Ontario Construction News staff writer
BGO has completed Ontario’s first all-electric net zero carbon speculative industrial building in Milton, one of four industrial buildings at Fifth Line Business Park owned by Sun Life Assurance Company of Canada.
Broccolini is the development manager and CBRE is the leasing broker.
The first-of-its-kind 234,061-sq. ft. industrial building has net zero carbon specifications including an all-electric HVAC system and a 500kW rooftop solar array that will negate 100 per cent of annual GHG emissions. The rooftop solar array will result in a projected 59 per cent reduction in annual operating costs in the first year, compared to a traditional new construction building. The project achieved Canada Green Building Council’s Zero Carbon Building (ZCB) Design certification and is also targeting the ZCB Performance certification.
The highly efficient facility also includes an enhanced envelope with superior roof and precast panel insulation to reduce air leakage.
“We continue to move intentionally and steadfastly towards meeting our net zero carbon goal by 2050 by taking demonstrable action today and delivering the first net zero carbon speculative industrial building to Ontario,” said Ross Strowger, managing partner, BGO. “This move-in-ready building combines outstanding spatial and locational attributes with an operationally net zero carbon footprint on Day 1 to help tenants with a sustainability focus immediately meet their net zero goals too.”
The Fifth Line Business Park offers four industrial buildings of various flexible sizes ranging from 93,000 to 330,000 sq. ft. All four buildings feature pioneering environmentally focused specifications that provide tenants with superior energy efficiencies, providing “Net Zero Carbon Ready” for Buildings 1, 3 and 4, along with the “All-Electric Net Zero Carbon” for Building 2.
The Net Zero Carbon Ready buildings include the same enhanced envelope with superior roof and precast panel insulation to reduce air leakage, as well as strengthened structural reinforcement in the roof to accommodate future rooftop solar panels and increased electrical capacity to support future transition to all-electric HVAC.