Technople Angus best ‘Brownie’ in Canada for 2015

The Montreal redevelopment project, Technopôle Angus, has been named the best overall brownfield project for 2015.

The Canadian Urban Institute recognized brownfield projects in multiple categories from across Canada last night during the annual Brownie Awards.

The “Best Overall” award recognizes a single project or program that combines excellence in urban design, outstanding public space, and innovative approaches to land remediation in adherence with sustainable development principles.

This honor recognizes Technopôle Angus’s excellence since its beginnings in 1999, including the Phase II development plan. Société de développement Angus worked with urban architecture firm Provencher_Roy to craft a development plan that continues to build on the outstanding work completed to date.

Competition in the “Best Overall” category was stiff, pitting Technopôle Angus against four major urban renewal projects from across the country: the City of Vancouver’s Metropolitan Core Jobs & Economy Land Use Plan; the City of Edmonton’s Brownfield Redevelopment Grant Program; Peel, Ontario’s Mississauga Road LID Pilot Project; and the Metalworks development in Guelph, Ontario. In addition to the win in the “Best Overall” category, Technopôle Angus was also a finalist in six other categories.

The Technopôle Angus development transformed a contaminated 2-million square foot industrial ruin into a thriving business park and multi-use community in the heart of Montreal that is now home to 2,300 employees working for 55 different organizations in 13 buildings.

Phase II, the final development phase, will complete the creation of a one-of-a-kind green neighbourhood where business, residents, and public space coexist in an unparalleled environment of sustainability.

Fully integrating multiple uses in a single site has enabled Technopôle Angus to implement a wealth of sustainable innovations, such as recovering and recirculating the energy between buildings, reusing solid waste and waste water, managing snow onsite, and many more.

Phase II of the development will add 1,500 new workers, some twenty businesses serving the local community, several hundred housing units, and 4 public squares. The Technopôle will represent a model of sustainable urban development marked by forward-looking urban planning, state-of-the-art facilities, and social and environmental innovation.

A joint initiative of the Canadian Federation of Municipalities Green Fund and the Canadian Brownfields Network, the Brownie Awards have recognized excellence in urban redevelopment in Canadian communities since 2001.

The following is the list of the 2015 CUI Brownie Award winners and shortlisted finalists:

REPROGRAM Legislation, Policy & Procurement

FIRST: City of Vancouver Metropolitan Core Jobs & Economy Land Use Plan, Vancouver, BC
Finalists: Technopôle Angus, Montreal, QC; Edmonton Brownfield Redevelopment Grant Program, City of Edmonton, AB  

REMEDIATE Sustainable Remediation & Technological Innovation

FIRST: Mississauga Road LID Pilot Project, Region of Peel, ON
Finalists: The Metalworks, Guelph, ON; Technopôle Angus, Montreal, QC

REINVEST Financing, Risk Management & Partnerships

FRIST:  City of Edmonton’s Brownfield Redevelopment Grant Program, Edmonton, AB
Finalists: The Metalworks, Guelph, ON; Technopôle Angus, Montreal, QC

REBUILD Project Development: Building Scale

FIRST: 151 West Hastings Street, Ormidale Block, Vancouver, BC
Finalists: Queen Richmond Centre West Commercial Office Project, Toronto, ON; Performance Court, 150 Elgin, Ottawa, ON; 60 Atlantic Avenue, Toronto, ON; On the GO MIMICO, Mississauga, ON

RENEW Project Development: Neighbourhood Scale

FIRST:  Meridian Centre, St Catharines, ON
Finalists: Uptown Saanich, Saanich, BC; The Metalworks, Guelph, ON; Queens Quay Revitalization, Toronto, ON; Northdale: A Near Campus Neighbourhood, Waterloo, ON

REACH OUT Communications, Marketing & Public Engagement

FIRST: Zibi, Windmill Development Group, Ottawa, ON and Gatineau, QC
Finalists: Canadian-Netherlands Resilient Cities Summit: Planning & Design in a Changing Climate, Toronto, ON; CBN’s Founding Core Group – 10th Anniversary

Best Overall – Building Scale 

Queen Richmond Centre West Commercial Office Project, Toronto, ON

Best Overall – Neighbourhood Scale 

Queens Quay Revitalization, Toronto, ON

Best Overall 

Technopôle Angus, Montreal, QC

BROWNFIELDER OF THE YEAR:

Grant Walsom, VP, Canadian Brownfields Network, recipient of the 2015 CUI Brownfielder of the Year award.