RBC WaterPark Place poised to be first LEED Platinum office tower in Toronto

By bdeditor On Jun 26, 2012

Oxford Properties, the real estate arm of the OMERS Worldwide Group of Companies, and its investment partner CPP Investment Board (CPPIB), in collaboration with RBC, announced updated design plans to achieve LEED Platinum Core and Shell (C&S) certification for the new 930,000-sq.-ft. office development known as RBC WaterPark Place in downtown Toronto. If successful, it will be the first LEED Platinum office tower in Toronto.

“Oxford has consistently raised the bar on sustainability initiatives within our industry because we simply believe that good sustainability practices make good business sense! We take pride in operating and developing our towers to the highest standards and our commitment here is certainly no exception,” said Blake Hutcheson, president and CEO, Oxford. “RBC WaterPark Place is a world class office project and Platinum status will be a win-win for RBC, the other third party tenants, the City and our investment stakeholders. We challenged our architects, WZMH, engineers, builders and colleagues to set the highest Green targets for a modern structure and this Platinum designation exemplifies this commitment.”

In accordance with LEED, RBC WaterPark Place will offer high performance and high efficiency features, including:

Deep lake water cooling;
Dedicated outdoor air system – separating heating and cooling from ventilation for optimum amount of fresh air within the building, and optimum required energy to create a comfortable office environment;
Vision glazing – more than half (53 per cent) of the windows are installed with vision glazing glass to allow for bright open space and improved insulation;
best in class plumbing and lighting features such as 4.8 litre single flush toilets and centralized lighting control strategy.

“We are proud that RBC WaterPark Place will be Toronto’s first LEED Platinum office tower, and of the commitment that RBC, Oxford and CPPIB have collectively made in delivering a top tier environmental and energy efficient building,” said Linda Mantia, senior vice-president, Enterprise Services, RBC. “The road to LEED Platinum is about achieving the highest environmental standards while at the same time providing the best in class office space and efficiency for our team who will enjoy working in this building.”

The building will be RBC’s new national headquarters and is located between Bay and York Streets on the north side of Queens Quay Boulevard. Designed by WZMH Architects and constructed by Ellis Don, the development will be connected to the PATH system by a new elevated enclosed pedestrian bridge linked directly to the Air Canada Centre and Union Station.

RBC WaterPark Place construction is scheduled for completion in Q3 2014. In addition to the 575,000 square feet that RBC will occupy, there is 355,000 square feet being made available for other tenants in the high rise portion of the structure.