Thread by @urbanenergyplan

Finally read @jm_mcgrath's article on the Etobicoke Civic Centre Precinct low carbon district energy project, one of our first DE projects. Long-thread🧵 on it's journey, which I joined in 2013, but which really started early post-amalgamation: tvo.org/article/breaki…

1999: City Council received the report "Accommodation Plan and Long-term Strategy for Service Delivery for the City of Toronto and Master Plan for Office Accommodation" (aka the original #ModernTO), which identified the need for new facilities for west sector City staff. 1/18

2002: City identifies "new development at the City-owned former Westwood Theatre lands", pending reconfiguration of the Six Points Interchange. Proposed development process would include analyzing "feasibility of a zero-energy or near zero building". toronto.ca/legdocs/2003/a… 2/18

2003: Six Points Interchange Reconfiguration Class EA begins to fix 'Spaghetti Junction', which was first identified in the 1987 (!) City of Etobicoke City Centre Secondary Plan. toronto.ca/wp-content/upl… 3/18

2004: Council requested that staff undertake the West District Design Initiative, an urban design visioning exercise for three City-owned properties in Etobicoke-York, including the WTL. Completed in 2007, it proposed the below options. 4/18

2004-2007: District energy was identified as an opportunity, and next steps included: "Development of district energy strategies for Bloor-Islington, the Westwood Theatre Land and the CECC lands". toronto.ca/legdocs/mmis/2… 5/18

2008: Staff (from EEDs predecessor) recommend that Toronto Hydro (unregulated arm) and Enwave support City staff with a "Community Energy Assessment" for each site. "Geothermal" identified as a potential heating and cooling source. toronto.ca/legdocs/mmis/2… 6/18

2009-10: EED works with Halsall to complete Community Energy Assessment, which recommends a district energy system using biomass and/or geo-exchange. EED works with Clean Energy on geo-exchange feasibility, including thermal conductivity testing, which shows good potential. 7/18

2011-12: EED works with FVB Energy Inc. to prepare a technical concept and business case for three district energy systems, including the WTL site. 8/18

2013-2015: EED works with Engineering and Construction Services staff to integrate district energy piping into the road construction tender. The concept is pipes crossing roads to connect the parking garages of development parcels. 9/18

2014: Build Toronto (now CreateTO) starts a new Master Plan process. 10/18

2016: City Council directs Build Toronto to undertake a business case and design competition for the new Etobicoke Civic Centre, as well as affordable housing opportunities. RFP references district energy. 11/18

2017: Henning Larsen announced as the design competition winner. Build Toronto business case shows a new civic centre at is favourable compared to retrofitting the existing civic centre. createto.ca/wp-content/upl… 12/18

2018: City agrees to joint development of certain district energy projects with Enwave, including at WTL. toronto.ca/legdocs/mmis/2… 13/18

2019: Bloor-Kipling (former WTL) added to the Housing Now portfolio. 14/18

2020: EED works with FVB Energy Inc. to prepare an updated business case based on the updated development concept, and with a goal to achieve net zero emissions in keeping with TransformTO.

Six Points Interchange Reconfiguration construction is substantially completed. 15/18

2021: District energy detailed design work completed. 16/18

2022: Bloor-Kipling Block 1 market offering, including connection to low carbon district energy. createto.ca/housingnow/wp-…

Enwave enters into commercial agreement with CreateTO. 17/18

Yesterday: Council approves Project Agreement that was negotiated by Enwave and CreateTO, which means that the City will be a customer – and the all-important anchor of – a new low carbon district energy system serving affordable housing. app.toronto.ca/tmmis/viewAgen… End #TransformTO