Simcoe Place

Built in 1995, the 30-floor Simcoe Place is prominently positioned at the northwest corner of Front and Simcoe Streets in downtown Toronto. Designed by internationally acclaimed architect Carlos Ott, the 1,056,000 sq. ft. commercial office and retail building achieved LEED EB:O&M Platinum certification in May of this year.

Simcoe Place owner Cadillac Fairview targets LEED certification to provide their clients with a recognizable third-party standard to measure their buildings’ environmental performance. In addition, pursuing certification supports occupant wellness and improves building performance that in turn reduces their overall environmental footprint and utility costs.

The following case study was written using responses previously provided for a LEED Spotlight in September 2016, and is the result of an interview with Karen Jalon, Director of Sustainability at Cadillac Fairview and Nathan Mordaunt, General Manager for Simcoe Place & RBC Centre.

LEED certification benefits developers and clients

For Cadillac Fairview, LEED has become an industry expectation and one that is valued by both their clients and their organization. Green building certification is a core element of their National Sustainability Program, called Green at Work®, because it aligns well with Cadillac Fairview’s Corporate Responsibility Strategy.

“Aiming for LEED enables us to future-proof our buildings and ensure that we are developing and operating our buildings to the highest standards,” says Ms. Jalon. “Most importantly, it supports our clients’ environmental programs as well as their employee retention and attraction programs.”

“LEED is an industry leading best practice and internationally renowned certification that is accepted and recognized in the market place. At Cadillac Fairview we believe that achieving LEED is the right thing to do for both our business and our clients’ business.”

Setting energy performance goals and exceeding them

In 2010, Simcoe Place adopted the “REALpac 20 ekWh/ft2/year by 2015” goal in order to improve the overall energy performance of the building. The building was actually able to achieve and exceed their target early (in 2013) with a normalized energy intensity of 18.3 ekWh/ft2. From there, Simcoe Place targeted an Energy Star Portfolio Manager score of 98, which was achieved in early 2015.

In total, Simcoe Place has saved 21 per cent of total energy as compared with a 2010 baseline. This includes a 23.4 per cent reduction in electricity use, 20.3 per cent reduction in gas use and 8.9 per cent reduction in water use.

Occupant health and well-being is essential factor in project delivery

Cadillac Fairview ensures that Simcoe Place continues to provide better indoor air quality, improved temperature regulation, and overall comfort for their tenants. The benefits of these health impacts are measured through ongoing monitoring and testing of indoor air quality and regular review of occupant comfort at integrated building operations meetings, as well as tenant feedback.

An Integrated Building Performance Team regularly studies building performance evidence and applies collective knowledge and experience to produce the most effective solutions and results. Building performance indicators have directed the team to tackle more than 30 individual projects, which were then applied in order to maximize operations. This included making improvements to: the heating and cooling systems, the building automation system, elevators, lighting and transformers.

“This systematic management process is critical in helping us achieve industry-leading performance,” says Nathan Mordaunt.

Along with building performance improvements, Simcoe Place provides a number of showers and bike racks for commuting cyclists in order to improve the health and productivity of occupants, as well as an onsite daycare. Additionally, their Occupant Engagement Program helps to unite tenant companies, individual occupants and property management in a mission to raise awareness of environmental issues and impacts.

“In the past, our focus has been on waste and energy. Next up we have wellness, which we think will be very popular with everyone.”