Royal York achieves Zero Carbon certification

Edwin Frizzell, general manager, Fairmont Royal York (left) and Jon Love, CEO of KingSett Capital (Source: CNW Group/KingSett Capital)

The historic 28-storey Royal York hotel in Toronto is having a moment. The venerable landmark, opened in 1929 and renowned for having horses ride through the lobby during Grey Cup weekends, has now received the Canada Green Building Council’s (CaGBC’s) Zero Carbon Building – Performance Standard certification.

KingSett Capital, the Canadian private equity real estate firm that manages the property, has announced that the $65 million project was completed after close to five years.

The project was a collaboration with funding from the Canada Infrastructure Bank ($46.5M), and work done by PCL Construction, Enwave Energy, and others involved in the project included Sprint Mechanical and Continual Energy.

In a media release, Kingsett and the Fairmont Royal York say the project will reduce over 7,000 tonnes of carbon annually or 80% of the hotel’s annual carbon emissions, the equivalent of taking 1,558 cars off the road.

Jon Love, founder and CEO of KingSett Capital, said, “Fairmont Royal York’s decarbonization demonstrates the potential to complete a large and complex project in a way that is environmentally impactful, socially responsible and economically viable.”

The building’s path to the CAGBC’s Zero Carbon Building – Performance Standard certification was achieved by:

• Detailed study and analysis of building energy load, seeking to effect meaningful efficiencies,
• Converting heating and DHW from steam to electric heat pumps that utilize heat recovery from Enwave’s district energy network,
• Converting cooling from electrical/chillers to Enwave’s Deep Lake Water Cooling system, and
• Improving energy efficiency with a centralized building automation system and smart technologies.

kingsettcapital.com