Building October November 2015

real estate development

|

construction

|

architecture

65

building.ca October November 2015

05

Reconnecting the city to the airport

PM#43005526

+ BLD Oct-Nov 15.indd 1

School as Downtown Catalyst Industrial Markets UN Global Compact

15-11-13 10:43 AM

25

RAFA NADAL

W

AR

YEAR

WWW.DEKTON.COM

RAN

T

Y

DEKTON. UNLIMITED. INDOOR & OUTDOOR SURFACES

To be the best you have to play without limits while outplaying the competition.

That’s why DEKTON is for those who aspire for the best of the best.

It is the clear option for indoor and outdoor spaces, including kitchens, flooring and walls.

DEKTON offers unprecedented performance by being stain, scratch, scorch and UV resistant.

DEKTON IS UNLIMITED COLOR SHOWN: COUNTERTOPS & FIREPLACE AURA FLOORING ZENITH

Cosentino Center Calgary Unit 101, 10301 19th St. N.E. T3J 0R1 Calgary, AB (587) 538-8301

BLD Oct-Nov 15.indd 2

Cosentino Center Quebec 240 Chemin des Ursulines J0B 3E0 Stanstead, QC (819) 564-2123

Cosentino Center Vancouver 152-8518 Glenlyon Pkway V5J 0B6 Burnaby, BC (604) 431-8568

Cosentino Showroom Toronto 665 Caledonia Rd M6E 4V8 Toronto, ON (647) 350-6009

15-11-13 10:43 AM

ONE SYSTEM LEADING TO NET ZERO READY. Owens Corning™ FOAMULAR® CodeBord® Air Barrier System is another innovative solution providing long term energy efficiency performance and comfort for homeowners.

1-800-GET-PINK® or visit owenscorning.ca

THE PINK PANTHER™ & © 1964-2015 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. All Rights Reserved. The colour PINK is a registered trademark of Owens Corning. © 2015 Owens Corning. All Rights Reserved. 73% recycled content is based on the average recycled glass content in all Owens Corning fiberglass batts, rolls and unbonded loosefill insulation manufactured in Canada. Minimum 20% recycled content. SCS certified.

BLD Oct-Nov 15.indd 3

15-11-13 10:43 AM

Build bold.

TM

She wrote the e-book on confidence.

Where are homeowners with a passion for personality finding fascination these days? In exteriors bathed in deep, beautiful hues.

It’s a movement driven by a strong impulse to look up and see their very cool home in all its colourful glory. We have just the thing to match this trend: exteriors with character that come in a rich palette of dark colours. We’re very confident about that. royalbuildingproducts.com Featuring Royal® Siding, Trim and Shutters

See how unboring colour and texture can be with our online design tool. homeplaybyroyal.com.

© 2015 Royal Building Products

BLD Oct-Nov 15.indd 4

15-11-13 10:43 AM

65 05

CONTENTS

what’s on BUILDING.ca

FEATURES

16 > Hitting a High Note /

With careful planning and broad-based support, Toronto’s airport system could provide a major “smart city” showcase to the world. By Leslie C. Smith

READ > Twenty-Five Buildings Every Architect Should Understand Simon Unwin details some of the most important architectural accomplishments across the globe.

20 > A Second Act, and a Fine Performance / A $46-million

20

transformation of a heritage property will bring hundreds of students and staff to downtown St. Catharines, and create a new cultural hub for the Niagara region. By Leslie Jen

24 > Today’s Construction, Tomorrow’s Stock / Creating

responsible business practices for the built environment in the 21st century.

By Ursula Hartenberger

EXPLORE > University College of the North Architecture49 (formerly Smith Carter Architects & Engineers Inc.) aim to express the community’s values through architecture.

26 > Conscious Decoupling / The GTA is a prime example of the rising trend of manufacturers separating production facilities from office space. By Masha Dudelzak

ABOVE IMAGE:

EXPLORE > Saul-Bellow Library Montréal-based Chevalier Morales Architectes envision a library that embraces all types of community uses.

IN EVERY ISSUE

6 > Editor’s Notes 8 > Developments 12 > Market Watch 14 > Legal 30 > Viewpoint

The new Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts at Brock University in St. Catharines, Ont., designed by Diamond Schmitt Architects, complements the adjacent soon-to-open FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre. (Photo

by Tom Arban)

building.ca

BLD Oct-Nov 15.indd 5

15-11-13 10:43 AM

06

Volume 65

Red Dawn

05 Number

Hear that? That’s the sound of a nation exhaling a huge sigh of relief. At least that’s what it felt like on October 19 when Justin Trudeau and the Liberals won 184 seats and a majority in the 2015 federal election. Goodbye Harper. Don’t let the door hit your ass on the way out.

Naturally Trudeau campaigned on a lot of promises, but one that resonates deeply with our industry was a promise to nearly double federal infrastructure investment to almost $125 billion over the next decade, from the current $65 billion. In addition, he promised new, dedicated funding to provinces, territories and municipalities for public, social and green infrastructure projects. “This new federal spending will have a significant and positive impact on workload,” says Liam Murray, principal of JLM Development Facilitators in Vancouver – and probably without the customary transitional “freeze.” “How much infrastructure spending increases, or even if it does, depended on who won the election. Historically, when there is a change in government there is invariably a period when the incoming administration will evaluate the overall financial situation. This usually means a short-term spending freeze, delaying capital projects in the pipeline. However, with the big win for the Liberal Party, which ran on a platform of increased capital spending and three years of deficits to fund that spending, this is now unlikely to occur.”

The Liberals have long supported the public-private partnership model of procurement for infrastructure and there is no indication that this will change. “Another interesting element of the Liberal platform is the potential creation of a Canada Infrastructure Bank. Municipalities have long struggled to afford the cost of new infrastructure as their resources are consumed by maintaining existing, deficient infrastructure. An Infrastructure Bank would in theory make it more affordable for municipalities to build infrastructure, as the Bank could use the country’s strong credit to provide loan guarantees and small capital contributions,” says Dominic Leadsom, a director in Turner & Townsend’s Toronto office. “Given these commitments and the willingness to run a deficit to fund them in the short term, the infrastructure sector in Canada should be busy for years to come.”

But it’s not just infrastructure issues that the Liberals will be held accountable for.

Before the election, the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada (RAIC) polled the parties on issues related to the built environment, and the Liberals’ responses were telling: “[w]e will consult on ways to enhance the scientific research and experimental development tax credit to generate more clean technology investment” when asked about the 2030 Challenge for federal buildings; “stop diverting already inadequate First Nations infrastructure funding to plug other holes, lift the two-per cent funding cap and work in partnership with Aboriginal communities” to address the horrid conditions of many First Nation reserves. There’s even an intention to “stop the Conservatives’ plan to end door-to-door mail delivery,” the implication being the much-maligned community mailboxes plan – which the RAIC calls “a blight on the streetscape” – will be scuttled.

Now that the nonsense about his age and hair is over and done with, attention should be focused — as it always should be when talking about politics — on keeping Trudeau true to his word. He rode into power on a wave of resentment that grew from a decade of natural-resource loving, city-hating Conservative rule, but now we expect him to get to work.

Editor / Peter Sobchak Art Director / Roy Gaiot Legal Editor / Jeffrey W. Lem Contributors /

Masha Dudelzak, Leslie Jen, Richard Joy, Ursula Hartenberger, Leslie C. Smith

Senior Circulation Manager / Diane Rakoff 416 510 5216

W b e

Reader Services / Liz Callaghan Sales Manager / Faria Ahmed 416 510 6808 fahmed@building.ca Production / Steve Hofmann Senior Publisher / Tom Arkell President, iQ Business Media inc. / Alex Papanou Building magazine is published by iQ Business Media Inc. 80 Valleybrook Dr. Toronto, ON M3B 2S9 Tel: (416) 510-6845 / Fax: (416) 510-5140 E-mail: info@building.ca Website: www.building.ca SUBSCRIPTION RATE: Canada: 1 year, $30.95; 2 years, $52.95; 3 years, $64.95 (plus H.S.T.) U.S.: 1 year, $38.95 US, Elsewhere: 1 year, $45.95 US. BACK ISSUES: Back copies are available for $8 for delivery in Canada, $10 US for delivery in U.S.A. and $15 US overseas.

Please send prepayment to Building, 80 Valleybrook Dr. Toronto, ON M3B 2S9 or order online at www.building.ca Subscription and back issues inquiries please call 416-442-5600, ext. 3636, e-mail: circulation@building.ca or go to www.building.ca Please send changes of address to Circulation Department, Building magazine or e-mail to addresses@building.ca Building is indexed in the Canadian Magazine Index by Micromedia ProQuest Company, Toronto (www.micromedia.com) and National Archive Publishing Company, Ann Arbor, Michigan (www.napubco.com).

|

We welcome your feedback. Send your questions and comments to psobchak@building.ca OCTOBER NOVEMBER 2015

BLD Oct-Nov 15.indd 6

N

T t

R Occasionally we make our mailing list available to reputable organizations whose products or services can be of interest to our readers.

If you do not wish to be included, please e-mail or write to us.

Y

p

Building is published six times a year. Printed in Canada. The content of this ­publication is the property of Building and cannot be reproduced without permission from the publisher.

e

We acknowledge the financial support of the Government of Canada through the Canada Periodical Fund of the Department of Canadian Heritage.

