walk to fitness venues. You won’t need a car. That’s really good for the environment.” Furthermore, when it comes to environmental officially, the former golf course site is filled with trees and wildlife. Greg explains that they have catalogued over 5000 trees on site, some of which are over 200 years old. Their goal is to increase that number moving forward. Last year, Greg says they planted over 700 trees including diseaseresistant elms. This year he says they will plant over 100 trees. He also says they are working with the local Indigenous community to plant a lot of medicine plants, which will enhance biodiversity. “The natural environment we have here presents a unique opportunity,” he explains. “We can give the people who live here a sense of connection to nature, which is unusual in the urban environment. Usually, it’s a pile of concrete and a couple of trees that are constantly dying because they’re suffering from salt contamination and other ailments. Here it’s different.” As previously mentioned, the development will also include 21 acres of parkland – that far exceeds UM Properties’ obligation, which is only nine acres. They have also opened up the riverfront to public use, which is atypical. Usually riverfront property is sold off because it’s so valuable. “So we’re creating an urban environment which is uniquely naturalized,” Greg reiterates. “The people who live here will have a better sense of connection to Mother Earth. That’s a big part of our brand experience. We want to make sure that when you walk outside, there’s a forest canopy, there are deer, there are foxes, there’s lots of wildlife – all within an urban environment.” THE CONSTRUCTION SOURCE CANADA
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