60 Richmond Street East is now certified with a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED®) Gold rating by the Green Building Council (CaGBC). All the new Regent Park buildings have been designed to LEED® Gold standard, but 60 Richmond is the first to actually receive its accreditation.

“We wanted to extend the corporate commitment to green our portfolio outside of the Regent Park footprint,” said Lizette Zuniga, Director of Development and Real Estate. “LEED® certification is the most credible and reputable third party verification of green buildings in North America, and the prestige associated with the gold level is public acknowledgement of meeting the high standards associated with that rating,” she said.

“LEED® Certification is a long process that involves designing, constructing and commissioning buildings to reduce energy consumption in our city and minimize the footprint of urban development,” said Leslie Gash, the Development Team’s project manager. “We should be celebrating because we are city builders,” she said.

60 Richmond is a distinct building that gets more attention than others on the block. The building’s bold, sculptured and contemporary design is the trademark of downtown condos, not social housing. Eleven stories high, this is the first housing cooperative built in Toronto since 1997. The tenants are mostly members of Unite Here-Local 75, a hospitality workers union, and about half are former residents of Regent Park, who were interested in the co-op lifestyle, and chose this building as their permanent replacement unit. 

 

The building’s design is modern and functional, with open concept courtyards and bright common spaces that are visible from street level. The building’s many green features include: 

• energy saving mechanical systems that move warm air from one side of the building to another that’s much cooler
• an irrigation system that captures water from the roof to hydrate the community gardens below
• an indoor bike room that encourages tenants to make a green commuting choice downtown.