Dockside Green

Victoria’s Dockside Green Transforms an Industrial Wasteland into North America’s First Self-Sufficient Sustainable Community

December—Elemente Magazine

Between the Johnson Street and Bay Street bridges, along the Tyee Corridor and west shore of Victoria’s inner harbour, a renaissance is happening. It’s happening all because of a new development called Dockside Green.

One hundred and fifty years ago, this land echoed with the laughter of First Nations children. With the Songhees relocation to the reserve in Esquimalt in 1911, the land became slated for industrial use and was mistreated for close to 100 years, turning this once treasured paradise into a sludge of black water, contaminated with heavy metals and toxic chemicals.

In the fall of 2004, the City of Victoria requested proposals to redevelop the site with a mandate toward sustainability. The City set a minimum price, but money wasn’t the goal: the City wanted a developer that would approach the project from a triple bottom line perspective incorporating the City’s strategic priorities of environmental sustainability, social and cultural development and economic vitality and who would commit to a minimum of a Silver Leadership in Energy and Environmental Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED®) status. “The Dockside Green project is a unique opportunity to seta new standard of excellence in urban renewal and sustainable design,” says Victoria’s Mayor, Alan Lowe. “Innovation and diversity are integral parts of the vision – a vision which encompasses affordable housing as part of the overall development.”

“When we saw the triple bottom line rating system, we got very excited,” says Joe VanBelleghem, partner at Windmill Development Group, a Canadian developer whose portfolio brims with green real estate. “Our company was formed on the basis of triple bottom line thinking.” Windmill utilizes forward thinking strategies that incorporate the integration of the objectives of the triple bottom line components so that each enhances the attributes of the others, thereby strengthening the whole.

Windmill partnered with Vancity Enterprises Ltd., a company that also takes the triple bottom line approach to business, and in January of 2005 they won right to purchase the land and redevelop it and Dockside Green was born.

Build out is expected to take five to seven years and, once completed, Dockside Green will encompass over 15 acres and will incorporate residential, light industrial, retail and commercial components. Over 2,500 people will be able to call a variety of sustainable accommodations home – ranging from apartment style condominiums to townhouse and live/work lofts.

“Dockside became an inspiration for us because we saw it as an opportunity to really go to the next level of environmental thinking. We had a chance to move beyond the stand alone building and implement green building principles into the entire infrastructures on site,” explains Van Belleghem.

The development embraces innovative design – solutions like its own sewage treatment plant (the City of Victoria currently does not treat sewage; it pumps it directly into the ocean). “Peoples ask me, “Why would you have that extra cost?” But when you look at the triple bottom line it makes sense,” says Van Belleghem.

Ecologically, the treatment plant is good because polluted water is not dumped directly into the ocean and because the treated water is then reused to flush toilets and irrigate the landscaping. In the summer when it doesn’t rain, it is used to keep the extensive naturalized pond and creek system flowing (during the wet months the storm runoff systems flows into the naturalized waterways).

On a social level, the whole system was designed to nurture urban ecology, resulting in beautiful landscaping. And, because the creek and pond system are so aesthetically appealing, the non-oceanside townhouses that surround these features have fetched prices far exceeding original expectations. “They ended up being our best sellers. The extra value that we got on these homes ended up covering a significant portion of the sewage treatment costs,” says Van Belleghem. As well, residents also save money from not using the municipal storm sewer and from the use of water efficient fixtures.

The development will also incorporate a centralized heating system that utilizes a biomass gasification process – essentially it takes waste wood and gasifies it to provide hot water which will then be used to heat the building on site. This provides some energy security for the residents – “energy future proofing,” if you will. “We fully expect natural gas and heating costs to rise in the future, but at Dockside we expect the long term utility rates will decrease,” explains Van Belleghem.

As an added bonus, because the buildings at Dockside are so energy efficient, the community will not be able to use all of the heat generated from the biomass system, so the developers are working with offsite customers. “We have a shot right now to be the first community in North America to be greenhouse has positive,” says Van Belleghem.

“But, the triple bottom line is not just about economic and environmental principles, it is also about how you engage the community in sustainability,” says Van Belleghem, whose business ethics and development practices have evolved since he read the book Natural Capitalism by Hawken and Lovins eight years ago.

“It was this enormous wake up call for me. The book really talked about the environmental issues that we are facing in the world, the value of our natural capital and how we as businesspeople really need to start looking to the environment for solutions on how to design our buildings and communities.” So, relationship building has become first and foremost in this developer’s approach.

The developers behind Dockside Green have worked hard to establish a relationship with the aboriginal people’s who first used the land. Van Belleghem recalls that when the project was in the rezoning phase, Detlef Beck, director of community investment for Vancity suggested that they talk to the First Nations people.

That night a friend sent Van Belleghem images of the First Nations using this land over 100 years ago. “The photos were of children and families and canoes and it made me wake up and refer back to what we are all about. I asked myself; “How can we undertake this project if we are not engaged with the First Nations?”

A meeting was set up with Chief Andy Thomas from the Esquimalt Nation and Chief Robert Sam from the Songhees Nation. Van Belleghem says that he initially took the typical white man approach: “I came in all prepared and then, during the meeting, I realized that I had no idea what I was talking about and the meeting was going nowhere. Finally I said, “Look, I’m a white guy and I really don’t know what your issues are. We took this land away and then we contaminated it, so how about we work together to heel it?” Well, that ended up resulting in a phenomenal conversation,” recounts Van Belleghem.

“A few months later we had a blessing ceremony with eight chiefs and their families and we gave our pledge to be ecologically responsible on the land.” In October of 2006, a Memorandum of Understanding was signed between the developers and the Esquimalt and Songhees First Nations to create a framework for cooperation and communication.

As part of their mandate for sustainability, the Windmill Development Group Ltd. and Vancity Enterprises Ltd. have committed to local job creation with particular support for First Nations job site training. The program has been so successful and has generated so much excitement that that Construction Association wants to implement it as a regional program.

The excitement for the project has also touched the Victoria West Community Association, tradespeople and the contractors on site who have all become involved.

According to Van Belleghem, BC is in the same boat as Alberta in terms of its shortage of skilled labour, yet at Dockside they have had no problems finding tradespeople. “In all my years in development I have never experienced this,” reflects Van Belleghem.

Dockside Green is the biggest development of city land in Victoria’s history, yet there has been no opposition whatsoever to it. The reason? The project is unifying people with the common goal of creating a clean, sustainable environment that can be enjoyed now and by future generations to come.

“When complete, Dockside Green will be a vibrant community and a welcome addition to Victoria’s harbour and downtown core,” says Mayor Lowe.