Backstage at Dockside Green

Just back froma quick hop over to to Victoria, B.C. where I spoke at the annual meeting of the Victoria Car-Share Co-op, and also snuck in a backstage tour of Dockside Green, the highest-rated LEED Platinum development in the world.

Joe Van Belleghem, a chartered accountant and the cofounder of Windmill West, the project’s developer, graciously showed me around. Here’s a shot of a new commercial building on the site; the three turbines up top will power the ventilation system when the wind blows. Workers are installing photovoltaics on the window awnings.

Here’s Joe showing off his wastewater treatment plant. The development treats all of its sewage onsite, which is more than you can say about the whole city of Victoria. By the end of the process, the one-time “wastewater” is almost good enough to drink. It’s a challenging environment for photos, but beneath the grates underfoot is a froth of raw sewage. It didn’t smell a bit.

Here’s the roof of the second tower of Synergy, seen from the first. Those are food gardens up there for the residents.

Update: File under, credit where it’s due: My pal Dan Paris at Vancity Enterprises points out that his company, along with Vancity Credit Union, together own a 75 percent stake in Dockside along with Joe’s company Windmill West. Vancity Enterprises is as green as they come: The company’s Verdant project, in the new neighborhood at my alma mater, Simon Fraser Univeristy, is evidently even more energy efficient than Synergy, the building I toured at Dockside. It also sold at 20 percent below market value and uses an innovative legal agreement that Dan’s company created to protect affordability in perpetuity. Both these guys are leaders, and they deserve acclaim.

I visited Victoria as a guest of Harbour Air, North America’s only carbon-neutral scheduled airline. This all-floatplane company serves Canada’s West Coast, and purchases carbon offsets for each flight on behalf of each of its passengers. Thanks for the ride, gang, and keep up the good work!