Too often, addressing the housing and climate crises are seen as conflicting priorities. In reality, Canada urgently needs to both decarbonize its building stock and increase the supply of affordable housing. 

Addressing both challenges concurrently will require new practices and processes that allow existing buildings to be retrofitted while residents continue to live and work comfortably in place. As deep energy retrofits move from concept to implementation, they offer valuable opportunities to understand how residents are affected by decarbonization and to test and refine methods for minimizing disruption. 
 

In this session, we’ll explore the retrofit of BentallGreenOak's Forte building—part of the FortisBC Deep Energy Retrofit Pilot—including the successes and lessons learned in supporting tenants navigate the process. We’ll also review the Tower Renewal Partnership’s foundational Field Guide to Retrofits in Occupied Buildings and share practical insights gained from field experience since the guide’s publication in 2019. 

Speakers: 

Candace Le Roux is a Regional Property Manager with BentallGreenOak. She has served as President of the Real Estate Institute of Canada, and has over 30 years of experience in the real estate management field. Candace holds a Diploma in Human Resources from the Institute of People Management in South Africa. 

Ya’el Santopinto is a registered Architect, Principal, and practice lead at ERA Architects. She is ERA’s lead Tower Renewal Architect, with specialized expertise in retrofit with residents in place, integrated design delivery, and phasing complex projects for maximum investment and carbon-reduction impact. Ya’el holds a Master of Architecture degree from the University of Toronto and is a Fellow of the Royal Architecture Institute of Canada. 

Host: 

• Omar Bhimji is the Sustainability Services Manager at SES Consulting. He has been working with communities across Canada and the world to identify and meet their sustainability, emissions reduction, and energy needs. A proud product of the non-profit industrial complex, he is comfortable wearing all of the hats and developing effective strategies for fighting climate change with whatever tools and resources are available. After a decade spent on transportation planning and projects in BC, he moved to Nova Scotia, where building energy use represents the lion’s share of GHG emissions, and immediately shifted his focus. Now back in BC, in his role at SES, he designs innovative programs and projects that address emerging energy and emissions opportunities and challenges. 

Thanks to the financial support of BC Hydro and the City of Vancouver, this event is free of charge! 

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