Blatchford Energy Centre complete & residential construction begins
September 20, 2019
Mayor Don Iveson, Councillor Bev Esslinger and Mutti Homes celebrated two major milestones at Blatchford today. The milestones are the completion of the first Energy Centre for the community District Energy Sharing System and the start of residential construction as Mutti Homes broke ground for the first townhomes.
Energy Centre One holds the key mechanical equipment for the District Energy Sharing System. Connected to a 570-borehole geoexchange field, the Energy Centre will deliver a reliable, renewable, environmentally-friendly source of heating, cooling and hot water for residents. This first Energy Centre, including the 570-borehole geoexchange field, cost $19.4 million to design and build and was completed on time and on budget. The first phase of the system will serve multiple residential stages in the community.
“Blatchford’s first Energy Centre, combined with the community’s energy efficient buildings and geoexchange field, plays a critical role in achieving an almost 75 per cent reduction in neighbourhood greenhouse gas emissions that come from buildings and homes compared to a standard community,” said Jason Meliefste, Acting Deputy City Manager, Integrated Infrastructure Services. “Given the prominence of this building in Blatchford’s future Civic Plaza, it was also designed to be a showpiece for sustainability and will allow future residents and visitors to see a renewable energy source in action.”
Today also marked the beginning of residential construction in Blatchford as the first homebuilder, Mutti Homes, broke ground. In addition to starting construction on their first townhome units, Mutti Homes also announced they have purchased another parcel of land in Blatchford. Their next nine townhomes will be located across from their current site and are now pre-selling.
“I have long believed in the power of cities to tackle some of the great challenges of our time, including looking at how we can play a role in confronting both the causes and the impacts of climate change,” said Mayor Iveson, “These two milestones demonstrate exactly what we are trying to accomplish with Blatchford. We have created a community-scale source of renewable energy which will connect to energy-efficient homes built by homebuilders who are as committed to our vision as we are.”