When a condo building is purchased, developers are typically quick to walk away. But Windmill Development Group has decided to stick around to help new owners prioritize sustainability throughout the lifecycle of the building.
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When a condo building is purchased, developers are typically quick to walk away. But one local real estate development company has decided to stick around after the hand-off to help new owners prioritize sustainability throughout the lifecycle of the building.
Windmill Development Group, which is currently working on 10 projects throughout Ottawa and Toronto, strives to meet environmental goals throughout the planning and construction process, beyond what most developers typically consider, president Jeremy Reeds told OBJ Monday.
However, it isn’t always easy to keep up those standards once the development job is done.
“(With) a rental building, which you can develop then own and operate, you can see that continued lifecycle function in your desired state,” he said. “The biggest issue with a condo building is that when you finish your project, you’re walking away. That future is up to those individual occupants to want to live that lifestyle. There’s a lot that gets lost in that sense.”
To address the issue, the company is developing what Reeds calls an “eco-concierge” service and waste reduction plan to be implemented during the turnover process for a building.
Reeds said the focus will be on educating new owners about sustainability, as well as the “eco-measure” of the building to ensure it can continue hitting the environmental standards it was constructed to achieve.
“We want new owners to actually understand how the building was built and how it operates,” he said. “(We want them) to understand the energy demands and the loads and the efficiency of that building, to help them see the impact they’re having on energy consumption on a regular basis.”
The plan includes a special agreement to allow the company to gather data to monitor and measure the building's performance. High-efficiency plumbing, for example, should naturally reduce water consumption. Through the agreement, Windmill will monitor water consumption to see if it’s missing or exceeding its targets.
“That helps us understand as we continue to improve on each next project what strategies worked really well or just hit baseline or went far above,” he said. “That type of information helps us to continue to improve how high-performing our building is as it relates to the energy needs and individual habits of individuals.”
He added, “The concierge plan allows you to continue to educate tenants. If there’s certain things that are odd in terms of their consumption, you can help encourage them to adopt sustainable lifestyle habits.”
Minimizing the environmental impacts of its buildings is a core tenet for Windmill, according to Reeds. In May, the company’s sustainability efforts over its 20-year history were recognized by consultancy group Bioregional under the One Planet Living global sustainability framework. Windmill was designated a “global leader,” the first time a company has received that endorsement and the first time a North American company has received a leadership distinction as a corporate entity.
For developers, meeting sustainability targets means considering emissions throughout the process, from materials to transportation to construction. But Reeds said building owners can further contribute by prioritizing sustainability goals long term.
“It’s everything from sharing updated knowledge and information to occupants so that they can understand what their consumption rates are, giving them helpful tips on everything from the building itself to the One Planet Living framework, and sharing information about different local food suppliers, transit options and sustainable restaurants in their neighbourhood,” said Reeds.
“There’s a certain aspect of (the eco-concierge plan) that’s focused on continued education and learning and then there’s an aspect of it that is trying to create that community within the condo board so they can share and grow and learn.”
While such a plan might put extra responsibility on building owners, Reeds said he thinks sustainability practices are increasingly appealing to buyers, especially in the long term, as Canada enforces carbon requirements and a carbon tax and gas increases in price.
“Right now, it’s apples to apples from one building to the next,” he said. “Normally they are. But I think there’s significant value that someone is getting by buying a unit in one of our buildings, in comparison to those standard buildings that are being built. In five to 10 years time, I think it’s going to be pretty apparent really fast on the value that has been created. There will be more and more value associated with (sustainable buildings) and ideally that does start to expand at a premium.”
Reeds said the program is inspired by Windmill’s ongoing efforts to maintain One Planet Living standards throughout its work. He said he hasn’t seen any similar program from other developers, though he hopes others might follow in the future.
“Real estate is an old industry in the sense that so many things are just, this is the way it’s always been done. The industry is still pretty behind when you think about the sustainability side,” he said.
“Instead of being hands-off and saying okay, we’re done, let this building live in the way it was designed.”
