November 13, 2006

WILLIAM CONWAY/PROGRESS PHOTOGRAPHY

Phase one of a Regent Park redevelopment project is well under way, as REC Demolition tears down existing buildings.

Environment

LEEDing the way in Regent Park demo

Demolition makes way for community redevelopment

BRIAN BAKER

staff writer

Achieving Gold standard in LEED at Regent Park in Toronto started with the wrecking ball, as Restoration Environmental Contractors (REC) Demolition keeps in mind the environmental concerns for the two-year project.

Don Bremner, president of Restoration Environmental Contractors REC Demolition, is well into Phase One of a two-year project to revitalize the area in cost effective, environmentally-sound manner.

The City of Toronto will spend about $1 billion for the six phase project to tear down housing which has reached the end of its 60-plus year lifespan and provide better housing for the community to rejuvenate the neighbourhood. The project is being done with a green approach.

Phase one covers the block of Gerrard, Sackville, Dundas and Parliament.

“When we bid on the project, one of the keys was to obviously be cost effective, but also be energy efficient and environmentally sensitive on the project,” said Bremner.

The entire project is focused on environmental sustainability, with a predicted reduction of 44,000 tons of carbon dioxide per year, reduction in 80 per cent of fossil fuel consumption and a maximum of 76 per cent reduction in energy consumption.

It all starts with the demolition. Bremner noted the demolition project concentrated on recycling interior cabinetry, interior wood, appliances and windows.

Brick, concrete, and structural components were crushed down and used as road beds, fill in parking lots and future staging. Salvaged metals were recycled and hauled off site. “Anything that could be reused in other areas of the project is being utilized,” added Bremner. Items from the original Regent Park that were to be reused in new construction were itemized in the tender, including most of the lighting fixtures, electronics and plumbing.

The Daniels Corporation has been selected as the Regent Park developer it will move in after REC Demolition gets the results from a final round soil testing.

“We think that it is pretty positive that there is no serious soil contamination. So far, all of the tests have come back with no contamination at all,” said Bremner. “There was a lot of criticism that the soils had been seriously contaminated. So far, that has been proven to be untrue.”

Demolition was expected to come in at 90 per cent environmentally sound. It was exceed by an extra seven per cent.

While involved in the phase one demolition, 20 per cent of the workforce employed by REC Demolition reside in the surrounding community.

A Local Employment Program offered young adults in the neighbourhood a chance to get an introduction to the construction and demolition industry.

“The entire project has been hugely successful because it has connected us with the community of Regent Park,” said Bremner.

Born from the need for social housing after the Second World War, a 1946 Regent Park project replaced “shacks” in East York with necessary community housing. In the past half-century, the community is at the end of its lifespan.

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