Tower Renewal:
Bringing Positive Change to
Toronto’s Apartment
Communities
MWA Fall Workshop
Orillia, October 29, 2014
Eleanor McAteer, City of Toronto
MWA Fall Workshop October 29, 2014
Tower Renewal
A program to drive broad
environmental, social, economic,
and cultural change by improving
Toronto’s concrete apartment
towers and the neighbourhoods
that surround them.
MWA Fall Workshop October 29, 2014
Tower Renewal: The Opportunity
1200 older concrete high-rises
Built from 1945 to 1984
8 storeys or more
3
Towers Located Across the City
4
MWA Fall Workshop October 29, 2014
Building Ownership Profile
Social
Condos &
co-owners
Public rental
(TCHC)
Private rental
5
MWA Fall Workshop October 29, 2014
Who is Affected?
550,000 people live in
Toronto’s older high-rises
•
20% of Toronto’s total population
•
43% of residents are low-income
•
25% of residents are newcomers
6
MWA Fall Workshop October 29, 2014
Worth Keeping and Improving
The survey findings:
• apartment
communities as
safe places to live.
• good places to live
and good places to
raise children.
MWA Fall Workshop October 29, 2014
7
Study Findings
Environment:
Waste Diversion increase by 30%+
Water savings 20%+
Energy savings 50%+
GHG emission reduction 5%
Economy :
1,000s of person years of employment from retrofits
Community:
Need for community use spaces
Better sense of security
MWA Fall Workshop October 29, 2014
Tower Renewal STEP Program
STEP
Site-based assessment
MWA Fall Workshop October 29, 2014
9
STEP Progress Path
Step Four: Leadership
Aspirational, Integrated
Step Three: High Performance
Lifecycle approach
Step Two: Implementation
Typically quick payback, sound business practice
Step One: Learning and Planning
Taking stock of existing situation, determine possibilities
10
MWA Fall Workshop October 29, 2014
WASTE DIVERSION
COMMUNITY BUILDING
STEP 1
Determine optimal
number of containers
Assess condition of
common use areas
STEP 2
Provide regular staff
training
Improve the usability of
existing spaces
STEP 3
Provide indoor recycling
containers
Create new spaces for
resident use
STEP 4
Chute closure to obtain
50% + diversion
Address concerns
regarding food security 11
STEP Checklists
Clear, concise guides for action
Flexible
12
STEP Checklists
Tools Include:
•Incentives
•Guidebooks
•Case Studies
•Education &
Training
Programs
MWA Fall Workshop October 29, 2014
14
STEP Benchmarking
•Waste Diversion, Energy and Water
• Analysis of performance over time
•Ranking relative to similar buildings
15
Continuous Improvement Fund
http://cif.wdo.ca/pdf/reports/178/178_report.pdf
http://cif.wdo.ca/projects/documents/315Toronto_Final_Report.pdf
16
3 Things You Need to Know
The people who live in apartments
The management of apartments
Role of connections
MWA Fall Workshop October 29, 2014
It isn’t the People,
It’s the circumstances
Diversion is much more complex in MURBs
Establishing social norms
Many buildings achieve high diversion rates
MWA Fall Workshop October 29, 2014
Benchmarking
MWA Fall Workshop October 29, 2014
Benchmarking
15 can readily be a 5
MWA Fall Workshop October 29, 2014
Benchmarking
15 can readily be a 5
Can feasibly be a 2
MWA Fall Workshop October 29, 2014
What gets Measured gets
Managed
•Relatively new to MURB participation
•There is a lot of change in site management
•Need to work at making a practical process
MWA Fall Workshop October 29, 2014
Making Connections
Strengthens Outcomes
•Multiple messages maintain interest
level
•Address major concerns to have
broader engagement
MWA Fall Workshop October 29, 2014
Integrate Waste Diversion with
Other Topics
24
MWA Fall Workshop October 29, 2014
Three Interlocking Objectives
Social /
Cultural
Environmental
To enable apartment
neighbourhoods to grow
into vibrant places that
meet the social and cultural
needs of residents and
enhance the broader
community.
To achieve high
environmental and other
performance standards in
Toronto’s apartment
buildings that will result in
lower utility costs.
Economic
To boost Toronto’s
economy and create
local jobs through
increased private
sector investment.
25
MWA Fall Workshop October 29, 2014
toronto.ca/tower_renewal
Eleanor McAteer
Project Director, Tower Renewal
emcatee@toronto.ca
Follow us on Twitter @TOTower_Renewal
MWA Fall Workshop October 29, 2014