors in Calgary, perhaps signalling that market’s prolonged hardship is catching up with vendors. Multifamily sales are forecast at $275 million with cap rates in the range of 5 to 5.5 per cent.

Vacancy rates are projected to be much higher in Calgary (7.5 per cent) and Edmonton (7 per cent) than in most other surveyed markets. In Vancouver, the vacancy rate is forecast to remain below 1 per cent, while hovering below 2 per cent in Toronto.

Victoria, Hamilton and Waterloo Region are also tagged as markets to watch. “Core assets with upside potential, as well as Class A properties in secondary cities near gateway cities will garner most investor attention,” CBRE forecasts.

Substantial capital injections in seniors housing portfolios are foreseen as major players in this market sector sell off Class B product to fuel further investment in Class A holdings. New development with more focus on independent lifestyle elements is expected to attract more and younger residents, pulling down the average age of occupancy from its current level of 83 years.

“The seniors housing market continues to benefit from robust investment demand based on strong and improving fundamentals and the compelling long-term demographic outlook,” CBRE reports. “The seniors housing sector appears to be undergoing a re-rating by investors, who are becoming comfortable in bidding down the historic spread which has existed between seniors housing and apartment investment returns.”

Engel & Völkers advocates for LGBT real estate rights

Real estate firm Engel & Völkers North America has partnered with the National Association of Gay and Lesbian Real Estate Professionals (NAGLREP), strengthening its commitment to support the organization’s mission to advocate for the housing and real estate rights of the LGBT community. This includes educating real estate professionals on key LGBT insights and trends and joining together real estate professionals throughout the industry. Although NAGLREP is a U.S.-based non-profit, membership and benefits are available to Canadian real estate professionals as well.

“The LGBT community is a powerful force achieving social and legislative milestones because of organizations such as NAGLREP,” said Anthony Hitt, CEO of Engel & Völkers, in a press release. “We’ve been a proud supporter of NAGLREP for quite some time, along with many licensed partners and advisors. This year and beyond, we look forward to strategically working with the NAGLREP network and its leader, Jeff Berger, to help create confidence and solutions to evolve our industry and the communities in which we serve.”

As a designated corporate partner, license partners and advisors within the Engel & Völkers North America network receive special rates for NAGLREP memberships and events to create connections and expand their professional network.

“Engel & Völkers is a valuable addition to our powerful referral network of real estate professionals and will further the benefits our members receive with access to expert real estate service and support at an international level,” said Jeff Berger, founder and president of NAGLREP.

Hitt will join Berger in Washington, D.C. for the NAGLREP LGBT Housing Policy Summit, taking place from March 13 to 14, 2017. The Summit is a gathering of notable LGBT community members and leaders in the real estate and housing industry who are attending to address housing policy impact on the LGBT community.

Winnipeg to welcome first fashion outlet mall in May

Outlet Collection Winnipeg will unveil about 100 retailers at its grand opening on May 3, offering a new shopping experience to consumers in Central Canada.

The 400,000-square-foot retail space, the first of its kind in Manitoba, will have created more than 400 construction jobs and 1,300 full- and part-time retail jobs when it opens this spring at the corner of Kenaston Boulevard and Sterling Lyon Parkway.

Outlet Collection Winnipeg is part of Forster Projects’ Seasons development, a retail/hotel/office/residential property that includes a four-star, 127-room Hilton Garden Inn Winnipeg South, a 400-unit apartment complex and an assisted-living seniors complex, among other offerings. The combined site will feature about one million square feet of mixed-use retail space on more than 100 acres.

“Job creation is the backbone of every economy and we are proud that the significant investment we and our partners have made in Winnipeg has translated into thousands of construction and retail employment opportunities for its residents,” said Blair Forster, president of Forster Projects, the developer behind Seasons.

Anchor tenants include Saks OFF 5TH, Old Navy, F21 Red, DSW Designer Shoe Warehouse and Winners (which opens September 2017). Other anchors will be announced later, but a list of 45 retailers, some first-to-market outlet stores, has been confirmed. A few include Banana Republic Factory Store, Calvin Klein Outlet, Call it Spring Outlet, David’s Tea, Roots, The Body Shop, Think Kitchen, Urban Kids, Dynamite/Garage and Mountain Warehouse. A job fair is set for March 25 and 26 at the Delta Hotel.

“Outlet Collection Winnipeg will be a unique place to shop and to work,” said Dimitrios Cotsianis, general manager, Outlet Collection Winnipeg. “We are very excited to provide our tenants with the opportunity to meet with potential candidates as hundreds of positions are filled.”

Ivanhoe Cambridge is developing the mall in partnership with Regina-based Harvard Developments Inc.