ESQUIMALT – The Esquimalt Chamber of Commerce is excited to be supporting a new development called Corvette Landing, and I’m proud to say that the Chamber played a role in helping get the project through its third reading at the Township. This development will bring a number of important economic benefits to Esquimalt, but most noteworthy is how closely linked these economic benefits are to long-term environmental sustainability.
The immediately obvious environmental factor for this building will be its Passive House Certification which means that it will be extremely energy efficient. This means the building will draw significantly less energy than typical equivalent buildings and of course will reduce the energy/living cost for residents.
The next thing is the use of pre-fabricated Cross-Laminate Timber (CLT) construction. This is a fairly new construction technique that uses a much higher percentage of renewable resources that traditional steel and concrete buildings. It is typically unheard of to create a 12-story structure using wood construction, but this high-strength prefabricated technique will result in less waste, significantly lower greenhouse gas emissions, and a much faster build than traditional techniques. It will be the first of its kind in the region and the eyes of the building community from across Canada will be on Esquimalt as this comes together!
Another key feature of this development is related to its location and target demographic. It is not insignificant that Corvette Landing will place 83 units within an easy walk of CFB Esquimalt, and the Esquimalt Graving Yard. Not only is the location ideal, but the developers are targeting a demographic that works there, and are even including such features as assistive financing to allow these folks to purchase these units. This directly address the critical workforce housing issue that the region faces, and is a model that should be examined and replicated around the region and near the larger employers. We need way more of this kind of thing. This one development won’t cure the region’s commuter traffic congestion, but it will play its role in mitigating exactly that. Based on its location and target demographic, it can potentially pull up to 83 families out of the morning crawl resulting in improved quality of life and a reduced environmental impact. Not to mention the benefit of having more people living near Esquimalt’s core and adding to the vibrant growth and prosperity that is happening here.
In conclusion, we are really excited to see this development come to town, we look forward to seeing it come together, and commend the Township and the people of Esquimalt for supporting this type of growth! Keep your eyes on Esquimalt… there is a lot of exciting growth happening here!
Chris Edly, CD P.Eng is President of the Esquimalt Chamber of Commerce. He can be reached at chris@edley.ca
