BuildGreen provided comprehensive services for Windmill Developments in building The Currents, a mixed-use condominium project in Ottawa.  The Currents combines a 43 unit condominium tower with a new theatre housing the Great Canadian Theatre Company.  It is now the centre of a burgeoning arts community in Ottawa’s Wellington West and Hintonburg neighbourhoods, creating a hub around which galleries, cafes and shops are gathered.

BuildGreen’s contributions to the project included:

• selecting healthy, sustainable materials
• scheduling and budgeting
• leading integrated design
• advising on green loan development
• raising funding through green incentive programs
• developing sales and marketing messaging
• monitoring performance post-occupancy

This LEED Platinum project was a pioneer in many ways.  It was the first multi-unit residential building in Ontario to achieve LEED Platinum status, and it was a vehicle for several innovations in project financing which were successfully implemented.

1. It is located on a brownfield site, a former gas station and dry cleaner.  Its redevelopment had been prevented for years by the existence of subsurface environmental contamination, which was remediated through the project.  The building pre-dated Ottawa’s brownfield program by several years, and helped to jump-start that discussion locally.  The City of Ottawa waived development fees for the project to recognize the public benefits of remediation.

2.  A green loan was developed and implemented, to fund energy efficiency improvements to the design and construction of the building.  The loan concept is to offset initial green “premium” – or additional capital costs borne by the developer for green technologies – by issuing a loan to the developer from the condominium corporation.  The loan is paid off over ten years by residents, whose ongoing condo costs are lower over time due to the loan and green investments.

3.  Several of the building’s green features were new within the City of Ottawa, which partnered with the project to raise funding from the Green Municipal Funds to support the innovations.

• A rainwater cistern captures rainwater and reuses it in the toilets within the commercial portions of the building.
• A solar thermal wall pre-heats air before being drawn into intakes on the roof; the wall is a simple technology – a void with dark cladding, which draws air through a natural stack-ventilation effect, and which provides up to 5% of the building’s energy needs virtually cost-free.
• The efficient mechanical systems and tight building envelope combine to reduce energy consumption by 49%.

Sustainable, non-toxic materials were selected for all interior finishes.