I N N OVAT I O N
INNOVATIVE EVE PARK GETS ZONING APPROVAL
The much-anticipated Eve Park project, an innovative residential community on the west side of London, Ontario, cleared another milestone in December when local council voted unanimously to approve the zoning bylaws for the pioneering net-zero energy community. “We are really pleased that the zoning change had unanimous support from council,” said Derek Satnik, V.P. of Technology, Smart Communities for S2e. “We know, of course, that the City of London is deeply committed to sustainability issues, and it’s one of the reasons that a project like this is a great fit here.” Integrating green energy technologies with a site plan that focuses on community and shared greenspace, the groundbreaking Eve Park has been designed with an autonomous vehicle future in mind. The plan includes an electric vehicle car-share program, and removes garages from the home to allow for more pedestrian-friendly walkways and more outdoor space for uses such as parks, gardens, playgrounds or trails. The community will include approximately 80 households, and is designed to be offered at market rate. In their comments on the zoning approval, councillors noted the developer’s commitment to sustainability and alternative mobility. St. Jacobs-based S2e has co-developed the two largest solar farms in Canada, and has been technical advisor on a long list of projects including the neighbouring West5 project (Sifton Properties) and the first net-zero-energy 60
ONTARIO HOME BUILDER EARLY SPRING 2020
(NZE) supermarket in Canada (Longos, Stouffville), and is currently in the process of developing NZE communities in Mexico, as well as the U.S., where a second Eve Park design is planned. “We are all acutely aware of the climate crisis,” says Ashley Hammerbacher, Team Lead for the Eve Park project. “Our vision was to create the kind of sustainable community that could be a serious, viable part of the solution, one that could generate as much energy as it used, reduce our reliance on fossil fuels and change our relationship with our environment and our neighbours. “I keep hearing that it must be too hard or too expensive,” says Hammerbacher. “Those are misconceptions, and we’re tackling them with the support of partners like Ellis Don, Gensler and others who are working with us to change perceptions of what is possible.” The sweeping, circular design of the buildings is a key identifying feature of Eve Park. The design creates community spaces and wide-angle views, says Hammerbacher, who notes that “the idea is that we want to live in a park, not a parking lot.” The company has kept in close contact with the London-area community as the project has developed, and hopes to break ground in the coming months. E D U C AT I O N
RAISING AWARENESS OF THE TRADES
Every Ontario guidance counsellor office should have three display walls: one for universities, one for colleges and a third for skilled trades, says a consortium of construction associations. “On that third wall, there should
be a monitor so that young people can watch dozens of fantastic two-minute video profiles of people telling their stories about their construction careers on the Job Talks website,” says Richard Lyall, president of the Residential Construction Council of Ontario (RESCON), part of a coalition that commissioned the 50-part series. “We need to get the message out that there are thousands of well-paid, rewarding jobs that will be available for young Ontarians in the coming decade.” In fact, construction research group BuildForce reported in its 2019 labour market forecast that more than 103,900 new workers in residential, infrastructure and other construction sectors will need to be recruited in Ontario over the coming decade because of the rising number of retirements and meeting peak demands. And while there is certainly opportunity in the industry, the video series is not about the trades gap; it’s about job satisfaction. “Our profiles feature young people who embrace construction for its highly satisfying careers and enjoy the challenges of problem solving on the spot,” says Job Talks executive director Jon Callegher. “I think our coalition has done an excellent job of conveying a new image of working in construction: a future of possibilities that are bright, exciting, secure and fulfilling.” Among the happiest of those workers profiled is Larissa North, a bulldozer operator. “The fact that I get to be outdoors is really nice, but what I really like is that every day is different,” North says. “Some of the skills that make me a good bulldozer operator are that I’m detail-oriented and I’m always asking questions about operating the machine and how roads are put together.” Aside from RESCON, the coalition includes the Residential and Civil Construction Alliance of Ontario (RCCAO), the Heavy Construction Association of Toronto, the Toronto Area Road Builders Association, the Ontario Sewer and Watermain Construction Association, the Ontario Skilled Trades Alliance, the Ontario Residential Council of Construction Associations and the Ontario Construction Careers Alliance. ohba.ca
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