Dockside Green was unheard of to me before I moved to Victoria. I had even rode my bicycle past it one a trip along the Galloping Goose Regional Trail without knowing it was there. I was completely unaware of it being a prime example of sustainable development in the CRD.
Dockside Green is a 1.3 million ft2 mixed use sustainable community development. It’s a co-development of Vancity Credit Union and Windmill West. It is build upon a former 16 acre Brownfield with the intention of fulfilling a three part philosophy in sustainable development of environmental, social, and economic responsibility. The 16 acre side was quite toxic. It contained many spilled chemicals and heavy metals and one third of the land is landfill from garbage.
Dockside Green achieved a LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) designation of platinum. The development obtained 63 points, whilst only 52 were needed for platinum. Each suite within the Dockside Green development has meters that monitor water and power consumption, which the residents can use to reduce their consumption habits.
Also to reduce the environmental footprint and consumption of the devilment, a number of other services were used. Solar power is used extensively. Street lights, garbage compactors
the steps to be taken in hopes of reducing Dockside Green’s environmental footprint include:
• the use of solar power technologies, including street lights and garbage compactors
• wind turbines
• the incorporation of green roofs on many buildings, including the first three phases of residences
• use of only native and adaptive species in landscaping, and the planned planting of over 1000 trees on the site overall
I don’t think Dockside Green is perfect, not by a long shot. But it’s a step in the right direction. If more buildings like Dockside Green are built in Victoria and across Canada, it could be the critical mass needed to bring sustainability to the fore front of todays society.
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