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FEBRUA RY 2019 | 59 Central Green RENDERINGS COURTESY AL STOBER CONSTRUCTION LTD. Central Green by NATALIE BRUCKNER I t is being called Kelowna's most iconic residential master-planned green community, and yet, that description hardly does Central Green the justice it deserves. This thoughtfully designed com- munity in B.C.'s fastest-growing city – a collaboration between Al Stober Construction Ltd. and Mission Group Homes Ltd. – offers a glimpse into the future with its assortment of mixed- use, low-rise buildings and extensive outdoor and green space, which cater to people of all ages and from all walks of life. In fact, Central Green is set to become Kelowna's first LEED-certified neighbourhood; combining green building practices with smart growth principles such as development den- sity (so far, the site has five low-rise buildings), proximity to transit, and multi-modal transportation. Its heritage-inspired condomini- ums, townhomes, and retail units are rooted in tradition and feature accents of red brick architecture, including detailed cornice ledges around the roofline and wrought-iron inspired fencing. "The architecture pays hom- age to the original brick found on Kelowna Senior Secondary School, which was on the site and has now been relocated. The buildings fea- ture not only Georgian-style red brick, but long, narrow windows that mimic the old heritage school," explains Jim Meiklejohn, Meiklejohn Architects. Located adjacent to this five-acre community park (more than 40 per- cent of the master-planned lands has been set aside to create the new Rowcliffe Park, which will be devel- oped by the City of Kelowna), and sitting on top of underground park- ing, the buildings perfectly connect to one another through thoughtfully- designed architecture and landscaping. "The connectivity through the site is certainly one of the strongest design features," says Mark Klein, spokes- person for WSP Canada, the company retained to complete the detailed design of the park and who is currently managing the construction of the park. "Although there is a central road run- ning through the site, it is the intent that the distinction between vehicular and pedestrian space is blurred with a priority given to the pedestrian. An urban plaza wraps around the build- ings, creating a vibrant space adjacent to future retail shops." "The idea is to create a neighbour- hood look and feel that embraces diversity. Therefore we have tried to introduce a graduated esthetic from a more traditional style at the Rowcliff Park edge to more contemporary at the Harvey Ave. edge," adds Bob Dagenais from Al Stober Construction. To further enhance this connectiv- ity, a pedestrian bridge is currently being developed that will link the site to downtown Kelowna and facilitate safer and more accessible access to the community. As with any project, Central Green faced its challenges, but nothing was insurmountable. Soil conditions on the site required the use of Rapid Impact Compaction (RIC) to make it ready to accept the weight of the new con- struction, and so the entire project is designed so as not to require pile foun- dations, explains Dagenais. The two latest buildings on the site, Park West and Park Plaza, are comprised of five-storey woodframe construction supported over the com- bined suspended slab parkade, which also supports a roadway used to access an adjacent development. "Engineered wood floor framing was used to control cumulative building shrinkage as well as in other key areas for strength. Steel was used to clear span various open spaces at the lowest level. This project also incorporated a retail component and townhomes within the lower level of the woodframe structure," says Eric Densmore, senior structural engineer at CWMM Consulting Engineers Ltd. Various open spaces at the low- est level in the woodframe buildings necessitated steel framing to support the wood structure above. The steel framing needed to be shallow in depth to fit within the available wood floor space. "On the lower floors some of the framing is six-inch on centre, which does not leave much room for electri- cal or plumbing. Insulation had to be spray foam in order to prevent thermal bridging," says Dagenais. As a LEED project, materials were specifically chosen to achieve the accreditation standard. "All the units are individually metered for electric- ity and each unit has a HRV unit that guarantees clean air exchange for each unit, creating a more healthy living environment. In addition, triple glazing was used on southern exposures," says Dagenais. "All appliances are Energy Star rated, all flooring is low-VOC and made using recycled content, and all paint products are 100 percent water- based acrylic with low-VOC content." Gord Sauer, director of buildings engineering at CIMA+ and the electri- cal project lead, adds that in addition to LED lighting being used through- out the project, lighting controls also helped minimize the amount of power usage from the lighting system. "In the 11:26 AM 9:30 AM 9:27 AM

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