CASE STUDY 25 YORK STREET ocated on once-abandoned Buildings: Operations & Main- railway lands, this $250 tenance Platinum certification in million project revital- 2012. The team identified and ized this site on Toronto’s implemented best practices that Lwaterfront. The first major office would continue the sustainable development south of the railway commitment to occupant comfort tracks in more than a decade, 25 and environmental responsibility. York includes 30 stories with a Tenant organizations are increas- five-level podium and three lev- ingly seeking green building els of parking. The building is space in the Toronto market and located in the heart of the Toronto across North America (see For downtown core, just south of the More Information on the Economic financial district. Benefits of Green Buildings). The AAA office building includes Whether it’s for keeping and attract- a gourmet kitchen for employees to ing employees, reducing long-term © Enermodal Engineering / Shai Gil Fotography prepare food, rooftop garden patios, operating costs, or part of a broader Above The building team viewed ground floor retail, a fitness center, corporate sustainability initiative, sustainability as an important element in COMPETITIVE designing a competitive, AAA office tower in a prayer room, and massage rooms. tenants are putting sustainability on the Toronto rental market. Conservation mea- Linking directly to the major attrac- the “must-have list.” sures reduce long-term operating costs, while green certification helps attract tenants. tions of the downtown core, the On the opposite side, developers Opposite The building is set back from the Toronto underground PATH walk- and property managers are seeing street, providing ample space for pedes- way through 25 York provides direct increased competition. By focusing trians. Its location next to Toronto’s Union EDGE indoor access to Union Station and on energy management, managers Station provides convenient access to alter- native transportation. in-building bicycle storage and can reduce the impact of rising util- showers. This building is steps ity costs on their tenants. BUILDING AT A GLANCE from the waterfront, the Air Canada Though a green certification might Centre (home to three Toronto pro- not increase rent, not having it for Name 25 York Street fessional sports teams), the enter- a new development is a bigger risk; Location Toronto tainment district, and the financial this could lead to not being able to Owner Menkes Union Tower Inc. core, plus many major restaurants attract tenants to a space quickly. Principal Use Office, podium level retail and retail chains. Sustainable building certification Employees/Occupants 3,281 The building features large floor has progressed from “why” to “why Expected (Design) Occupancy 100% plates and a state-of-the-art build- not” certify. Percent Occupied 100% ing technology platform for the Gross Square Footage 853,266 distribution of air, voice, data and Water and Site Conditioned Space 775,368 power cabling. Building occupants Despite its location in the downtown BY JON W. DOUGLAS AND VICTOR HALDER Distinctions/Awards LEED-C&S Gold, enjoy personal control over their core, 25 York Street incorporates 2011; LEED-EB O&M Platinum, 2012; AFrame Studio temperature and airflow volume green space in a variety of ways. BOMA Canada Earth Award, 2012; Environmental benefits and long-term operations cost savings have traditionally BOMA BESt (Building Environmental through underfloor air distribu- The building’s green and white Standards) Level 4, 2012 been the main drivers of sustainable design. But building owners — including the tion, an abundance of daylight with reflective roof helps minimize the Construction Cost CAN$185 million owner of one of Toronto’s newest office towers — are also viewing high performing incorporated daylight sensors for urban heat island effect. Occupants Cost Per Square Foot CAN$217 indirect/direct lighting, and exterior enjoy a podium level rooftop green Project Cost CAN$250 million buildings as a competitive edge in leasing and managing office space. The strategy views from 90% of the occupied space that can be used at lunch or (includes site work, consultant costs) has worked for 25 York Street, which leased 90% of its space in the first year and spaces in the building. for entertainment events. Substantial Completion/Occupancy The property management A combination of measures, June 2010 100% in the second year, outpacing the market’s average lease-out rate. team received LEED for Existing including dual-flush toilets, low flow 54 HIGH PERFORMING BUILDINGS Fall 2013 Fall 2013 HIGH PERFORMING BUILDINGS 55 This article was published in High Performing Buildings, Fall 2013. Copyright 2013. Posted at www.hpbmagazine.org. This article may not be copied and/or distributed electronically or in paper form without permission of ASHRAE. For more information about High Performing Buildings, visit www.hpbmagazine.org. Energy manner resulting in expected energy FOR MORE INFORMATION ON Recognizing the environmental efficiency and occupant comfort. THE ECONOMIC BENEFITS OF GREEN BUILDINGS impacts associated with energy The property manager also hired used by office buildings, the owner an energy management consultant Doug Gatlin. 