T

H.S.T. #815380985RT0001 ISSN 1185-3654 (Print), ISSN 1923-3361 (Online)

Peter Sobchak Editor

P P

iQ Business Meadia Inc. Canada Post Sales Agreement #43005526

Proud member of

building.ca

15-11-13 10:43 AM

o

A

L

w

PLAN TO USE PURPLE. WALLTITE insulation/air barrier fits perfectly into almost every space you design. ®

NOW OFFERING WALLTITE

The industry’s highest long-term thermal resistance performance † R 12.4 @ 2” | R 19.2 @ 3” | R 26.2 @ 4” You painstakingly consider the utility, look and feel of your design. But how does it perform? Our closed-cell insulation/air barrier provides trusted long-term energy efficiency and enhances the durability of the building. WALLTITE fits into any curve or corner you imagine, ensuring that you have a well-sealed building envelope.

That means your design gets the high performance it deserves.

At BASF, we create chemistry.

Learn how WALLTITE can enhance your next plan at

www.walltite.com or call toll-free 1-866-474-3538

†

As per Canadian Construction Materials Centre (CCMC) reports for medium density spray polyurethane foam posted December 2011.

WALLTITE is a registered trade-mark of BASF Canada Inc. ECOLOGO is a trade-mark of Environment Canada; GREENGUARD Indoor Air Quality Certified is a registered trade-mark, and GREENGUARD Children and Schools is a service mark, of their respective owners; all used by BASF Canada Inc. with permission. © 2015 BASF Canada Inc.

BLD Oct-Nov 15.indd 7

15-11-13 10:43 AM

08

MENTS

DEVELOP-

News Canada top country outside the U.S. for LEED green building for second year in a row WASHINGTON, D.C. | Canada ranks first on USGBC’s second annual ranking list of the Top 10 Countries for LEED, which highlights countries outside of the U.S. that are making significant strides in sustainable building design, construction and transformation. The announcement comes in the lead up to the United Nation’s COP21 climate negotiations this December. Canada retains its spot as the top country for LEED for the second year in a row. The Canadian government names buildings as the fourth leading cause of greenhouse gas emissions in the country, contributing 12 per cent of the country’s overall emissions by sector. Emissions from the Canadian building sector have dropped in Canada since 2005 even as the population has risen and the national building stock has grown larger.

The 10 countries that made the list for 2015 are geographically and culturally diverse, representing seven of the world’s

20 largest single-nation economies by GDP (China, Germany, Brazil, India, Canada, South Korea and Turkey), as well as six of the top 11 emitters of greenhouse gases (China, India, Germany, South Korea, Canada and Brazil). The analysis used to develop the list ranks countries in terms of gross square meters (GSM) and numbers of commercial and institutional LEED projects to date (LEED Homes were not included in the ranking). The United States, the birthplace of LEED, is not included in this list but remains the world’s largest market for LEED. Every day, nearly 172,000 GSM of space is certified using LEED, and there are currently more than 69,800 commercial and institutional projects representing 1.23 billion GSM of space participating in the green building rating system. An additional 76,500 residential units have been certified under LEED for Homes. LEED projects can now be found in more than 150 countries and territories across the world.

PUBLIC to tackle public space in Vancouver with Prix De Rome money VANCOUVER | The Canada Council for the Arts honoured PUBLIC with the $50,000 2015 Professional Prix de Rome

Award in Architecture, supporting the firm’s research mission to improve Vancouver’s public realm. The prize gives the Vancouver firm the opportunity to research and travel to four global epicentres of exemplary public space making.

“Vancouver is often touted as a poster child of urbanity, yet when we travel to the great cities of the world and then return home, we question why Vancouver’s public spaces

LEED ranking GSM of LEED certi-

Rank Nation 1 Canada 2 China 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

25.39 20.42 India 12.74 Brazil 4.86 South Korea 4.65 Germany 3.92 Taiwan 3.76 U.A.E. 2.839 Turkey 2.837 Sweden 2.5 United States 298.15

OCTOBER NOVEMBER 2015

BLD Oct-Nov 15.indd 8

fied commercial/ institutional space (million)

Total GSM of LEEDcertified and registered commercial/ institutional space (millions)

Total number of LEEDcertified and registered projects (commercial and institutional)

68.41 115.26 72.46 24.27 17.29 8.24 8.65 52.64 22.15 4.17 472.01

4,736 1,968 1,836 977 275 420 146 901 455 195 53,640

Total number of LEED Certified Projects (as of June 30, 2015)

Certified LEED project area (m2) per capita

12 Northwest Territories

962 439 407 318 74 72 31 20 12 5 3 2

1.02 0.45 0.73 1.24 0.63 0.37 0.19 0.19 0.22 0.21 0.22 0.32

13 Nunavut

N/A

N/A

Rank Province 1 Ontario 2 Québec 3 British Columbia 4 Alberta 5 Nova Scotia 6 Manitoba 7 Saskatchewan 8 New Brunswick 9 Newfoundland and Labrador 10 Prince Edward Island 11 Yukon

building.ca

15-11-13 10:43 AM

aren’t better,” said Brian Wakelin, principal, PUBLIC. “We want the areas we colition space—more than doubling its lectively experience in our city to be more widely used, more vibrant, more fun, current size—with 40,000 square feet and more poetic.” of galleries dedicated to the museum’s Key to PUBLIC’s win was identifying how Vancouver, as a geographically collection. It also features a new education centre that includes a 350-seat constrained and rapidly urbanizing city, could still achieve compelling public auditorium, workshops and a resource spaces. PUBLIC’s winning submission pinpoints what is lacking in Vancouver’s current public realm and proposes a course of research to inform the types centre for re­search, library services of gathering spaces that will best serve Vancouver in the future. With these and artist archives. The unveiling of issues in mind, PUBLIC’s team will immerse themselves in the urban fabric of the conceptual design marks the end Rotterdam and Tokyo, with secondary stops in Singapore and Oslo. The team of the first stage of the building design plans to present their findings at the 2016 Vancouver Biennale Exhibition. process, and is intended to describe the context for the Gallery building PUBLIC’s choice of destination for its two base research cities is twofold. First, within the city, and the character and Rotterdam and Tokyo are contemporary metropolises with contemporary urban capacity of the new Gallery’s interior issues — both are port cities that were substantially rebuilt after World War II, and exterior spaces. which makes them very relevant to a young Vancouver. In addition to being world hubs of innovation and design, the cities also gave rise to the The design by Swiss-based interna­ design philosophies of the Structuralists in the Netherlands, tional firm of Herzog & de Meuron for the Gallery’s 230-footand the Metabolists in Japan. Bold and creative thinkers, the high building comprises seven publicly accessible floors, PUBLIC team draws inspiration from the way both groups plus two below-grade levels for storage and parking. There viewed city design as a positive force for cultural change. is also additional space for future expansion. The lower levels are mostly transparent, making many of the Gallery’s activities visible, while the upper levels, which primarily house exhibition spaces, are more solid and opaque. The architects’ intent is to use wood for the building, evoking the region both broadly and nearby, such as the two-storey wooden row houses that surrounded Larwill Park in the early twentieth century.

09

The design for the new Vancouver Art Gallery includes a variety of galleries of different heights and proportions, natural light conditions and views.

Outside, generous setbacks and overhangs create covered as well as open terrace spaces on different levels, framing views of the city and the North Shore Mountains.

A second phase for Tour Des Canadiens unveiled MONTRÉAL | Cadillac Fairview, Canderel, the Fonds immobilier de solidarité FTQ and the Club de hockey Cana-

New Projects Vancouver Art Gallery unveils Herzog & de Meuron’s conceptual design VANCOUVER | The Vancouver Art Gallery has unveiled

Herzog & de Meuron’s conceptual design for a new museum building in downtown Vancouver. The 310,000-sq.ft. building will feature over 85,000 square feet of exhib-

dien have announced that they are renewing their partnership to build Tour des Canadiens 2. Called “a sequel,” Tour des Canadiens 2 will be comprised of a sculpted glass tower made of slender, skewed and tapered forms inspired by icicles. By night, the illuminated “icicle tips” will glow, creating dramatic views that will appear differently when observed from various vantage points in the city.

In common with its predecessor, Tour des Canadiens 2 will offer owners access to the Montréal Canadiens, from priority access to game tickets to private viewing of Canadiens practice sessions and Habs store discounts. The project will also be directly connected to Montréal’s largest intermodal transit hub and to the RESO Underground City building.ca

BLD Oct-Nov 15.indd 9

15-11-13 10:43 AM

MENTS

DEVELOP10

pedestrian networks, through an overhead passerelle crossing Saint-Antoine Street. This specially designed glass bridge will give residents year-round covered access to the Bell Centre, RESO and the STM metro network. Huma Design will once again oversee the interior design of the 438 condominium apartments and common spaces.

The 37-story building, designed by Page + Steele / IBI Group Architects in conjunction with BLT Architectes, will be located at the corner of Rue Jean-d’Estrées and St. Antoine Street West, within Cadillac Fairview’s $2 billion development plan that, when completed, will change the face of downtown Montréal. The project will be the newest addition to Quad Windsor, a new downtown neighbourhood that includes office, residential and retail uses totalling nearly five million square feet.

offices throughout Ontario. HDR has more than 1,450 architecture employees working in offices in six countries. The firm now goes by the name HDR | CEI.

CBRE acquires PKF Consulting

Tour des Canadiens 2

Acquisitions CEI Architecture to join HDR VANCOUVER / OMAHA, NEB | Citing opportunities for growth both geographically and within each firm’s respective market sectors, Vancouver-based CEI Architecture has announced it has merged with global firm HDR. “Together, we are poised to be a preeminent force in many sectors in Canada, particularly in healthcare, recreation and research,” explained Bill Locking, a founding partner of CEI. “We will seek to deepen our bench of local healthcare and research expertise with the global resources HDR offers in consulting services such as strategic innovation, user experience modeling, laboratory and healthcare planning, data-driven design, and Lean Six Sigma.” Collectively, HDR’s and CEI’s experience with public-private partnership (P3) for health is perhaps more than any other architecture firm in Canada.

