Built Green Canada Certifies Its Third Community Certification

Spring Creek Mountain Village's Sustainable Alpine Community Goes Platinum, Again

EDMONTON, AB, Dec. 11, 2024 /CNW/ - The impressive Spring Creek community in Canmore, Alberta continues to expand, recently earning its Phase 2 BUILT GREEN^® Community certification at Platinum level. This is building upon its 2022 Phase 1 certification, also at Platinum—the first certification to come out of Built Green Canada's Community pilot program, which targets performance on a human, neighbourhood, and global scale through its sustainable development categories. This 28-hectare community went from a dairy farm in the 1920s to a mobile home park in 1956, to today's sustainable alpine community, which began in 2004.

Spring Creek has long been working through the BUILT GREEN^® High Density and Single Family programs out of Built Green Canada, a nonprofit delivering holistic sustainable building programs for over 20 years. These programs are focused not only on energy efficiency, but also the preservation of natural resources, reduction of pollution and GHG emissions, ventilation and air quality, the improvement of home durability, and more. Over the last 15 years, Spring Creek has progressed their sustainability targets and the systems within their buildings evolved, reflected in their high certification levels.

Their builds are a mix of condominiums (including unique live/work options allowing owners to operate street-front shops connected directly to their homes), hotels and lodges, vacation rentals including townhomes, as well as seniors' independent living, assisted living and memory care community housing. Five per cent includes affordable housing: offered as part of Canmore's Vital Homes Program, helping staff and residents continue living in Spring Creek. Spring Creek Manor is a purpose-built staff accommodation building housing up to 154 employees, which will start occupancies in January 2025, and a daycare will also be opening in 2025—all adding to the diversity of the community. With multiple businesses, this community is also one of the largest employers in the Bow Valley.

Making use of the region's geothermal activity, Spring Creek has installed geoexchange systems throughout this community. While there was originally a learning curve to master, as one of the first in Alberta to adopt this clean energy source, this has become Spring Creek's standard, and they've since begun adding solar panel arrays as well. Their estimate is that, on an annual basis, the geoexchange heating and cooling system eliminates 6,000 tons of greenhouse gas emissions and will eliminate a minimum of 10,000 tons per year using geoexchange with clean electricity instead of natural gas. Between geoexchange and their solar arrays, they've improved their energy performance significantly and are working towards net zero.

This developer is continuously looking to the future and with a holistic view of sustainability, including resiliency measures. Such a measure is their storm system, designed to accommodate a 1-in-100-year rainfall event, using a combination of overland drainage, underground storage, and infiltration facilities. Plus, all building openings, including the parkade slab, are situated above Alberta's Flood Fringe data's 1:100-year flood level of 1,307 m.

The visionary behind this community, Frank Kernick, developer and owner, was imagining how the space would come together when it was still a mobile home park. While overlooking the land from a high point, he would point out how the community would flow within the natural borders of the encircling mountain-fed creeks. Walking down these streets, it's no wonder that this community was formed out of a master plan: not only is it picturesque, but thoughtfully designed for exceptional green space and walkability.

Frank says, "My motivation was largely driven by the region's spectacular natural beauty and my commitment to keeping Canmore an alpine town—it's also a nod to my parents, grandparents, as well as Canmore itself: to be a legacy for the town in which I grew up, and to contribute to building a more sustainable future for my grandchildren."

Spring Creek's design has embraced social and mental well-being. Spending time in green space is well known to help reduce stress and promote relaxation and a sense of calm, and this theme reverberates through the bones of the community, with streets designed to slow traffic, expansive walk- and bike-ways between buildings, lined with trees and benches. And interspersed throughout are local eateries and artisan shops to peruse. It's a community designed for active lifestyles and recreation, slower living, and socialization.

Amidst this fast-growing region, the ambitious master plan behind Spring Creek Mountain Village extends many years into the future, so there is much more to come from this special community.

More Information & History

• Through a joint effort with the Town of Canmore, they included the first "complete street", an approach to planning that more safely and conveniently accommodates vehicle, pedestrian, and bicycle traffic (compared to a traditional vehicle-first approach).
• In an area where land is at a premium, it's clear—from the ample park space along the creeks, trails, playground, and beautifully landscaped greenery throughout the development providing greater biodensity than prior to construction—that this developer has highly valued the outdoors and nature, amplifying the natural wonder that is mountainous Kananaskis country.
• They offer gathering spaces like the Canmore Opera House, a replication of such from early 1898, brought to strengthen the sense of community and offer a space for activities. Another gathering space is referred to as The Beat, a landing place for visitors with a beautifully landscaped park with seating and the ever-present mountainous views, a pond that features fountains in the warm months and a skating rink in the cold months, and in addition to the current restaurant, will be lined with more businesses in 2025 including a new restaurant, café, grocer/market, and a pharmacy.
• The Spring Creek community was a 2024 Maverick's Transformational Award finalist.

For further information:

Built Green Canada, Jenifer Christenson, jchristenson@builtgreencanada.ca, 1-855-485-0920
Spring Creek Mountain Village, Jen Marran, jen@springcreekmv.com, 1-403-678-7911

Photos available upon request.

SOURCE Built Green Canada