Preston Meadows is the first certified pilot LEED Neighbourhood Development in Canada!

When it comes to building and developing sustainable communities, Reid’s Heritage Homes is one of the best. Recently, Reid’s Heritage Homes’ Cambridge community, Preston Meadows, was announced as the first fully certified pilot LEED Neighbourhood Development (LEED-ND) in Canada!

“Reid’s Heritage Homes has been building communities in Cambridge for decades now, and has long established themselves as a leader,” says City of Cambridge Mayor Doug Craig. “The Preston Meadows community has replaced a tired industrial brownfield site that needed a new life, and we are delighted to see what they’ve done with the land. Collaborating with them was a pleasure, and we hope to see them do many more leading environmental communities in the future.”

So, what makes a community LEED-ND certified? Preston Meadows has a specially designed site with protected waterways and wildlife, and Reid’s Heritage Homes avoided developing on any farmland. The neighbourhood is better connected, ensuring a lower impact from infrastructure, and there is a good mix of building types and sizes, such as affordable housing. Of course, the buildings are all highly efficient from an energy perspective, and even the construction involved waste-reducing strategies.

"Congratulations to Reid’s Heritage Homes on receiving LEED-ND certification for Preston Meadows - the first build-out certified in Canada," says Mark Hutchinson, Director of Green Building Programs for the Canada Green Building Council. "Greening a community is no small task as it involves not just green building, but design and implementation that encourages sustainability throughout. The team on this project really took that to heart by redeveloping a brownfield, providing affordable homes for sale and rental, and working hard to help residents reduce automobile dependency."

10 acres of the former brownfield land was purchased by Reid’s Heritage Homes back in 2005, and as soon as the LEED-ND program launched, the builder applied with their plans for Preston Meadows. By 2007, the community was registered as Canada’s first LEED community with the U.S. Green Building Council. In 2008, the site was declared “clean” by the Ministry of Environment, and construction was completed just last year! In total, Reid’s Heritage Homes worked with the U.S. and Canada Green Building councils for eight years to ensure this community was realized as planned. Today, Preston Meadows features 82 townhomes and two apartment buildings with 117 affordable rental and market units.

“This is an accomplishment we are truly proud of,” says Blake Seeberger, Senior Vice President, Residential at Reid’s Heritage Homes. “Innovation is always at the forefront of our priorities, and what better way to confirm our success than to have built the first certified LEED-ND pilot community in Canada.”

“We have a corporate commitment to energy efficiency in the homes and communities we build,” adds Tim Blevins, President of Reid’s Heritage Homes. “Since our first Energy Star home in 2007 we have invested substantially in building green, leading the industry to make housing costs more affordable, and higher performance, today and for future generations. It is part of our culture and our pledge to build efficient, quality homes. We are proud of our reputation and past achievements from Energy Star to LEED Platinum and now Net Zero. This is only the beginning of the great innovation that lies ahead of us.”

Speaking of the future, Reid’s Heritage Homes is nearing the completion of their second of five Net Zero Homes in Guelph, which is part of the ecoENERGY Efficiency Initiative in partnership with Natural Resources Canada and Owens Corning Canada.

Stay tuned for more coverage on Reid’s Heritage Homes’ latest endeavours in building sustainable communities.