CEI was founded in 1996 and has approximately 70 employees located in British Columbia; its main office is in Vancouver, with additional offices in Victoria and Penticton, as well as Edmonton and Calgary, Alberta. HDR’s presence in the Canadian market began in 2002; currently about 120 employees are based in OCTOBER NOVEMBER 2015

BLD Oct-Nov 15.indd 10

TORONTO | CBRE Group, Inc. has acquired PKF Consulting Inc., an advisory, consulting and research firm in Canada specializing in the hospitality and tourism industries, and serves clients such as hotel owners and operators, financial institutions, real estate developers, investors, product and service providers to the industry, and governmental agencies. Its key services to the Canadian hospitality industry include market and economic feasibility studies, real estate appraisals, operational reviews, asset management, management contract negotiations and acquisition due diligence. The firm has offices in Toronto and Vancouver. The acquisition follows CBRE ’s purchase in July 2014 of PKF Consulting USA, which provides similar advisory and consulting services for the U.S. and global hospitality sector.

Founded in 1970, PKF Canada is led

by David Larone and Brian Stanford, who will remain in leadership roles with CBRE. During the past four years, PKF Canada has provided advisory services for more than $4 billion of hotel assets, serving a wide-range of owners, lenders, purchasers and developers. PKF Canada’s professionals will become part of CBRE’s Valuation & Advisory Services business line and will collaborate closely with CBRE Hotels’ professionals. The firm’s market research data and analysis will be integrated into the larger PKF research platform at CBRE, providing the most comprehensive source of hotel financial information in North America. b

building.ca

15-11-13 10:43 AM

SPM-FLP

simplicity and savings

Closed-cell spray polyurethane foam all-in-one insulation for masonry (mass) walls.

Concrete or block (CMU) walls can be prone to moisture and air infiltration that reduces effectiveness and durability.

To protect your building and improve its energy efficiency, closed-cell spray foam can be easily applied as a multi-functional continuous layer to the exterior wall. Fewer steps. More savings.

Specify ccSPF made with ultra-low global warming potential SolsticeÂŽ Liquid Blowing Agent for your next project.

Scan to download cost comparison brochure

To learn more, call 1-800-631-8138 or visit www.honeywell-blowingagents.com. Š 2015 Honeywell International Inc. All rights reserved.

SPM-FLP-362 Mass Wall BLD Oct-Nov 15.indd 11 ad_8.125x10.875.indd 1

9/22/15 10:43 4:35 PM 15-11-13 AM

12

MARKE T Spotlight: Office market

Economic headwinds challenge Canadian office market fundamentals The Canadian and U.S. office sectors appear to be moving in opposite directions. Stymied by less-than-stellar economic results, Canadian markets are seeing mixed performance, while U.S. indicators have been largely positive.

Despite the differences, there are similarities – mounting concern surrounding depressed oil prices and the burden placed on markets tied to the energy industry (such as Calgary and Houston) on both sides of the border. “The economic wellbeing of both Canada and the U.S. impacts directly on property market fundamentals, and there appears to be a widening divergence in economic performance between the two countries, resulting in a corresponding shift in their respective office market indicators,” noted Mark E. Rose, Chair and CEO of Avison Young in the Mid-Year 2015 Canada, U.S. and U.K. Office Market Report.

“In the U.S., the Federal Reserve continues to signal it will raise interest rates later this year, though slowly. And in July, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported the unemployment rate continued to fall in June. Amidst these signs of recovery, the U.S. office market continued to strengthen in the 12-month period ending June 30. Meanwhile, Canada is seeing what has been described as a mild contraction, as the Bank of Canada made a further cut to interest rates and revised down its annual growth forecast. Employment levels have stalled through the first half of the year. The price of oil also has certainly affected some markets more than others – but overall, while vacancy is retreating in the U.S., it is starting to creep up in Canada,” says Rose.

According to the report, of the 50 office markets tracked

by Avison Young in Canada, the U.S. and U.K., market-wide vacancy rates decreased by varying degrees in 34 (or more than two-thirds) of the markets, on an annualized basis.

Already contending with a burgeoning development pipeline, Canadian office market fundamentals faced additional headwinds from weaker-than-expected economic indicators through the first half of 2015. While performance was mixed among the 13 markets surveyed, depressed oil prices OCTOBER NOVEMBER 2015

BLD Oct-Nov 15.indd 12

are taking a toll in Alberta – particularly Calgary. Meanwhile, workplace strategies and urban intensification continue, and as purely office development sites become increasingly scarce, urban renewal and mixed-use development – combining office, retail and residential – are found across many of Canada’s downtown markets.

“Improving market fundamentals in the U.S. office sector are a welcome relief, and though Canada’s sound property fundamentals are being tested as indicated by the latest results, it’s difficult not to take a glass-half-empty point of view,” states Bill Argeropoulos, principal and Practice Leader, Research (Canada) for Avison Young. “No doubt, the plunge in the price of oil has shocked the system, suppressing GDP growth and keeping employment growth at bay. Commoditybased and development-laden markets will likely experience a flight to quality, making it difficult for landlords to maintain occupancy levels and generate any notable rental rate growth, thus shifting the tenant-landlord balance that some markets have enjoyed.”

Argeropoulos adds: “Notwithstanding some softening in the Canadian office sector, we expect the marketplace to stay active in coming quarters, supported by diverse local office market drivers. If we take the glass-half-full perspective, the markets have yet to realize the full benefits of the recent interest-rate cut and a low dollar. The wild card is that U.S.based tenants continue to show considerable interest in expanding or establishing a foothold in major Canadian centres, a trend that has the potential to offset some of the negatives.”

Notable First-Half 2015 Canadian Office Market Highlights:

arying and sporadic absorption levels, coupled with new ofV fice completions, lifted Canada’s overall vacancy rate 110 basis points (bps) from one year earlier to 10.3 per cent at the midway point of 2015. Vacancy climbed in 11 of 13 markets.

Québec City (8.6 per cent) and Lethbridge (16.5 per cent) posted the lowest and highest vacancy rates, respectively; the greatest swing occurred in Calgary (11.5 per cent, +320 bps).

Weighed down by Calgary’s woes, Canada’s Western markets collectively saw vacancy spike 160 bps over the previous year to 10.3 per cent at mid-year 2015. Eastern markets witnessed a modest 30-bps bump to 10 per cent.

Downtown markets as a whole expanded, posting 8.8 per cent vacancy at mid-year 2015, up 160 bps year-over-year – more than half of the markets remained in single-digit territory. Downtown vacancy jumped significantly in Calgary (10.7 per cent, +450 bps) and Vancouver (9.8 per cent, +340 bps).

Suburban markets recorded positive growth as vacancy retreated marginally (12.1 per cent, -20 bps), led by strong yearover-year absorption numbers from Toronto (13 per cent, -120 bps). Unlike downtown, less than half of the suburban markets displayed single-digit vacancy.

Canada delivered 8.5 msf annualized of new office space (42 per cent in Toronto), with developers slightly favouring comple-

building.ca

15-11-13 10:43 AM

Mid-year 2014

Mid-year 2015

15

10

5

Canada

Winnipeg

Vancouver

ON

Mississaaga

Toronto

Rigina

Quebec City

Ottawa

Montreal

AB

Lethbridge

Halifax

ON

Guelph

Edmonton

Calgary

0

Canada downtown & suburban office vacancy rates Suburban

Downtown 20%

15

10

5

Canada

Winnipeg

Vancouver

ON

Mississaaga

Toronto

Rigina

Quebec City

Ottawa

Montreal

AB

Lethbridge

Halifax

ON

Guelph

Edmonton

0 Calgary

Canada office area under construction Downtown

million sq ft

Suburban

4

2

Winnipeg

Vancouver

ON

Mississaaga

Toronto

Rigina

Quebec City

Ottawa

Montreal

AB

Lethbridge

Halifax

ON

0 Guelph

The continued growth within the innovative and independent private sector high-tech industry in the Ottawa region is helping to dampen the effect on the office market caused by continuing Federal Government downsizing, according to the Colliers International Office and Industrial reports on the National Capital Region. “Ottawa stopped being just a ‘Government Town’ long ago and our Q2 results illustrate the gradual growth the high-tech sector is experiencing,” said Kelvin Holmes, managing director of Colliers International in Ottawa. “Growth in the private sector office market, particularly in high-tech, will go a long way to mitigate the impact of the Federal Government’s real estate strategy” Vacancy rates across the Ottawa office market increased in Q2 to 12.4 per cent, up from 10.6 per cent in Q2 2014, a direct result of government downsizing and relocation, which, because of its magnitude, has had a domino effect on the overall office market. “On the horizon for Ottawa will be the Department of Defense leaving the downtown core, which will have a dramatic impact on the downtown office market,” Holmes added. The Colliers Report shows the Kanata and downtown submarkets have been most positively impacted by the growth in the private sector markets, with vacancy in Q2 2015 at 14.4 per cent, down from 16.1 percent in Q2 2014. The report says many private sector companies are planning for positive growth in the next year or two, which would be the first sign of a true recovery since 2008.

“The result of this back and forth in expansion and contraction amongst the private and public sectors in Ottawa is that a number of landlords are offering aggressive deals in order to minimize the impact of large-scale tenants, such as the federal government, leaving their buildings. The report says the current common trend in Ottawa is high interest from the private sector in conjunction with high competition from landlords,” added Holmes. b

13

20%

Edmonton

Source: Avison Young

Case Study: Ottawa office market experiencing private/public tug-of-war

Canada metropolitan area office vacancy rates

Calgary

tions in the country’s downtown markets. This trend reversed the previous 12-month tally, when suburban outpaced downtown completions by more than two to one.

