New Richmond Hill affordable housing community achieves LEED certification

yongestreetmedia.ca
February 5, 2014
By Katia Snukal

Mackenzie Green, a new affordable housing community in Richmond Hill, was recently recognized by the Canada Green Building Council for achieving Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Silver certification.

The certification, and indeed the existence of the building itself, is a noteworthy achievement for a region in the midst of a signifiant housing crunch.  
 
The York Region has the lowest proportion of rental housing in the GTA and, until very recently, had an almost non-existent social housing program. The homogeneity of the housing stock is becoming an increasingly thorny problem given York's ongoing demographic transitions--not only is York home to some of the country's fastest growing municipalities, it's also seeing a rise in low-income populations.

Between 2001 and 2006, York's poverty rate grew 2.5 times faster than the percentage increase in the total population.

But, thanks to movement on the housing issue from the York Regional Council (seeYonge Street's story on the Region's 10-year housing plan) housing options are beginning to widen. Mackenzie Green--a nine-storey 140-unit building located in Richmond Hill--is one of Housing York Inc's most ambitious projects in recent years. Of 140 units in Mackenzie Green, 70 are rent-geared to income, the remaining are market-rate units.

And the energy efficiency for which it was recently recognized, says Sylvia Patterson, general manager of the Region's Housing and Long Term Care office, says a lot about Region's overall housing strategy.

"We try to do all our work from a sustainability framework. We're working to increase the stock of affordable housing in York and it's important that we build our buildings for the long term because we're going to own them for a long time. We want to make sure they're energy efficient, easy for us to operate, and comfortable for the residents. Building a building to LEED guidelines helps to ensure that those goals to be met."

Mackenzie Green, which opened this past September, was purchased by the Region from a developer who built the property with clear Regional directives.

"The building was bought from a developer who built the building for us," says Patterson. "There are specifications that the Region gives to the developer. We demanded, for example tri-sorters [waste, recyclables and organic waste]. We wanted to ensure that our impact on the community in terms of waste and energy is limited.

"We made sure the developer built to LEED frameworks. LEED certification ensures discipline, it means that it meets national and international standards not just in how the building operates, but in how it is built. During construction, for example,over 70 per cent of construction waste diverted from landfill."

In addition to diverting waste, Mackenzie Green also boasts energy and water-efficient laundry facilities, green power electricity, a roof that reflects sunlight and heat away from the building, underground storage for 70 bicycles, and proximity to transit. It's these characteristics, among others, that landed the building its recent certification.

"During the recent ice storm, Mackenzie Green was without power for a day and half but it never lost heat," explains Patterson. "It is that efficient and well insulated."

"The building limits environmental impact to the community and, of course, it's less expensive for the residents."