April 21, 2008

RENDERING: BUSBY, PERKINS + WILL

Above, an architect’s rendering of Dockside Greenrsquo;s residential units overlooking the development’s naturalized creek and pond system.

Dockside Green strives for LEED Platinum certification

Bradley Fehr

editor

A development along Victoria’s waterfront is aiming to become North America’s first LEED Platinum certified community.

Dockside Green will include three different neighbourhoods, about 1.3 million square feet of mixed use facilities and about 2,500 people in the 15-acre reclaimed brownfield site when it is finished.

There is more than just reputation on the line for the developers, Windmill Development Group and Vancity, which are aiming for LEED Platinum certification for each of the buildings.

The two groups are on the hook for a potential penalty of up to $1 million (about $1 per buildable square foot) payable to the municipality if LEED Platinum certification is not obtained.

Currently, only five buildings in Canada have reached LEED Platinum certification.

In addition, Dockside Green is the first development to apply for participation in the LEED for Neighbourhood pilot program being offered by the U.S. Green Building Council.

“As usual, Dockside Green has taken the lead by being one of the first companies to apply,” said Rick Fedrizzi, president, CEO and founding chairman of the U.S. Green Building Council. “This innovative development is already changing the way we view green communities and their commitment to continue leading the way in neighbourhood design should be commended.”

RENDERING: BUSBY, PERKINS + WILL

The Dockside Green development will be pedestrian and cyclist friendly.

The Canadian Green Building Council doesn’t yet have a similar pilot project.

The development will incorporate a number of green features including its own on-site sewage and wastewater treatment, a naturalized creek and pond system for storm water, a biomass gasification plant for heat and hot water, water-efficient fixtures and green roofs. Demonstration solar and wind power generation is also on the books.

Dockside Green will use an integrated energy system and is aiming to be at least greenhouse gas neutral, which means it will not have net emissions from a building energy perspective.

A gasification plant will provide heat and hot water to the residential and commercial buildings onsite. It will convert locally sourced wood waste into a clean burning synthetic gas. The gasification system costs between $6 million and $8 million.

“We’ll create more energy than we use,” said Melinda Jolley, corporate communications manager for Tartan Public Relations, which is working on the project.

Extra heat will be sold to neighbouring businesses. Preliminary plans are being considered for capturing heat from the on site sewage treatment plant, but that has yet to be finalized.

The City of Victoria currently dumps its raw sewage into the ocean and Jolley said that practice didn’t fit with the goals of the project.

More than 70,000 gallons of water per year will be saved at Dockside Green through the sewage treatment and water conservation measures. Treated water will be used to flush toilets and for irrigation.

“It will be totally clean,” Jolley explained, but added that it still won’t be used for human consumption.

Municipal water will be used for drinking and for showers.

“We’re reducing our municipal water consumption considerably,” Jolley said.

The developer is using a number of green building techniques to obtain the Platinum certification.

The buildings will use concrete with 35 to 40 per cent fly ash content, which is a byproduct of coal-fired electricity generation.

PHOTO: BRADLEY FEHR

A concrete pumper truck delivers material to the top floor of one of the Dockside Green buildings currently under construction.

Contractors involved in the project are using local materials and products, with the goal of reducing green house gas emissions from the transportation of the building materials. The buildings will include low or no volatile organic compound (VOCs) paints, sealants and adhesives. Also, contractors are avoiding ureaformaldehyde composite wood products.

The developer has also embarked on an ambitious construction waste management plan that will see 75 to 90 per cent of the waste diverted from the landfill.

Sorting bins are located throughout the worksite and much of the material will be reused or recycled.

In addition to saving water, electricity will also be conserved.

The building at Dockside Green will be designed to use 45 per cent to 55 per cent less energy than the Canadian Model National Energy Code. This will be done through a number of methods including Low E double glazed windows, exterior blinds on west and south faces of buildings to keep the exterior cool and the use of energy efficient appliances.

Dockside Green was designed by Busby, Perkins Will. The $600 million project has already picked up a number of awards for its green building innovation.

The first residents are starting to move in, but construction is expected to take 10 to 12 years to complete.

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