Despite a decline from 2014, more than 20 msf is under construction across Canada (52 per cent preleased and representing 3.9 per cent of existing inventory). Calgary (6.2 msf / 51 per cent / 8.9 per cent) and Toronto (5.7 msf / 57 per cent / 3.2 per cent) are the most active and together account for almost 60 per cent of the development pipeline.

In the past year, the average asking gross rent for class A downtown office space in Canada fell to $43.47 per square foot (psf) (-$0.52 psf), while rising modestly for suburban class A product ($41.34 psf, +$0.83 psf).

building.ca

BLD Oct-Nov 15.indd 13

15-11-13 10:43 AM

14

LEGAL After the Freeze Ontario to see first land registration fee increases in five years

By Jeffrey W. Lem After five years of a rigidly enforced price freeze on land registration fees in Ontario, the fees for some of the more common land registration and search services will be allowed to creep up commencing November 2, 2015. Several of these fees will be increased by half of the accumulated inflation between 2010 and 2015. Luckily, we’ve been in a very low-inflation period throughout, so these fee increases, even after five years of accumulated inflation, will be relatively modest. So, for instance, the fee for obtaining a parcel register confirming ownership and liens will increase from $28.00 to $29.35, and the fee for registering a deed or a mortgage will increase from $70.00 to $73.35, plus HST in all cases.

Going forward, these same fees will again be adjusted by 50 per cent of the consumer price index increase effective as of this time next year, and annually thereafter, but it is expected that yearly communication of these changes will be made once the CPI change has been determined for that year. Since these fee increases will only ever occur at half of the rate of inflation, the cost of land registration and searching in the Province of Ontario has actually gone down (in real dollar terms) in the past five years and will continue to go down, even as fees nominally increase.

Although just coming into effect on November 2, these new fees have actually been known since 2010 when the then Ministry of Government Services Minister first announced these pending fee increases (although, in 2010, the fee increases could only be expressed by way of a formula based on the anticipated CPI changes).

This 2010 Minister’s order (and the corresponding Land Titles Act bulletin issued at the time) was intended to give stakeholders notice of the fee increase well in advance of the effective date. Bulletin 2015-03, recently issued by the Ministry, A store on West reiterates the exact same fee increases announced in 2010, but with monetary Street in Goderich, precision now that the CPI changes over the past five years have been determined.

Ont.’s historic downtown before the relevance to professionals in the building Of particular tornado hit (above), and development sector, these inflation-based fee increases tion since 2010. For instance, although almost all users of the the damage (right), are applicable “across the board.” There are, in fact, a electronic land registration system access the system electronand innot August 2013 (below) afterofthe town’s number land registration and search fees that will remain ically through the Teraview electronic software interface used rebuilding efforts. exactly the same. So, for instance, and of most relevance in Ontario, users can, if they wish, manually obtain copies of (and, frankly, relief) to the building and development indusparcel registers and instruments from each local Land Registry, the following fees will not be changing come November try Divisions by using the ROSCO computer terminals situated 2: the fee to register a condominium declaration; the fee for at each Land Registry Office. These are special single-purpose each condominium unit created; the fee for registering plans; computers physically located inside each and every one of the the fee for each lot and block created pursuant to a plan of 54 Land Registry Offices in the province. ROSCO terminals are subdivision; etc. Indeed, none of the land registration fees considered by tech-savvy observers as “dumb terminals” and that are typically identified as being costs of development can only be used to provide parcel registers and instruments will in fact be increasing on November 2, and will not therefrom the local Land Registry Office in which they are situated. after be subject to automatic annual increases thereafter.

Even so, some users still prefer the in-person trip to the That said, there are some fees that will be increasing on NoLand Registry Office rather than accessing such information vember 2, by more than half the rate of the cumulative inflaonline. Effective November 2, the fee for obtaining parcel

Indeed, none of the land registration fees that are typically identified as being costs of development will in fact be increasing on November 2, and will not thereafter be subject to automatic annual increases thereafter.

OCTOBER NOVEMBER 2015

BLD Oct-Nov 15.indd 14

building.ca

15-11-13 10:43 AM

registers and instruments from a ROSCO terminal at a Land Registry Office

will be “harmonized” so that it becomes the same as the fee for ordering the same documents online (although Jeffrey W. Lem is nuances in the HST calculations still Editor-in-Chief of the result in minor differences in the final Real Property Reports cost). The Province of Ontario is comand the Director of Titles mitted to a “digital first” approach to for the Province of service delivery to Ontarians, and harOntario. The opinions monizing the fee structure for in-perexpressed in this article son searches and online electronic are personal to the searches is intended to encourage cusauthor and not tomers to use the electronic system, attributable or referable which is available seven days a week to the government of from anywhere across the province — the Province of Ontario. all without leaving the comfort of one’s home or office.

The fee increases will ensure continued modernization of the land registration system and delivery of a secure, accessible and dependable property registration system in Ontario. All too often, users associate the land registration fees as simply paying for the immediate transactional costs of conducting a parcel search or registering a deed and/or a mortgage, when, in fact, those fees go towards the funding of a wide variety of projects and infrastructure always needed to maintain and improve the system. For instance, in the near future, users can anticipate seeing a total re-launch of the Teraview access software in a more modern, web-based platform that is fully-bilingual and compliant with Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act. Furthermore, while the overwhelming majority of electronic land registration system users never need to search historical land registration records, a small group of professional users (including historians, genealogists, and some developers) regularly need to “deep search” back into the history of some properties, for one reason or another, often all the way back to the time when the property was still Crown land. The Province of Ontario is also well along in digitizing all of these historic records, and is planning on developing an exciting new computer system to store, search and upload such historical documents online for these professional “deep search” users.

Although some of Ontario’s land registration and search fees are now increasing, a recent review of the overall closing costs for a land transaction across the Canadian provinces confirmed that Ontario remains reasonably close to the average Canadian cost. At the same time, Ontario enjoys a worldclass digital land registration system that is, by far, the most technologically sophisticated in the country. b

CONNECT

WITHOUT

CORE DRILLING

Connectrac is the flexible, expandable, elegant solution.

The Connectrac ® In-Carpet Wireway provides a proven power and IT alternative to expensive and disruptive core drilling, trenching and unsightly power poles. Our ultra low-profile modular wireway is so discreet it’s barely noticeable as it elegantly blends in to any environment.

Discover the Connectrac difference today.

®

Now available for immediate delivery from the Canadian Distribution Center.

1.877.480.5637

www.connectrac.com

building.ca

BLD Oct-Nov 15.indd 15

15-11-13 10:43 AM

12

HITTING A HIGH NOTE 4

A 120

122

120

131

13

3

13

16

5

13

7

139 A 140

13

6

A 8 13

13

14

1

C3

5

C3

5

14 2

or the past 10 years, the Greater Toronto Airports Authority (GTAA) has busied itself with a $4.4-billion revamp of Pearson International Airport, constructing a huge new terminal flanked by a flashy network of support buildings, approach roads and transit access points. As befits a city that is, in actor Peter Ustinov’s famous phrase, “New York run by the Swiss,” this major infrastructure feat not only played out on time and on budget but while the airport was open for business as usual. (The project also achieved ISO 14001 environmental standards certification, a first for any North American airport.)

Laurel-resting, however, will have to wait. Several factors — explosive population growth in the region, a strong international business sector, and sheer geographic serendipity — have led to significant increases for Pearson over the last decade, with more to come. Volume has grown to 38.6 million passengers per annum; projections for the year 2020 put this figure at 50 million and, by the year 2030, 66 million passengers are expected — which would push the site to its full capacity.

Already one of North America’s fastest growing airports, Toronto Pearson serves as Canada’s primary hub for domestic, transborder and international air travel, handling more than 30 per cent of the country’s air passenger traffic and 47 per cent of its air cargo. Today, it represents a significant global hub, ranking second on the continent only to New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport for international passenger traffic.

144

143

142

171

BLD Oct-Nov 15.indd 16

With careful planning and broad-based supp system could provide a major “smart city” s 14

OCTOBER NOVEMBER 2015

A

By Leslie C. Smith

5

F

8

building.ca

15-11-13 10:43 AM

17

153

151

15

5

132

15 7

193

16

161

0

191

246

C

16

35

2

244

B 164

24

8

136

25

0

6

B 166

A 164

163 165

16 7 C3

B 8 16

A A 168

A 166

5

ased support, Toronto’s airport rt city” showcase to the world.

16

9

A

0 18

0

A

0

17

17

A 0 18

18 1

16 A 9

1

13

18

A

2

17

8

17

building.ca building.ca

BLD Oct-Nov 15.indd 17

15-11-13 10:43 AM

2014 STATS

Terninal 5

Toronto Pearson is increasingly becoming a major global hub airport

London Heathrow

Terninal 1 (closed)

73.400,000 DESTINATIONS SERVED 185 AIRCRAFT MOVEMENT 470,695 RUNWAYS 2 LAND AREA 1,227 hectares

Passenger traffic 2014 (millions)

PASSENGERS

18 A

B

C

% Change from 2013

London Heathrow

73.4

+1.3

Dubai International

70.5

+5.5

Charles de Gaulle

63.8

+2.6

Singapore Changi

54.1

‐0.2

John F. Kennedy International

53.2

+5.8

Toronto Pearson International

38.6

+6.8

Terninal 3

Terninal 4

Toronto Pearson 38,600,000 DESTINATIONS SERVED 174 AIRCRAFT MOVEMENT 432,800 RUNWAYS 5 LAND AREA 571 hectares PASSENGERS

Terninal 3

Terninal 1

LaGuardia Terninal C

26,900,000 65 AIRCRAFT MOVEMENT 360,834 RUNWAYS 2 LAND AREA 275 hectares PASSENGERS

DESTINATIONS SERVED

Terninal A Terninal B

Terninal D

200 m

Although Pearson’s recently completed Master Plan has paved the way for future expansion needs, a new round of planning has already begun to examine best methods for meeting the demands of 2030 and beyond. With maximum capacity looming just around the corner, the airport’s options are being weighed by the GTAA with the assistance of outside experts; among them, Bruce Simpson, director of the multinational management consulting firm McKinsey & Company.

