Consulting Services to undertake stakeholder consultation, research and analysis of issues arising from the implementation of a financing option for tower renewal projects, including the request for priority lien status for tower renewal project payments and the implementation of a city services corporation.
The required work includes three core objectives with respect to implementing the financing option to support the undertaking of tower renewal projects:
 Closing date:    August 4, 2010 at 12:00 Noon

Objective 1 – To optimize the utility performance of buildings. These goals are consistent with the City’s climate change, energy and environmental strategy goals. The types of projects that will be undertaken will have significant performance results and will require investments in the range of $15,000 to $25,000 per apartment unit.

Objective 2 – Support for projects that drive broad environmental, social, economic and cultural change.

Objective 3 - To maximize the number of comprehensivetower renewal projects undertaken

http://www.merx.com/English/SUPPLIER_Menu.asp?WCE=Show&TAB=1&PORTAL=MERX&State=7&id=201029&src=osr&FED_ONLY=0&ACTION=&rowcount=&lastpage=&MoreResults=&hcode=i%2b1pDALzs5ZxyQvwXPxqEw%3d%3d

This presentation provides an overview on how to benchmark your building’s energy performance and quickly determine where you could be saving energy and cash.  Topics covered l include:

• The key elements of a top performing building
• What you can learn from current utility bills
• What kinds of savings you can expect from a building upgrade

2010 National Urban Design Awards

Special Jury Award: Sustainable Development

Tower Renewal Opportunities Book (Toronto, ON)

E.R.A. Architects Inc. and the John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape, and Design, University of Toronto, Project lead Graeme Stewart, ERA Architects Inc.

Jury Comments:

“This plan represents a good model for Toronto to increase its sustainability in terms of social context, the retention of existing buildings, human scale, and the conservation of energy.”

http://www.raic.org/honours_and_awards/awards_urban/2010recipients/credits/tower-credits.pdf

www.raic.org/honours_and_awards/awards_urban/2010recipients/tower_e.htm

Canada’s largest municipality is also a leader in environmental initiatives. With 37 successful applications for GMF funding and seven FCM Sustainable Community Awards to its credit, Toronto is also a member of PCP — currently at Milestone 3 in both the corporate and community categories — and regularly sends delegates to the FCM Sustainable Communities Mission.

The work in this municipality is highly innovative, making Toronto truly a leader in action on sustainability.

This report represents the main findings and recommendations of the project team, including options for pilot implementation. While potential solutions for improved waste diversion are found in a number of broad areas including technology, building operations, outreach, education, incentives, and compliance, it became clear to the project team that the buildings most successful in diverting waste and reducing disposal costs did so through simple, operational adjustments.

The retrofit projects envisioned by Tower Renewal are comprehensive and large scale, likely costing several million dollars per building. Since most of the buildings in question are in the hands of private sector persons, these projects must be demonstrated to be advantageous to building owners if they are to be undertaken voluntarily. A critical obstacle is financing, as it is unlikely that such major projects can be undertaken in the normal course of business by most building owners.

Financing must be both low cost from an interest rate perspective, and not consume high value building owner’s equity. These conditions rule out self-financing by building owners through cash on hand, mortgage financing, and unsecured commercial debt.

Overall, the positive impacts that Tower Renewal can generate are dramatic. Water and energy use and greenhouse gas emissions can be drastically reduced; the production of renewable energy can be achieved; social networks, a sense of safety, and the ease of traveling in the community can be considerably strengthened; and significant economic growth through job and local business creation realized.

http://www.toronto.ca/city_manager/pdf/tr_implementation_book.pdf

University of Toronto professor Paul Hess has teamed up with Jane's Walk to conduct walkability studies in apartment tower neighbourhoods across the City of Toronto, including the four Mayor's Tower Renewal pilot site neighbourhoods.

The Community Energy Plan (CEP) prepared by ARUP Consulting investigates ways to improve energy use in residential communities identified through the Mayor’s Tower Renewal project. At a broader scale, the CEP is intended to support achieving wide-ranging environmental, social, cultural and economic benefits and dramatic city-building. The focus of the CEP is to identify and promote energy efficiency projects as a vehicle for rehabilitation of tower buildings and improving sustainable transportation options, which will reduce energy costs, improve comfort, and provide other benefits - including a significant contribution toward achieving Toronto’s sustainability goals of reducing Greenhouse-Gas (GHG) emissions and creating local “green” jobs.

The findings and recommendations described in the CEP will serve to provide information about the energy efficiency and transportation enhancement opportunities that exist for  Tower Renewal projects, as well as the funding requirements, funding mechanisms, regulatory changes, and other issues which will likely need to be addressed before Mayor’s Tower Renewal can attract the interest, and ultimately the participation of Toronto’s residential tower owners.

http://www.toronto.ca/city_manager/pdf/tr_arup_cep.pdf