2008. “The Green charged the design team with creat- to monitor performance and identify Building Advantage Won’t Last Long.” The Sustainable Enterprise Report: ing a high performance building. opportunities to further push energy Turning Awareness into Action. These systems help protect tenants performance, which has resulted http://tinyurl.com/kk8st4r from rising utility costs while provid- in an ENERGY STAR score of 88. S. Michael Brooks. 2012. “The Value ing occupants with a superior space. Building energy conservation mea- of Green Buildings.” Property Biz Canada. http://tinyurl.com/l6tpbwc The project team hired an inde- sures include an airtight, well-insu- pendent commissioning agent to lated envelope, high performance Kristena Hansen. 2013. “Real Estate: ‘Greener’ Buildings Showing High peer review the design, provide windows, automated solar tracking Prices, Easier Sales.” Phoenix Business recommendations for new technolo- interior shades in addition to light- Journal. http://tinyurl.com/m2t5wlp gies, ensure installation of systems ing and HVAC strategies. was correctly done and provides Energy monitoring identified that operational support during the first the building was using 35% more faucets and rainwater reuse, reduce year of operations. This commis- electricity for lighting and power water use. Rainwater is collected sioning process included functional panels compared to the energy model Advertisement formerly in this space. from the roof, stored in an under- testing, confirming that all system prediction. This higher than expected ground 29,000 gallon cistern and components operated in an integrated energy use was due to approximately used to flush the toilets and urinals on floors three through five. Limiting the reclaimed water use to three floors reduces the cost of dual plumbing and doesn’t hinder the water savings. This design also allows the fixtures to run off of city water pressure, eliminating any need for a connection to the tower booster pumps, saving energy and reducing costs. Landscaping consists of native adaptive vegetation species, reduc- ing watering demands. A highly efficient drip irrigation system is fed from the rainwater cistern. Based on actual metered data for 2012 and assuming 252 working days per year and 3,281 occupants in the building, the building’s water use is 37% lower than a typical office building. Landscaping on the rooftop patio and else- where consists of native adaptive vegetation, reducing watering demands. A highly effi- cient drip irrigation system is fed from the Shai Gil Fotography rainwater cistern. 56 HIGH PERFORMING BUILDINGS Fall 2013 occupancy. Continued monitoring will District cooling from the DES also WATER AT A GLANCE OCCUPANT COMFORT SURVEY safeguard the building from falling out eliminates the on-site chiller plant, of “energy calibration” and will result Annual Water Use 7,933,369 gallons Building management conducted a survey areas included acoustics and office lay- cooling tower and concern for mainte- in continued savings into the future. of all building occupants to determine out, which are outside the control of the nance and operation of this plant. The overall satisfaction with comfort in the property manager. However, the property DES uses deep lake cooling to pro- ENERGY AT A GLANCE building. The survey was developed and manager shared this information with the Lighting administered through the Center for the individual tenant groups, and suggested vide cooling energy that already has Built Environment at the University of how they could address these concerns of Electronic ballasts, an automatic Annual Energy Use Intensity (EUI) (Site) a very high coefficient of performance California, Berkeley. their occupants, including white noise to 70.1 kBtu/ft2 lighting control system comprising 2 Areas of the survey included: office lay- address the acoustics concerns. (COP), which is not possible for an on- Electricity (From Grid) 46.1 kBtu/ft © Enermodal Engineering / Shai Gil Fotography out, office furnishings, thermal comfort, air Thermal comfort was the final area of of a Digital Addressable Lighting Deep Lake Cooling Energy 3 kBtu/ft2 site chiller and cooling tower plant. Located on once-abandoned railway lands, quality,