“Looking forwards, there are three potential options,” says Simpson. “We could build a new, massive airport, like Dubai International Airport. But how many of us think we’re going to put down the cash to build a brand-new airport somewhere in the Toronto area? That’s a bit unrealistic. Another option is the status quo. Basically, Pearson builds out to its full capacity and other airports build out as best they can. It’s not done in a particularly coordinated way. What’s happening now in Berlin is a good example of the result of this…. The last option is to think about regional airports creating a network across southern Ontario. It could be a mixture of jewel hubs, hub-and-spoke, separate Origin & Destination – focused airports linked across the province.”

Around the world, smart cities have begun to prioritize airports as a key part of their growth plans. The view of hub airports as critical components to growth on both regional and international levels, of being valuable economic drivers to the development of business, communities and the infrastructure surrounding them, even has a new name: “aerotropolis.”

OCTOBER NOVEMBER 2015

BLD Oct-Nov 15.indd 18

SOURCE: Airport traffic statistcs, GTAA Passenger Traffic statistcs, Airport Council international, press search

Terninal 2

Howard Eng, president and CEO of the GTAA, believes this term can apply to Toronto Pearson: “What does a hub airport bring you? A lot of economic benefits. The more direct flights you have between cities and between countries, the more you encourage trade, the more you encourage economic activity and the movement of people for business or tourism. That kind of connectivity will ultimately bring back economic activity to the airport’s region.”

In order to capitalize on this, though, a coordinated system linking Pearson with other area airports, as well as passengers and freight with speedy ground transportation, is an essential first step. Eng says he’s already in preliminary discussions with several airports, stakeholders including ground transportation groups and federal aviation authorities and, of course, the airlines. Assuming everyone gets on board, a formal planning cycle to cover the next 15 to 20 years will likely begin early in 2016.

Step Two for Eng is exploring whether this linked activity can extend beyond Canada’s borders. “We have 12.5 million people living today within a three-hour-drive catchment of the airport,” he says. “Probably, Pearson would

building.ca

15-11-13 10:43 AM

SOURCE: C4SE Economic Model; GTAA data; regional airport data; McKinsey analysis

AIRPORT COMPARISON

SOURCE: C4SE Economic Model; GTAA data; regional airport data; McKinsey analysis

SOURCE: Airport traffic statistcs, GTAA Passenger Traffic statistcs, Airport Council international, press search

Ontario-level passenger forecast Based on base economic and population growth (excluding Ottawa)

Enplaned/deplaned passengers (millions) 100 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0

{

Based on planned capacity, after 2032, the region will not be able to accommodate expected increases in demand for air travel 2043 90+ mil

19

Estimated maximum regional capacity assuming no additional investment, except Pearson

Projected

e pax volum

Planned capacity reached

2014 42.2 mil 2010

2015

2020

2025

2030

2035

2040

2045

Driving times to Pearson will increase over the next 30 years Travel time to Pearson (min)

2014

2043

2014

2043

Downtown Toronto

27

30

49

67

Downtown Hamilton

66

82

49

50

Pickering Town Centre

54

71

38

42

AM rush

meet the growth needs of this particular region for the next 20 years. But because of the network, because of the dynamic growth of the whole northeastern seaboard, the true catchment is within two hours’ flying time. That’s 200 million potential passengers.”

Partnering with JFK and Chicago’s O’Hare would see the three great airports covering a triangulated, highly strategic area poised for major economic expansion.

It’s a prospect that Thomas Bosco, aviation director for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (PA), welcomes. His agency, too, has been strug-

It may have taken 14 years to build, but Pearson Airport finally has a dedicated rail line linking it to Union Station in downtown Toronto. A one-way UP Express ride takes 25 minutes and costs $27.50 per person.

numbers in red indicated increase in driving time by 25-35%

PM rush

gling not just to keep up with its success but to plan for the future: “System-wide, we’re setting passenger records every year. We fully expect passengers [at all five of the PA’s airports] to grow from 120 million to 180 million by the year 2034. Unfortunately, with that kind of growth, given the current state of our infrastructure, our airfields, our terminals, our on-airport roadways, our airport access, our utilities systems – we’re not going to do it. Significant investment is needed over the next 10 years if we’re going to meet the demand for air transportation.”

Although the PA has projects underway to replace terminals at both LaGuardia and Newark airports, and plans for cargo and terminal upgrades at Kennedy International, all of these things require massive funding. A particular sore point with Bosco are PFCs – Passenger Facility Charges – which require legislation by the U.S. Congress. His agency is allowed to collect USD$4.50 per departing passenger for investment in capacity-enhancing projects. Unfortunately, that price was set 15 years ago. “With the ravages of inflation,” Bosco says, “we’d have to collect $8.50 per passenger today, just to keep up with inflation.”

Some of the financial slack can be taken up by allowing private industry to develop a couple of the airports under the PA’s umbrella (which also includes the lesser known Stewart and Teterboro airports). The drawback would be a big revenue hit downstream. Combined, the five airports currently support over half-a-million jobs, create $28.7 billion in wages, and generate $79.3 billion in sales every year – more than the GDP of many states. Last year, they brought in $2.5 billion – 60 per cent of the entire agency’s revenue – more than proving their worth as job- and wealth-creating machines.

Bosco also admits frustration with regulations that hamstring his efforts to keep up with increasing air transport exigencies. “Slots are a major obstacle to our growth,” he says. “We’re currently limited in our number of takeoffs and landings by the federal government – and we think this limit is set artificially low. It is essentially hanging a No Vacancy sign at our airports and it’s putting a cap on our growth. We’re working very hard to convince the FAA to lift the number of slots.”

In what is likely the busiest airspace in the world, Bosco insists on the need to operate as one system, for efficiency’s sake. This attitude makes him open to potential industry partnerships. Given that Toronto ranks only behind London building.ca

BLD Oct-Nov 15.indd 19

Passengers will need to leave much earlier than ever prior to their departure time due to traffic

p.28

15-11-13 10:43 AM

20

A $46-million transformation of a heritage property will bring hundreds of students and staff to downtown St. Catharines, and create a new cultural hub for the Niagara region.

A second act, and a fine performance

By Leslie Jen Photos by Tom Arban The Walker School, nestled between St. Catharines’ new Performing Arts Centre and Meridian Centre, expands a 19th century textile mill originally at the edge of the first Welland Canal. Designed by Diamond Schmitt Architects, construction began in January 2013 led by Bird Construction Group.

ABOVE

AUGUST SEPTEMBER OCTOBER NOVEMBER 2013 2015

BLD Oct-Nov 15.indd 20

building.ca

15-11-13 10:43 AM

e

26

It

has been some time since I last passed through St. Catharines, on my way to review a new civic project in the neighbouring community of Welland. In 2006, while walking along the city’s historic main thoroughfare — St. Paul Street – the feeling was grim and slightly surreal. The decline of the manufacturing industry in the region over the past decade had obviously taken its toll, and signs of urban decay were abundant. Shuttered businesses meant empty storefronts, and few pedestrians ambled about during the usually frenetic pre-Christmas season. Nearly nine years later, while the street is still recognizable, there is a palpable new energy and more than a hint of the transformation taking place. entities, reflecting the three main performance spaces conAt the corner of St. Paul and Carlisle Streets, the new First tained within. A smaller fourth space is accessible on the Ontario Performing Arts Centre (FOPAC) is a shiny and bright lowest level of the building — a film/lecture theatre that is addition to the downtown core, stretching an expansive city tucked beneath the theatre/dance venue. block along the south side of St. Paul Street. Designed by DiaTwo entry points punctuate the front façade of the buildmond Schmitt Architects, the facility is set to open in mid-Noving; one at the northeast corner beneath a projecting glazed ember, meaning crews are currently busy at work seven days mezzanine lobby, and the other further west along St. Paul a week under the supervision of project architect Jim Graves.

Street leading to the box office vestibule. Administrative At first glance, the structure bears the Diamond Schmitt functions comprise a majority of the west end of the building. hallmark of pale yellow brick, a cladding material favoured by A generous lobby and bar occupy the central portion, while the firm in many of its projects. And in keeping with its long-esPartridge Hall, Robertson Theatre, Cairns Recital Hall and tablished ethos of creating “fabric” buildings, the design team the film theatre form the bulk of the facility, the enormity of worked hard to make the 95,000-sq.-ft. FOPAC blend in seamwhich becomes apparent only at the rear of the structure due lessly with the existing height and scale of the adjacent twoto the steeply sloping site condition. A 10-metre grade drop and three-storey buildings. Consequently, the low-rise mass means that what essentially appears as a two-storey building of the facility is skillfully broken down into three contiguous from the front is actually four storeys at the back. building.ca

Caption Ilibus. Cesti in re ditempore sed undentia

BLD Oct-Nov 15.indd tatemqui 21

15-11-13 10:43 AM

22

New School, Young Blood Immediately to the south of FOPAC is another Diamond Schmitt project — Brock University’s freshly unveiled Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts, a conversion and addition to a significant heritage property that once housed the Canada Hair Cloth Company textile mill. Highly visible from Highway 406 that winds around downtown St. Catharines before heading south along the Niagara Peninsula, Brock University’s satellite campus boldly announces its presence: large-scale signage in the school’s signature colour of vibrant red adorns the newly built portion of the complex, which boasts an art gallery, 250-seat flexible studio theatre, green room and associated dramatic arts functions. The bulk of the school, however, is contained in the preserved main building, a five-storey brick-and-timber structure dating from the 1880s. Here, administrative functions, faculty offices and lecture halls dominate, alongside studios, digital labs, and workshop and recital spaces.

