January 4, 2010

Sustainable building practices

Frontman for Victoria’s Dockside Green moving on

SHANNON MONEO

correspondent

Saying the pace of construction is too slow and it’s time to spread his build-it-green philosophy internationally, the frontman behind Victoria’s Dockside Green has sold his quarter share in the $650-million residential/commercial/light industrial project.

In November, Joe Van Belleghem, with partner Jack Julseth, began discussions to sell their Windmill West’s Dockside Green holdings to Vancity Credit Union.

“It wasn’t a surprise,” said Vancity’s CEO Tamara Vrooman.

A few days before Christmas, Vancity’s 100 per cent ownership of the project was announced leading to speculation that Van Belleghem, who had become the public face of the multi award-winning and globally recognized project, was seeking greener pastures.

“It’s time for me to move on,” Van Belleghem said from Victoria.

While he may have built Canada’s first LEED Gold building in Canada – in 1999 at the Vancouver Island Technology Park – Van Belleghem is also a profit-driven entrepreneur. who may have been constricted by his minority ownership role at Dockside.

“With two different parties as owners, there are different opinions as to the speed of construction,” he said.

Raised in Kenora, Ont. the former chartered accountant, who donned the developer’s hat in Winnipeg in 1988, turns 50 in 2010.

The half-century mark has prompted Van Belleghem to re-evaluate what he’s doing and how he can share information from the groundbreaking project beyond local audiences.

“I just feel like I have a lot of opportunity to pass on what I’ve learned globally,” he said.

Van Belleghem is a founding member of Canada’s Green Building Council.

Before Christmas, he returned from meetings in New Jersey. His expertise may guide projects in Asia, Australia and Europe.

Dockside Green offices were closed over the Christmas holidays and 10 staff, including sales, construction management and marketing, were laid off.

The sales office will reopen in early January, Vrooman said from Vancouver.

“We need to take a little bit of time to see what’s there,” she said. Prior to taking her Vancity post in 2007, she served as B.C.’s deputy minister of finance from 2004 to 2007. While Vrooman isn’t anticipating major changes at Dockside Green, she said she hopes that 2010 delivers better results than 2009.

Several large developments in the Victoria area have been shelved over the past two years, notably Silkwind, a 23-storey condo in Colwood and Robert Quigg’s four-tower condo/commercial project on Langford’s Bear Mountain. The pace of other developments, including The Hudson condos in downtown Victoria, has also been shackled by the tight economy.

One third complete since construction started in 2005, Dockside Green sits on six hectares of former industrial land on Victoria’s Inner Harbour.

When finished, original plans called for 26 buildings, totaling 1.3-million square feet, including commercial, office and light industrial space. More than 2,500 new residents will live in three neighbourhoods.

It’s the largest re-development of municipal land in the capital city’s history.

But in today’s market, where the federal government is hinting that it wants to cool frantic residential buying, Vrooman said Dockside Green will be phased-in based on the market plan, community needs and the ability to plan for changing conditions.

Operating on the “triple bottom line” philosophy, which addresses economic, environmental and social conditions, Vancity continues to be fully behind the project, she said.

Vancity has hired Vancouver-based developer Gordon Smith, known for his work with Jimmy Pattison and Surrey Central City, to replace Van Belleghem.

While he didn’t know much about his successor, Van Belleghem said he expects Smith will continue to chart a green course.

“Dockside Green is a very important global project,” Van Belleghem said.

It has won three international awards for its LEED platinum design and earned two 2009 honours from the Victoria Real Estate Board’s Commercial Building Awards. Dockside’s goal is to achieve LEED Platinum for every building in the development, which would be a North American first.

The pledge is backed by a one million dollar guarantee if Platinum isn’t clinched.

Some of Dockside Green’s features include on-site sewage treatment, using the treated water for flushing toilets and irrigation, community rooftop gardens and using wood that was harvested underwater.

Print | Email | Comment