Despite today’s tough economic conditions, three out of four consumers say that sustainability is a shopping priority. Remington knows that green developments offer residents, employees and customers alike healthier, more inspiring places to live, work and shop. Best of all, green buildings substantially reduce carbon emissions and help cut monthly utility costs in an increasingly unreliable climate – which is why we work hard to improve quality of life, productivity and employee retention of our clients through sustainable design, construction and facility management. No matter what line of work you’re in, it’s hard to deny that green is good business.
Each Remington project, both residential and commercial, is designed to exceed industry standards in occupant comfort, building performance and longevity. We stay at the forefront of our field by working closely with municipalities, service providers, consultants, and environmental groups to ensure that we are implementing the most cutting edge and resilient technologies available. Rest assured that your home or business will reflect the latest in energy-saving design.
COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIPS
Not only does Remington offer top-performing products designed to last, we also invest heavily in partnerships to generate awareness for sustainable living within our communities and to create standards that propel the rest of the industry forward.
Remington has been working closely with the City of Markham for decades to transform this former farming township into one of North America’s fastest growing urban centres and a leader in sustainability. As a member of the Markham Centre Advisory Committee, Remington and other community partners work together to develop new standards for sustainable urban construction. Making up the heart of Markham Centre, Downtown Markham was conceived in the early 1990’s as an innovation lab and testing ground for new technologies and building practices for the region. Remington supports Markham’s Environmental Advisory Committee by hosting the City’s official Earth Day celebration in Downtown Markham. We also recently teamed up with the City of Markham and Toronto and Region Conservation Authority (TRCA) to build the GTA’s first Green Road next to new Aaniin Community Centre, which uses landscaped bioswales to clean runoff water.
Remington’s Low Rise division has been actively engaged in numerous energy saving construction programs, exploring advancements in green technology and adopting best practices in order to reduce the carbon footprint of all of the communities we build.
Sustainability is a key theme of The Remington Group’s public art initiative, the Remington Contemporary Art Gallery. In Downtown Markham alone, we’ve invested more than $30 million, providing thought-provoking public art at every turn, anchored by the Pride of Canada Carousel – a rideable community attraction lovingly crafted from recycled and/or found objects from across Canada.
RENEWABLE ENERGY
The growing unpredictability of our environment will surely mean more interruptions and higher energy costs for users of traditional services, which is why Remington has turned to renewable energy to power our signature community – Downtown Markham.
At 243 acres, Downtown Markham is one of North America’s largest master-planned ‘green’ communities and features an inviting mix of uses, streets, parks and squares with more traditional ‘downtown’ densities. But what makes Downtown Markham green?
For starters, the plan’s implementation of District Energy – a system of highly insulated underground thermal piping networks that transmit hot and chilled water from central plants to heat and cool buildings. Most often found in schools or corporate campuses, but in this case, serving all of Downtown Markham.
The Remington Group inventively installed a Markham District Energy (MDE) plant in the basement of the community’s heritage site, the Alexander Bradburn Farmhouse – restored and converted into mixed-use space in the community’s first park – to heat and cool the surrounding residential block. MDE produces energy services for more than 4 million sq. ft. of building connections and generates 3MW of power for the local grid; sufficient power for 3,000 homes in Markham today. This system is expected to grow to serve 40 million sq. ft. of building connections and power more than 40,000 residents and 40,000 employees.
District Energy offers building operators and residents precise control over their heating and cooling – right down to in-suite thermal monitoring in every condominium unit. Because thermal energy is delivered directly in usable form, our residents, tenants and commercial partners avoid installing expensive equipment like boilers, chillers and cooling towers that take up valuable space and incur costs for operation and maintenance.
Another critical advantage of Downtown Markham is the vast scale of its master plan. When a district energy network interconnects multiple buildings, it collects a diverse range of heating and cooling profiles, achieving economies of scale that enable deployment of more efficient local energy resources. The size of our ever-evolving master plan enables us to integrate cleaner options, offer unmatched reliability and resiliency of services, and cut carbon emissions at a rate unachievable in other urban centres operated on a building by building basis.
While the character and connectedness of Downtown Markham’s streetscapes welcome residents and visitors, the community’s infrastructure will ensure a more intelligent use of resources, and the preservation of important ecosystems nearby.
Click here to learn more about Downtown Markham