Cogir Immobilier and the Lemay agency were venturing into uncharted territory in 2016, when they made the health and well-being of future tenants of the Humaniti Montréal complex a top priority. Six years later, the residential rental portion of the 39-storey tower, located in downtown Montreal, is the first in Canada to obtain WELL certification, reaching the Silver level.
Posted at 12:00 p.m.
“You have to be patient, work as a team and all come together to achieve a goal like that,” says Hugo Lafrance, director of sustainable strategies at the Lemay architecture agency. “We innovate by being first, but there is also a certain risk. Both the professionals and the client must be convinced that the game is worth the candle. Even once we are convinced of the benefits, we have to find the solutions, manage the schedule, manage the cost, manage the risk, then mobilize to try to make it work. »
From the outset, the project was ambitious, since Humaniti Montreal, in the shape of an H, has several components. The complex, built at an angle with the Palais des congrès de Montréal, includes 314 rental apartments (from 3and at 25and floor), condominiums (from 26and at 39and floor), offices, an Autograph hotel by Marriott and shops on the ground floor. Only rental units achieved WELL certification on February 3, becoming the first residential project in Canada to hold the demanding certification. All components of the complex are also aiming for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification.
PHOTO MARTIN CHAMBERLAND, THE PRESS
The Humaniti Montreal complex is built at an angle with the Palais des Congrès de Montreal.
The WELL Standard, led by the International WELL Building Institute, encourages the adoption of best practices in seven categories: air, water, nutrition, light, fitness, comfort and spirit. In concrete terms, the various strategies adopted aim to improve (among other things) the mood, sleep, comfort and physical condition of future occupants.
“The goal was to stand out and offer rental apartments with added value,” says Hugo Lafrance, who was one of the first members of the WELL faculty in Canada and who is the third to have obtained the title of LEED Fellow at the Quebec.
“It was difficult to apply WELL certification to a large project like this, with multiple entities, because the focus is on the occupant, rather than the building,” he says. As rental apartments are a self-defined entity, the scope of WELL certification was limited to them, while LEED certification was targeted for the whole complex. »
Only two others in Quebec
In Quebec, in the residential sector, only two other rental complexes are awaiting WELL certification. These are the Mu and the Huppé, built almost simultaneously in Quebec, by the Immostar company. Across Canada, only a dozen residential projects (including three in Quebec) are registered for WELL certification. In all, in Quebec, 29 projects are registered for WELL certification (including the 3 residential projects). Most of them are offices.
The Lemay agency is currently working on certain projects aiming for WELL certification, but none have a residential component, underlines Mr. Lafrance.
“The market is asking questions,” he notes. I think a lot of promoters are waiting to see how things go. It’s quite complex right now to manage a construction budget. Risk management imposes a certain reserve. But we have demonstrated, with Humaniti Montreal, that it is feasible, that it is manageable and that it is relevant in the market. »
In the residential sector, promoters are turning instead to LEED certification, he notes. “When you do a certification like WELL, you are interested in health and well-being, but you are not managing the environment or climate change. You focus on one issue, whereas LEED certification makes it possible to manage these three issues. LEED remains a fairly holistic certification. »