Materially, the project is evocative in its retention of the historic architectural features of the textile mill. One luxuriates in the experience of perambulating the long corridors: original wood floors creak underfoot, existing steel columns create a rhythmic cadence, and whitewashed brick masonry provides a refreshing textural component. In one of the large fourth-floor painting studios, principal architect Michael Leckman led a team that worked with Blackwell Engineering to devise a unique diamond-shaped truss that frees the space from columnar supports, allowing students the flexibility to move about with their easels.

Importantly, the new facility diverts 500 students from Brock’s main suburban campus to study in the departments of drama, music and visual arts. Along with faculty and staff, this represents a significant increase in population to the city centre, a welcome and fresh injection of youthful vitality.

Wisely, the client deliberately chose not to include any food OCTOBER NOVEMBER 2015

BLD Oct-Nov 15.indd 22

building.ca

ABOVE One of the design challenges to repurpose the factory, which made coat linings and parachute silks, was to accommodate a large, openfloor painting studio.

This was achieved by creating load-bearing diamond-shaped trusses which engineers integrated into the ceiling, thereby eliminating columns.

RIGHT Music rehearsal studios are designed as ‘boxes-within-abox’ to achieve sound isolation from one practice room to the next and have acoustic gypsum panels that further absorb noise and vibration.

services in its program, encouraging students, faculty and staff to integrate with the community and patronize the surrounding downtown businesses.

One can now choose from Thai, Mexican, Indian and Italian restaurants in the area, along with several pubs that are, unsurprisingly, very popular with the students.

In its entirety, the assemblage of buildings — old and new — comprising the Marilyn I. Walker School emerges as a long, linear form that defines the southern boundary of what can now be conceived of as a cultural hub. With FOPAC just to the north, a critical dialogue has been created between these two new additions to the city through a sectionally rich landscape condition. Here, an engaging courtyard/passage now occupies the space where the Welland Canal flowed years ago, and where a millrace once channelled water into the former textile factory to power the looms.

Though far from complete, exterior landscaping is well underway. Led by Montréal-based Claude Cormier, soft landscaping predominates, with varied plantings soon to define the dramatic slope between the two buildings. A progressively widening stair encourages pedestrian movement down to the green courtyard from the western edge of FOPAC, and a p.28

15-11-13 10:43 AM

International Keynotes, Best of Workplace Feature, 3 Summits: Healthcare, Wellness and Accessibility, 350+ Seminars, Tours, Awards, Parties and More.

23

Be Inspired

The best products, projects and ideas.

Be Connected

30,000 attendees & 1,600 exhibitors.

Be Informed

Stimulating keynotes, seminars and tours.

Be at IIDEXCanada 2015

Wednesday, December 2 – Thursday, December 3 Metro Toronto Convention Centre, North Building

iidexcanada.com

#iidex15

IIDEXCanada is part of The Buildings Show, North America’s largest exposition, networking and educational event for design, construction and real estate, including:

p.28

building.ca

BLD Oct-Nov 15.indd 23

15-11-13 10:43 AM

24

Today’s Construction, Tomorrow’s Stock

By Ursula Hartenberger

Creating responsible business practices for the built environment in the 21st century

Affecting every human on the planet in multiple ways, and affecting deeply the planet itself, land, real estate and construction together constitute a crucial but often overlooked component of sustainability both in developed and developing economies. With up to 70 per cent of global wealth and 10 per cent of global GDP being generated by the land, construction and real estate sector, the sector definitely is an economic powerhouse. The construction market segment alone provides seven per cent of all employment.

Beyond those purely economic aspects, by providing a place to live, work and socialize, the sector is also central to our lives and our personal well-being. We often take buildings for granted but it is worth reminding ourselves that buildings’ main function is primarily as shelter and with OCTOBER NOVEMBER 2015

BLD Oct-Nov 15.indd 24

that they fulfil one of humankind’s basic physical, psychological, social and economic needs, including the provision of a place to work.

Construction traditionally offers a pathway out of poverty, especially in the developing world, where most of the new construction is going to take place. It can contribute to countries’ economic growth and stability by attracting much-needed foreign investment and creating employment opportunities. This is obviously good news, but the downside is that all this comes at a price. Whilst there are many in the industry doing their best to avert the negative impacts that this accelerated development may have, at present, this is still far from being universal. As Winston Churchill once said, “First we shape our buildings and then they shape us.” However, they not only shape the way we live individually and as communities but due to their significant ecological footprint also our planet’s carrying capacity.

We have all heard about the negative impact the built environment has on our climate. Buildings account for almost 40 per cent of all CO2 emissions. Their construction and operation is also extremely resource-intensive and along their life cycle buildings generate significant amounts of waste. General awareness about the environmental impact of real estate development is definitely on the rise, but more wide-spread efforts need to be made to ensure that sector participants realize that today’s decisions regarding issues such as land-use patterns, planning and design, construction practices and choice of materials, are going to be major future determinants of greenhouse gas emissions for developing countries and that they therefore need to be factored into the sustainability

building.ca

15-11-13 10:43 AM

of the world’s jobs

equation. Buildings by their very nature are long term ventures and it is important to remind ourselves that today’s new construction represents tomorrow’s existing stock. In other words if the sector wants to address the challenges faced by a changing climate, it has to start now.

However, a purely one-dimensional focus on environmental stewardship will not do justice to the wider social sustainability impact real estate and construction has on individuals and communities. While it is certainly true that construction trades can offer a way out of poverty, they may not always have built-in protection for working conditions and workers’ rights. In recent years, incidents such as the use of forced and child labour, often from the world’s poorest countries, have dented the sector’s reputation in some part. Corrupt practices in planning, construction procurement and real estate financing take a further social, political and economic toll.

Wanting to raise awareness about these issues and to foster responsible business practices in the land, construction, and real estate industry, RICS approached the UN Global Compact in 2013 with a proposal to develop a good practice resource that would translate the UN Global Compact’s Ten Principles in the areas of human rights, labour, the environment and anti-corruption into a sectoral context.

The subsequent project was accompanied by a Steering Group of Global Compact companies working in construction, development, real estate management, finance and investment, the Centre for Real Estate at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, RICS’ industry-academia partner and a dedicated RICS member advisory group. In addition to a six-month online consultation, a series of regional stakeholder events ensured market feedback and input, especially with regard to

D

But for many in the sector, the challenge is to translate policy into actions that are practical, achievable and repeatable, across organizational and geographic boundaries.

identifying and examining the sector’s 15 most pressing issues in relation to the UN Global Compact’s four issue areas.

The resulting joint good practice Resource, Advancing Responsible Business Practices in Land, Construction and Real Estate Use and Investment, ranks amongst the first sectoral initiatives taken by the Global Compact, acting as a good practice example for other industry sectors. The collaboration with RICS is linked in with the UN Global Compact’s Post-2015 Business Engagement Architecture, which blueprints business and investor entry points to the Sustainability Development Goals (SDGs) launched by the United Nations this September.

Against this background, the Resource represents a joint call to action for sector participants to take a leading role in global efforts to drive responsible and sustainable business practices. It sets Having worked on out to demonstrate how all of the environmental issues for Global Compact’s Ten Principles are of a number of global universal relevance for every company organizations, Ursula in the industry, whether in their capjoined RICS in 2006, acity as direct stakeholder or as real eswhere she is responsible tate user or investor. for overseeing and On the basis of the identified issues coordinating the mentioned above, 15 action items suporganization’s ported by a list of benefits and real life sustainability work case studies as well as respective UN reprogramme and for source toolboxes have been developed liaising with the United to help set the strategic agenda for Nations. She is the lead C-suite level decision-makers within author of the joint RICS / companies operating directly in the secUN Global Compact tor and its users. A user-friendly checksectoral resource, list offers an initial self-assessment “Advancing Responsible and positioning against these actions, Business Practices in also helping companies to map out Land, Construction and their individual responsible business Real Estate Use and strategy in relation to their real estate Investment.” building.ca

BLD Oct-Nov 15.indd 25

se

u

7%

Through all phases of the life cycle, there is enormous potential for the sector to deliver positive change for the benefit of businesses, people, communities and the environment.

te

of total GDP

and provides

Investment decision making

R e al est a

10%

which generates

All four key issue areas have significance for the land, construction and real estate life cycle.

25

nt

of global wealth

Recovery

pm e

70%

Since 2000 the UN Global Compact has been advancing the adoption of responsible business practices, in the key areas of: human rights, labour, environment and anti-corruption.

e lo

It represents up to

Implications and opportunities for our sector

ev

The land, construction and real estate sector is a dominant economic force for our planet

p.28

15-11-13 10:43 AM

Conscious 26

The GTA is a prime example of the rising trend of manufacturers separating production facilities from office space.

