OTTAWA—A brownfield redevelopment project in Kitchener, Ont. so attractive it enticed Google Canada to move in was one of nine 2016 Sustainable Communities Award winners announced by the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) on Jan. 20.
The Region of Waterloo’s Breithaupt Block redevelopment project was tops in the Brownfields project category. Working with Kitchener-based Perimeter Development Corp., a specialist in adaptive reuse and redevelopment projects, the region and its partners helped transform an industrial brownfield site in Kitchener’s downtown into showcase offices, attracting tenants such as Google and reviving a central neighbourhood. The redevelopment included clean-up of a contaminated site, reducing possible health risks to the community.
Google officially opened the 185,000-square-foot headquarters for its Canadian engineering and development team on Jan. 14.
Municipalities were recognized by the FCM for innovative projects in six categories: brownfields, energy, neighbourhood development, transportation, waste and water.
The award recipients were honoured at a ceremony Feb. 10 as part of the FCM’s Sustainable Communities Conference, held in Ottawa Feb. 9–11.
Other Sustainable Communities Award winners are:
Brownfields (Plan) — City of Edmonton
The City of Edmonton’s Brownfield Redevelopment Grant Program offers grants for all stages of brownfield remediation, including environmental performance incentives.
Energy (Plan) — Region of Waterloo
All four councils that form the Region of Waterloo unanimously endorsed its Climate Action Plan: Living Smarter in 2020, committing each administration to a six-per-cent reduction in GHG emissions from 2010 levels by 2020.
Energy (Program) — City of Toronto
Toronto’s Home Energy Loan Program (HELP) and High-Rise Retrofit Improvement Support Program (Hi-Ris) have led to energy-use reductions of an average of 25 per cent for HELP participants and 28 per cent for Hi-RIS participants.
Neighbourhood
Development (Plan) — Municipality of Austin, Que.
The rural municipality of Austin developed its Sustainable Management Action Plan 2015–2017 to preserve the many ecosystems found throughout its territory.
Neighbourhood Development (Project) — Village of Marwayne, Alta.
When Marwayne was faced with a failing water system in a faltering downtown, it repaired its aging infrastructure and engaged in community renewal through its Centre Street Revitalization: From the Bottom Up! project.
Transportation (Project) — City of Vancouver
Three major upgrades to Vancouver’s cycling and pedestrian network — the Seaside Greenway Completion, the South End Burrard Bridge and the York Bikeway project — have created an active transportation corridor running from the city’s western neighbourhoods across the Burrard Bridge to the downtown core.
Waste (Project) — City of Saint-Hyacinthe, Que.
The City of Saint-Hyacinthe completed all research and development for its new biogas facility, a key new tool for managing waste, without the assistance of external consultants.
Water (Project) — District of Sechelt, B.C.
Sechelt’s new Water Resource Centre uses an advanced odour-free method to turn wastewater into high-quality reclaimed water and biosolids.
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