Uptown

The new Uptown development redefines the standard for sustainable mixed-use urban retail developments. Uptown is not just your typical outdoor mall—it offers a variety of international fashion houses, big box retail stores, banks, and restaurants. In addition, it has more than 600 high-quality residences, a studio, and office space. Uptown is anticipated to be one of Saanich’s main attractions for residents and millions of tourists who visit Vancouver Island each year.

Integral Group is the mechanical and LEED-ND project management consultant for this project. Targeting LEED Neighborhood Development (ND) Gold, Uptown includes over 850,000 ft² of retail, office, and restaurant space. Given the size of the development, it was critical to select an appropriate energy choice to achieve sustainability goals. The selected district energy system offers peak efficiency with a centralized heat rejection loop to connect all units within the development and substantially reduce the size of the chiller equipment. The system’s interconnectivity enables heat transfer from one building to another, reducing wasted energy. Other notable features include reduced water consumption via a rainwater harvesting system in conjunction with water-efficient fixtures, and overall initiatives will reduce potable water consumption by more than 30%. In addition, a CO₂ monitoring system will ensure adequate fresh air supply, and low-emitting VOC finishing materials will be used to maximize indoor air quality.