By Masha Dudelzak

Decoupling

In

an increasingly competitive business environment, industrial companies are taking a closer look at their real estate footprint for operational efficiencies and cost savings. 10 to 15 years ago, manufacturers tended to co-locate their factories and warehouses with their offices in sprawling industrial facilities. In recent years, manufacturers have begun decoupling their production facilities from office space. Decoupling has significant implications for the commercial real estate sector as landlords need to reposition assets, and demand for traditional office space increases as does the rate of outsourcing.

What becomes of industrial operations varies by user.

Certain companies, such as Cinram International, are moving production to the U.S. or offshore. These companies’ decisions are generally driven by cost savings achieved through lower labour and production costs and synergies with U.S. parents or subsidiaries. Other companies, such as Callaway Golf Company, are outsourcing their warehousing to third OCTOBER NOVEMBER 2015

BLD Oct-Nov 15.indd 26

party logistics companies in order to capitalize on specialization and economies of scale. Others still, including companies like BASF Corporation, are not disposing of their industrial premises, but merely centralizing corporate offices in traditional office buildings that are located away from production facilities.

In this last example, decoupling is premised upon the fact that there are different drivers behind office and industrial location decisions. Office location decisions tend to be driven by factors such as access to labour pools, transit, parking, and amenities, while industrial location decisions tend to be driven by factors such as building specifications, highway access, costs, and structure.

The trend towards decoupling, in its various forms, is true of various industries, ranging from greeting cards (e.g.

Hallmark Cards) to business services (e.g. Lexmark Canada). The largest number of transactions has come from the food & beverage (e.g. Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, Sofina Foods) and pharmaceutical (e.g. Bayer, Pfizer, McKesson Canada, Hoffmann-La Roche) industries.

The implications of the decoupling trend for the Toronto real estate market are threefold. The immediate impact is on

building.ca

15-11-13 10:43 AM

National industrial market fundamentals new supply

available rate 10

8

8

6

6

4

4

2

2

0

0

availability %

net absorption and new supply (million sq. ft.)

net absorption 10

27

(2) (4)

Q1 2012

Q2

Q3

Q4

Q1 2013

Q2

Q3

the remaining purpose-built industrial buildings, which have high percentages of office space. As demand for this type of sprawling industrial property wanes, the length of time it sits vacant will likely increase and cause landlords to consider various repositioning strategies. Some landlords attempt to lease the office and industrial components separately. However, these properties are fraught with locational and structural challenges, including a shortage of parking necessary for office users. Other landlords retrofit their properties to pure industrial facilities, either removing the office component altogether or drastically reducing it.

On the flipside, industrial users divesting of their warehousing operations represent an expansion opportunity for third-party logistics providers. For example, Remco, a fashion warehousing provider, recently leased 287,214 square feet of warehouse space at 100 Ironside Dr. in Brampton, Ont. in order to accommodate its growing H&M business.

Directly adjacent to Remco’s premises, Exel Canada, a leading supply chain logistics provider, leased 337,421 square feet at the same address to accommodate growth in its Keurig K-CUP business.

Similarly, this trend is a source of positive net absorption for the office leasing market as users vacate their industrial premises in favour of traditional office space. Much of the office tenant influx has been to the Markham North/Richmond Hill and Meadowvale office submarkets. Both of these submarkets are attractive to office tenants due to their large inventory of modern construction with sizeable floor plates, ample parking, superior highway access, and numerous amenities.

Examples of tenants relocating to these submarkets include Acklands-Grainger, who consolidated out of multiple locations to 123 Commerce Valley Drive West in Markham North/ Richmond Hill and Hoffmann-La Roche, who sold their flex industrial building at 2455 Meadowpine Boulevard to lease office space at 7070 Mississauga Road in Meadowvale.

Structural adjustments and increased foreign competition have reduced the size of the manufacturing sector in Canada. While a weaker Canadian dollar may slow the rate at which companies decouple their office and industrial space, cost reduction Masha Dudelzak, remains a priority for most businesses, is a Research Manager which will encourage decoupling in one in the Toronto office of form or another. b CBRE Limited.

Q4

Q1 2014

Q2

Q3

Q4

Q1 2015

Q2

Industrial markets rebound despite shrinking economy According to CBRE Research’s Q2 2015 Industrial report, the national industrial market experienced positive growth in the first half of the year, despite a sluggish economy and low oil prices that resulted in a slow start to the year. The market picked up in Q2 2015 with 8.8 million square feet of positive net absorption, a contrast to Q1 results. A significant part of Q1’s negative net absorption was due to the former Target distribution centres coming to the market, which were acquired by several users.

Construction activity was exceptionally strong in Q2 2015. There was five million square feet of new supply delivered, with an additional 22 million square feet currently under construction. This marks the highest level of space under construction in more than 15 years, with projected completion dates rolling as far out as Q4 2016. Market conditions in the East are expected to remain optimistic, while conditions in the West, excluding Vancouver, are expected to remain flat to slightly negative over the year.

The national average net rental rate rose marginally to $6.28 per square feet, up from $6.25 in Q1 2015. Average net rents were relatively flat quarter-over-quarter across most markets except for Calgary, which experienced a steep decline. Calgary rents dropped from $8.40 per square feet to $7.80, a 7.1 per cent decrease quarterover-quarter, as a result of a growing sentiment that space should be priced at a discount based on the lack of demand triggered largely by a slowing economy and sub USD$50.00 oil prices. Despite this drop in Calgary, the national average still increased because the relative weighting of the lower rent eastern markets has decreased, whereas the higher rent western markets has increased.

National land prices increased 7.4 per cent over the quarter to $484,414 per acre from $450,718. Land prices remained highest in Vancouver where a growing demand and limited supply continues to drive prices upward. Vancouver continued to surpass the rest of the Canadian markets with a 15.6 per cent increase in land prices quarterover-quarter, which now sit at over $1.0 million per acre, while Calgary land prices decreased 7.0 per cent to $637,000 per acre.

On the construction side, there is currently 22 million square feet under construction, with half of this space expected to be delivered by the end of 2015. This construction activity is being driven by the increase in large bay distribution centre projects in some larger markets. Developments of 100,000 square feet or greater represent 83 per cent of all construction activity underway. building.ca

BLD Oct-Nov 15.indd 27

15-11-13 10:43 AM

28

p.19

Hitting a high note

as the PA’s top international market, an integrated effort to deal with the back-and-forth flow would help relieve pressure on the PA’s over-stressed infrastructure. Hopefully, too, this will make reaching one’s destination not only easier but perhaps even more enjoyable. The passenger experience — in particular, reducing traveller anxiety — rates high with Canadian native Normand Boivin, COO of London’s privately held Heathrow International Airport. “The fact is that airlines are our second biggest customers. In terms of volume, passengers are number one, and giving good service to them is number one for us as well,” says Boivin.

Often, traveller anxiety has more to do with the actual act of accessing an airport, rather than what happens once one is inside a terminal. (“London’s not the easiest place to drive to or from,” says Boivin, echoing ground-transport concerns for most major urban centres.) Considerable time has been spent in recent years improving southern England’s rail access to Heathrow, to lessen reliance on the roadways. However, Boivin concedes that while rail connections are superb to London’s core, there are still concerns about travel time and expense to and from Paddington Station. And the western side of the airport has no direct connections at all. As for the roads themselves, as-yet-unapproved plans for expanding Heathrow from two to three runways (by comparison, Toronto Pearson has five runways and is proposing a sixth) would involve moving the M25 and M4 junctions, one of the busiest highway networks on the planet. This proposed undertaking also features a new terminal building and promises to greatly improve aircraft and ground-traffic circulation.

The £17 billion R3 (Runway Three) project would also mean wiping an entire village off the map. Community support is therefore crucial. But Boivin believes the projected jobs, apprenticeships and revenues of an expanded Heathrow, along with capped flying times, noise levels and pollution, will win over critics. The real difficulty appears to lie in the glacial pace of British government decision-making. Indeed, the third-runway proposal has languished on the Cabinet table now for 33 years — long past its “best before” date.

Boivin sums up Heathrow’s present-day situation: “Today, we have 480,000 movements per year. That means every 48 seconds, there’s an aircraft landing or taking off, 17 hours a day. There’s absolutely no space for error. For every 15 minutes we are jammed into fog, the recovery time is about four to five hours. We’re not pleasing passengers doing so, and therefore they are going to look for alternatives. Dubai is eating our lunch. Big time. Its international traffic has now overtaken London’s.”

London shares several of the same air-transport challenges as New York. Both are huge metropolitan areas with an older, patchwork-quilt of regional airports trying to effectOCTOBER NOVEMBER 2015

BLD Oct-Nov 15.indd 28

ively service a modern, flight-reliant population. Both their airport entities have ongoing concerns about the quality and quantity of connecting ground-transportation services. Both have uphill battles to win with governmental bodies, in addition to placating local community groups. And both are dealing not only with unmet airport infrastructure needs but airspace infrastructure needs as well. Indeed, airspace congestion represents a serious factor limiting their capacity to build for the future.

These are all object lessons Toronto Pearson’s Howard Eng takes to heart. Southern Ontario faces what he calls a “tsunami” of people coming into the region, one that will even more fully realize Marshall McLuhan’s concept of a global village. As Pearson slowly approaches capacity, the GTAA must quickly get the agreements in place that will facilitate short-, mid-, and long-term planning. All three levels of government, multiple surrounding municipalities, and road and rail transport agencies have to be on the same page. Other area airports need to commit to becoming part of a synergized, specialized network — with far broader, international implications to come. By taking the right, decisive steps today, tomorrow’s resulting economic benefits to the entire region will more than compensate the effort. b p.22

A second act, and a fine performance

paved linear pathway traverses the site east to west, towards the curious “city on stilts” — referring to the manner in which the backsides of the historic buildings lining the south side of St. Paul Street address the particularities of site.

