PROJECT
lighting
Shopping Destination Lights Up Energy reduction and incentives help retail complex save big on lighting retrofit.
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nchored by retailers Loblaws, Home Depot, and LCBO, College Square is a retail complex spanning 389,244 sq. ft. The shopping destination has served a busy area
near Algonquin College in Ottawa, Ontario, since 2003. When property manager Leikin Management Inc. moved forward on an exterior lighting upgrade, it had four very clearly defined objectives. “Saving energy was the primary concern,” explained Barbara Farber, management-company representative. “We also wanted to reduce maintenance costs, improve the aesthetic quality of the complex, and make the area even safer after dark.” The firm partnered with Concept Illumination, South Burlington, VT, to plan and execute the renovation, which was subsequently completed over two phases. First, wall packs along the rear of each block of buildings were replaced with LED products. With several of the then-existing wall-pack lights burned out and daylight hours shortening in the middle of the Ottawa winter, Concept Illumination technicians understood the urgency of replacing the lighting. Battling freezing rain and snow, the wall-pack installation was completed in a day, minimizing disruption to tenants and ensuring that the complex remained a safe place to visit.
Above. With an LED retrofit, College Square retail storefront facades are bathed in an even, attractive light, making signage more visible and stores more welcoming. Below. Tenant and customer safety has been elevated with the installation of the new, brighter, and more uniform LED lighting, with visibility significantly increased for drivers and pedestrians.
A couple of months later, the pole-lights illuminating the parking lot were also switched to LED fixtures, providing a crisp light on the parking lot and storefront facades. Forty-two metal-halide pole-mount fixtures, 32 metal-halide floods, and 41 wall packs of various light sources were replaced with energy-efficient LED luminaires around the building. Energy savings, the property manager’s main concern, are significant, estimated to be 160,000 kWh annually. The project also qualified for incentives through Hydro Ottawa’s saveONenergy retrofit program. Leikin Management recovered about 20% of the overall project cost through the program. Tenant and customer safety has been elevated with the installation of the new, brighter, and more uniform LED lighting, with visibility significantly increased for drivers and pedestrians. Aesthetically, the whole complex has benefited. The storefront facades are now bathed in an even, attractive light, making signage more visible and generally making stores more welcoming. CA
Want more information? The item listed below is linked at commercialarchitecturemagazine.com/1811concept.
Circle 3 on the Reader Service Card. Concept Illumination, conceptillumination.com
commercialarchitecturemagazine.com
NOVEMBER 2018
COMMERCI A L A RCHI T EC T URE
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