Regent Park townhomes set greener tone
The 24 Field House Eco Urban Towns will have heat pumps, solar panels, energy-recovery systems
From his condo window, Sean Herszkowicz has been proud to watch the greening of his Regent Park neighbourhood — from its energy-efficient buildings, to community gardens, to green roofs, to parks.
“I’ve lived here for four years and I love it,” he said. “There are a lot of amenities. I can see all of Cabbagetown and there’s a very holistic feeling especially in this (pandemic) period with windows looking out to green space.”
Now he’s watching from his window the rise of Daniels Corp.’s Field House EcoUrban Towns. It’s a block of townhouses under construction at River St. and Wyatt Ave. that will launch the company’s new corporate focus on sustainability. Herszkowicz’s interest goes deeper than just a curious neighbour: he’s the WSP Group’s senior project manager, sustainability and energy, buildings — and he’s consulted on many Daniels’ buildings, including the Field House EcoUrban Towns.
The 24, three-storey, three-bedroom EcoUrban Towns, ranging from about 1,319 to 1,700 square feet and starting at $1.1 million, support fossil-free living and a smaller carbon footprint. When completed, they will use 52 per cent less energy, emit 89 per cent fewer greenhouses gases and reduce energy costs by11 per cent, compared to Daniels’ traditional townhouses. They’ll be heated by electricity and incorporate an integrated solar panel array that will supply 18 per cent of the development’s energy.
“We take a lot of pride in our innovative spirit and approaches,” said Adam Molson, Daniels’ director of project implementation. “We have been focused on social innovation and are a community-minded developer — and have seen the fruits of that. We wanted to bring the focus back to the core bricks-and-mortar, and to put ourselves on the leading edge again. That’s in our history.”
One of Daniels’ first townhouse sites in Erin Mills was built to R2000 — a voluntary benchmark that includes a series of green specifications. It was the first time a multi-unit housing project was built to the stringent energy-efficient standard.
Over the last decade, Regent Park has become a defining project for Daniels. In partnership with To
ronto Community Housing, Daniels has helped transform the once a closed-off social housing community, known for crime and poverty. It is now among the city’s most vibrant neighbourhoods with a mix of market and affordable condo units, new retail stores and extensive community amenities including an aquatic centre, sports fields and Daniels Spectrum arts and cultural hub.
While working with the company on some of the Regent Park buildings, Herszkowicz was so impressed with the neighbourhood transformation, he bought a condo at One Park Place.
Molson, meanwhile, was doing a complete rebuild of his own home when he decided to “use myself as a guinea pig” to test some of the technologies and products for the EcoUrban Towns.
Initially, he and his team wanted to hit Net Zero — when homes produce as much energy as they consume, a standard that will be required in new homes by 2030. But with the approvals for the townhomes already in place, they couldn’t drastically alter the plans. They were, though, able to adopt many Net Zero practices and so focused on reducing carbon output by shifting away from fossil fuels. Buildings are responsible for 45 per cent of Toronto’s greenhouse gas emissions, according to the city.
“Daniels always tries to stay on the cutting edge and the townhomes are going for Toronto Tier 2 Green Standard,” said Herszkowicz, who worked with Daniels on the sustainability scope for the townhomes and assisted with design principles. It’s the first time Daniels has aimed for the higher, voluntary Tier 2 for a lowrise project.
“Carbon became a topic of conversation and led to them using solar panels that have been integrated into the design and used an awning structure over the (rooftop) balconies — and just by doing that, you reduce the need for more materials,” added Herszkowicz.
“We invested a lot in high-end architectural solar panels and wanted them to stand out as a feature,” said Molson. “When people bring their friends and families home, they will look up and see the (roof ) panels. We wanted them to be a conversation starter and it will hopefully prompt other people to use them.”
While natural gas is still inexpensive, Daniels opted to go with electric heating supplied by heat pumps in the townhouses. “When people hear ‘electric heating,’ they think baseboard heating and skyhigh bills,” said Molson. “It’s a bit of an education process and we are making investments in the building envelope to reduce the homes’ energy needs. The technology has come a long way and cold-climate heat pumps are now a viable option.”
Daniels has a net-metering arrangement with Toronto Hydro and the towns’ solar panels will feed into the grid.
“In a perfect world, the savings would show up on everyone’s hydro bill, but that’s a challenge because of the regulatory environment,” said Molson. “We’ve tied all the solar panels to the common meter for the condo corporation.” The savings in condo fees will be about $26 a month per townhouse to cover common-element expenses.
The homes will also have triple-paned windows, drainwater heat recovery pipes to recapture heat from shower and bath water, and Energy Recovery Ventilators that ensure a constant fresh air and control humidity.
“The homes will not look or feel any different (than traditional townhouses),” said Molson. “They will have the same type of thermostat, the same general finishes. The clothes dryer has its own built-in heat pump and is ventless, and is more efficient than a regular electric dryer.
“We’ve really focused on energy performance and it’s a superior quality home with lower cost of ownership, and better thermal comfort and indoor air quality.”
The EcoUrban Towns will incorporate charging stations for electric vehicles plus generous bicycle storage. Occupancy will take place within a year.
With just 24 initial EcoUrban townhouses in Regent Park, Molson said Daniels has the ability to “try things out,” and make a business case for sustainable features. He said the company is already well into the planning of its next and larger GTA EcoUrban townhome project.