The future looks a little brighter for St. Catharines. Signs of the City’s master plan for a revitalized downtown are also evident in other newly built structures intended to draw the community and outside visitors to the city centre. Though not architecturally significant, the nearby Meridian Centre opened in 2014. Designed by Texas-based PBK Architects, the arena is nestled between St. Paul Street and Highway 406, and accommodates up to 5,300 people for concerts and hockey games. Additionally, as part of the City’s revitalization program, a multi-storey parking garage on Carlisle Street was constructed to LEED standards in 2012, encouraging activity and recreation in the urban core by a decidedly car-dependent population.

To be sure, Diamond Schmitt Architects have contributed the most impactful and transformative buildings to the city in recent history, foundational components of a community in transition. A new and engaging cultural and educational precinct has been created, one that is certain to catalyze further revitalization of the Niagara Region’s largest municipality. It is a fascinating story of how a community in decline can reverse its fortune, a riveting second act for the city of St. Catharines. b

building.ca

15-11-13 10:43 AM

p.25

UN Global Compact

assets. One of RICS’ core project objectives with this project was to overcome current silo-thinking within the sector and to facilitate a stronger dialogue and more effective collaboration amongst the many stakeholders traditionally associated with the built environment. A strong emphasis was therefore placed on taking a holistic whole life cycle approach in terms of the Resource’s scope and target audiences, including the sectoral supply chain. A specially designed life cycle diagram, consisting of the three closely inter-linked development, real estate use and recovery phases illustrates how decisions taken at one stage of the cycle can impact other stages and value chain stakeholders further down the line. For example, a badly designed building built with poor quality materials may not only impact resource efficiency and user experience during use and operation, it can also potentially create longterm problems in terms of refurbishment and/or recycling capabilities and therefore influence future strategic site use evaluation and subsequent investment decisions.

Now that the Resource has been launched and is available in the public domain, a key measure of success of the Resource will be actual application and implementation by sec-

tor stakeholders. An extensive joint global awareness-raising and roll-out program is already underway. There is nothing more powerful and convincing than real-life examples of how companies are embracing the issues highlighted in the Resource. Therefore through an annual call, to supplement the existing case studies from the document both organizations are going to canvass for additional good practice examples which will all be hosted in an online case study library.

Building capacity is another important part of the joint Resource project and over the coming months, a number of webinars are going to be held around the key issues identified in the document and dedicated training modules targeted both at company and practitioner level are currently also under discussion.

Given its economic weight and its significant impact on the environment and peoples’ lives, the sector’s critical issues will definitely be a make-or-break factor for the Sustainable Development Goals. With the building sector now also being an integral part of the forthcoming climate summit in Paris in December, the land, construction and real estate sector has a real potential to become a leading force in working towards a more sustainable and equitable future and the joint Global Compact / RICS Resource represent a key tool for companies to get there. b

29

Where does purple fit into your design? www.walltite.com

Client: BASF

Project: Where does purple...

4222_Walltite_TeaserAd_FINAL-BM.indd 1 Date: Mar 12 2015

Publication: Building Magazine Size: 3.5” x 2.24” Bleed:

THE Designer: CHOICE IS CLEAR JM Colour: CMYK

For your next project, consider closed-cell spray foam made with Solstice ® Liquid Blowing Agent for its superior insulating and environmental performance. CcSPF is a certified air barrier† and a vapour retarder that significantly increases building strength and durability. Non-ozone depleting Solstice LBA has an ultra-low global warming potential of 1 (99.9% lower than the products it replaces).

For more information call 1.800.263.3308 or email info@dryvit.ca

Agency: ON Communication Inc Agency Contact: Raellen Seaman2015-03-12 Telephone: 519-434-1365 xt 228 Email: raellen@oncommunication.ca

10:53 AM

THE REAL ESTATE & CONSTRUCTION PRACTICE AT BDO Real estate markets globally are undergoing a period of virtually unprecedented turmoil. Now more than ever, it is crucial to have proactive financial guidance to help you address these issues. BDO’s Real Estate & Construction Practice combines in-depth knowledge of the industry with a truly global network of support. All through a single point of contact.

www.honeywell-solsticelba.com or 800-631-8138

Assurance | Accounting | Tax | Advisory † According to ASTM E-2178 testing by the Air Barrier Association of America when a 1” minimum of ccSPF is applied.

BLD Oct-Nov 15.indd 29

www.bdo.ca/real-estate-construction

15-11-13 10:44 AM

30

V I E W Walk with Joy ULI Toronto’s Executive Director thinks it’s time for a regional rethink

By Richard Joy

Nearing two decades since the amalgamation of Metro Toronto’s six municipalities, is it time to rethink how the city and the broader urban region work?

At its inception the megacity was deemed both too big to serve the interests of local communities and too small to serve the continent’s fastest expanding region. Almost immediately the interests of the core city seemed to clash with that of the inner suburbs, while urgently needed regional coordination of such essential services as transit and planning were left unaddressed. At the same time provincial fiscal reforms resulted in massive downloading of costs to the regional 416 core, hobbling the new city in early years, while transit spending (both capital and operating) came to a complete stand still.

Ten years later, several measures were introduced to mitigate the worst of the impacts of the structural reforms of the mid-1990s. Social service costs were uploaded to the province, major municipal legislative reforms were passed, including the City of Toronto Act, and Metrolinx was created.

Other very positive regional reforms came together, including the Greenbelt and the Places to Grow Act. Without a doubt the central city and its suburban neighbours responded positively. All municipalities now have official plans that advance a regional vision of transitoriented and walkable communities. Sprawl has all but ceased while the region leads North America in urban intensification. Massive investments into transit infrastructure are close to fruition with more on the way. And Toronto’s decade of cap-in-hand provincial budget bailouts have given way to annual surpluses.

But serious challenges remain. Social housing, downloaded nearly 20 years ago, is a completely unmanageable cost that none of the region’s municipalities can handle. The result is ongoing deterioration of the few housing units we OCTOBER NOVEMBER 2015

BLD Oct-Nov 15.indd 30

once built – and the addition of none. Transit service levels continue to be well below the need in North America’s most gridlocked region. And no municipality can contribute even one third of its share to build more subways and LRTs, essential to our future economic growth.

To address these and other challenges we need a fresh examination of how our region works. And while few have an appetite for massive municipal restructuring, there are some obvious opportunities.

Expanding the full City of Toronto Act powers across the region would be a good place to start – and it’s something most of the regional mayors are seeking. While modest, the additional taxing powers that Toronto has could significantly expand transit operations in the 905 region.

Metrolinx might evolve from a provincial crown agency to that of a multi-jurisdictional municipal agency, perhaps even with expanded planning, taxing, and spending powers to forge a closer link between infrastructure investments and urban intensification.

Social housing could be uploaded back to the province, something that was anticipated when social service costs were uploaded in 2008. But the province might provide additional local or regional tax room to allow such costs to be borne by regional Richard Joy is Executive municipalities. There is a strong case to Director of ULI Toronto. be made that municipalities are better Previously, he served as landlords than provinces. If they can afVice President, Policy and ford to be.

Government Relations at All of these point to greater municithe Toronto Board of pal authority and greater municipal reTrade, and was the sponsibility. And while incremental, Director of Municipal these and other regional reforms could Affairs and Ontario seed a longer term culture that would (Provincial Affairs) at allow our municipal leaders to think Global Public Affairs. and act regionally.

Follow him on Twitter The opportunity for a regional re@RichardJoyTO or email think is right now. The province is midat Richard.Joy@uli.org way through its consolidated regional planning policy review, has embarked on the City of Toronto and Municipal Act review, and has the Metrolinx Act review set for 2016. The stars are aligned.

Let’s not squander the moment. b

building.ca

15-11-13 10:44 AM

Custo

Dr

Dry Stra Co and aga

Ou and sol per me

The Dr

Elim

Custom Brick™

Lymestone™

TerraNeo®

Quartzputz®

Tuscan Glaze™

Sandpebble®

Reflectit™

Dryvit Announces HDCI™ Dryvit is pleased to announce a new program for our Outsulation® and Stratum Guard® family of systems. HDCI is short for High Durability Continuous Insulation. Engineered to protect, it provides all the features and benefits from our traditional systems – PLUS a 20-year warranty against impact damage.

Outsulation Systems are a trusted choice for architects, building owners and contractors who want a high performance, insulated cladding solution that can provide everything needed from a building code perspective, and a versatile appearance of stucco, limestone, brick or metal.

The concept is simple – with Dryvit HDCI, if the wall is punctured*, Dryvit will repair it.

Eliminate Their Impact! Email info@dryvit.ca to find out more.

CCMC-12874-R

*Subject to Dryvit’s terms of warranty

For more information call 1.800.263.3308 e-mail info@dryvit.ca

BLD Oct-Nov 15.indd 31

15-11-13 10:44 AM

“With these tax incentives, it’s like we already filled 10 units.”

People who know Real Estate & Construction, know BDO.

The Real Estate & Construction Practice at BDO Real estate markets globally are undergoing a period of virtually unprecedented turmoil.

Now more than ever, it is crucial to have proactive financial guidance to help you address these issues. BDO’s Real Estate & Construction Practice combines in-depth knowledge of the industry with a truly global network of support. All through a single point of contact.

Assurance | Accounting | Tax | Advisory www.bdo.ca/real-estate-construction

BLD Oct-Nov 15.indd 32

15-11-13 10:44 AM