News

Going Green: NewEra in Building. New development standards LEEDing the way, By Tim Elms, Nova Scotia Business Journal May, 2010

Going Green: NewEra in Building
New development standards LEEDing the way

By Tim Elms,


“Green” may be the new buzzword for developers but being environmentally sustainable can vary with each newly constructed development. How can you be sure that developers adhere to the greenest measures?

The Canada Green Building Council has developed the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design
(LEED) Green Building Rating System™, which encourages the “global adoption of sustainable green building and development practices through the creation and implementation of universally accepted tools and performance criteria”. Stuart McCrea, director of leasing and marketing for The Armour Group Ltd. says it’s a holistic approach to green building.

“This system proves that the building has been sustainably certified, validated and rationalized, by a qualified third party.”

For a building to be LEED® certified, everything from location, energy and water efficiency, indoor air quality, building materials, bicycle stands and changing room facilities, need to be taken into consideration in order to garner a high LEED® rating for the building. “We are the only private real estate developer in Nova Scotia who is actively pursuing LEED® development and we have three developments in the queue with more to come in the future,” says McCrea. “We are committed to this process because we want our clients to understand we have met the certification criteria for our buildings.”

Armour Group’s focus is on developing highly sustainable residential, hospitality and commercial buildings.
The company’s initial LEED® project was Park Place V in Dartmouth — the first and largest LEED® Certified multi-tenant office building in the Atlantic and one of the first to heat with 100 per cent natural gas
By way of condensed boilers, which run at 95 per cent efficiency. “Park Place V is unquestionably one of the most energy efficient buildings in Atlantic Canada at this time,” he says. “We compared the building’s yearly energy usage with the base line of what a typical building should be for the Natural Resources of
Canada system and Park Place V was 40 per cent more efficient than the national model.”

Over 20 per cent of Park Place V’s building materials came from regional sources, helping Armour Group decrease its carbon emissions by avoiding the transportation of materials from all over North
America. “The rebar was recycled steel, the pre-cast panels were manufactured here in Nova Scotia and we used fly-ash, a natural by-product from coal electricity plants, as an additive to strengthen the poured cement and concrete flooring. Also the excavated rock was crushed onsite and reused for the parking lot,” Says McCrea. “All this helped the building earn a higher R-value.”

With its second sustainable LEED® development, Park Place Lakeside in Dartmouth, the Armour Group redesigned an existing building to meet the strict requirements of the LEED® rating system. The challenge was to add a 30,000 square foot extension and to functionally adapt the building into a sustainable edifice.

McCrea says the company’s third LEED® development, Waterside Centre in Halifax, will likely be one of its most revolutionary developments.

“It will push the envelope for green building requirements for downtown Halifax like never before. Waterside Centre will be developed on a densely urban site in the city core and there will be no need for new infrastructure to be put in place.”

The development, located on the downtown block by Duke Street, Hollis Street and Upper
Water Street, is technically difficult because it is a heritage building and will have to retain its original size.

On the other hand, the building is already much greener than most. “Historic properties was the first in North
America to utilize seawater as its primary source for cooling purposes and Waterside Centre’s cooling system will likewise be done by seawater,” he says. “This will be a landmark development as the first office tower constructed in downtown Halifax in over 20 years, as well as being the first environmentally green, privately owned office facility in the downtown core.

“Already our energy modeling results for the design of Waterside Centre is at a staggering 50 per cent more energy efficiency than the national model. We are projecting it may be one of the greenest buildings in Canada.”

Operating a LEED® building is obviously great for the environment but it’s surprisingly cost efficient as well, says McCrea. Most Halifax class “A” buildings have operating costs of around $10 per square foot; the total operational costs of one of Armour Group’s LEED® certified buildings is around $5.50 per square foot.

“It’s a tremendous savings especially with the recent rising and dipping of oil and electricity prices. The way to hedge against future escalations is to go LEED® because these buildings are more energy efficient and less susceptible to rapid escalation in utility costs. Consider water rates which are projected to rise as much as 40 per cent. With our three projects all scoring 45 per cent more water efficient, we are working against escalations before they even start.”