East Port Properties’ 355 Wilkinson building—part of the Wilkinson Warehouses in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia — has achieved the Zero Carbon Building Design Certification from the Canada Green Building Council (CaGBC).
According to the developer and property manager, 355 Wilkinson is the first industrial building in the country to be certified under this new CaGBC standard.
“We at the Canada Green Building Council applaud East Port Properties’ dedication in pursuing zero carbon,” said Thomas Mueller, President and CEO of CaGBC. “East Port is bringing innovative thinking to industrial developments and they are paving the way for a new generation of zero carbon warehousing, an asset class that represents over two billion square feet of real estate across 11 Canadian markets.”
Wilkinson Warehouses is a series of five multi-tenant warehouse buildings totalling approximately 300,000 square feet.
East Port Properties was part of CaGBC’s Zero Carbon Building (ZCB) pilot project, combining their knowledge of efficient warehouse design with CaGBC’s new certification to prioritize the pursuit of zero emissions.
The first phase of the project was a 65,000-square-foot building. For this build, East Port—working in partnership with Efficiency Nova Scotia—focused on designing a building that would keep tenants’ operating costs as low as possible.
With East Port’s experience in the industrial space, the property management company felt it was possible to create a comfortable, leasable building and provide tenants with a $0 central heating bill.
Making $0 central heating a reality required that 355 Wilkinson’s design feature a tight and well-insulated building envelope.
East Port started with insulated tilt-up concrete sandwich panels to provide continuous R-20 insulation value in the warehouse, and a durable concrete surface suitable for industrial use.
Further infiltration reduction was achieved by using vertical-storing dock levelers, and an upgrade of the roof’s insulation value to R-40.
The central heating system consists of six air-to-water heat pumps and a peak-load/back-up condensing natural gas boiler that provides a constant floor temperature of 17°C.
The hot water distribution is provided by electronically commutated motor (ECM) circulator pumps in single-bay zones.
Overhead unit heaters that are metered and billed directly to the tenant supply additional heating. Controls were put in place to stop in-floor heating circulators from running in areas with open overhead doors.
This Zero Carbon Building Design certificate confirms that 355 Wilkinson has modelled a zero carbon balance for future operations, incorporated a highly-efficient envelope and ventilation system, and designed on-site renewable energy systems capable of providing a minimum of five per cent of building energy consumption.
To make the space even more desirable for tenants, East Port included Solera windows and skylights to maximize the use of daylighting, LED lights with motion sensors, and automated, energy-efficient ventilation systems.
“With construction of the third Wilkinson building officially underway, this latest achievement is testament to our unwavering commitment to sustainable workplace real estate, regardless of the asset class. We would like to take this opportunity to thank each of our partners for believing in our vision and supporting Canada’s first green building program to make carbon emissions the key indicator for building performance,” said Judy Wall, President, East Port Properties.