PARK PROPERTY MANAGEMENT CAPTURES SUSTAINABLE PROJECT OF THE YEAR AWARD
In early 2015, hundreds of sustainable energy leaders attended the Ontario Sustainable Energy Association’s (OSEA) 5th annual Powering Prosperity Awards dinner. These awards recognize outstanding accomplishments in eight award categories that span the breadth of community, aboriginal, public and private sector sustainable energy solutions.
At the ceremony, Park Property Management Inc. was named one of the two winners of the Sustainable Project of the Year award. OSEA has been supporting a more sustainable energy economy in Ontario with support from diverse areas of the energy industry for over 13 years.
“We congratulate Park Property Management on this well-deserved recognition,” said Ted Whitehead, the Federation of Rental-Housing Providers of Ontario (FRPO)’s Certified Rental Building Program Director. “This award exemplifies how many professional property management companies are making a difference in the ‘quality of life’ for their rental apartment residents while demonstrating an ongoing respect for the environment.”
Park Property Management was awarded this distinction for its leadership role in terms of undertaking building retrofits (heating & cooling), actively engaging the building’s residents, and it’s involvement in local community building efforts. They were supported by the United Way’s Tower Neighbourhood Renewal (TNR) project at Thorncliffe Parkin Toronto.
The focus of TNR is to strengthen high-rise apartment communities and improve conditions for residents through supporting resident leadership, improving access to service, and community space creation at four demonstration sites. Park Property’s accomplishment was made possible through working closely with a sustainability team of professional organizations made up of Enbridge, the City of Toronto’s Tower Renewal group, United Way Toronto, and Toronto Hydro. With this supporting cast, Park Property Management leveraged the engagement of the community and local initiatives already underway, and dovetailed equipment and building retrofits including energy efficiency education for residents, and additional community building efforts.
“We are proud to be a member of the sustainability team that helped to make a difference for Park Property’s residents at their Thorncliffe apartment community,” said Enbridge’s Erika Lontoc, Manager, Residential & New Construction Marketing. “Together, all the partners were able to clarify heating and cooling concerns put forth by Thorncliffe Park residents, and then working closely with Park Property Management, they were able to address them promptly and in an energy-efficient manner – a double win for all.”
“Park Property is delighted to be a recipient of this year’s OSEA category award,” said President Gerd Wengler. “The real winners of this award are our residents and the local community as they benefit mostly, over the long term, from the changes made.”
(L-R) Park Property President Gerd Wengler and OSEA’s Executive Director, Kristopher Stevens.
OSEA recognized Park Property as “…a testament to how affordable and quality rental accommodations can be provided at a reasonable cost improving people’s lives through community empowerment, community and private space revitalization, increased comfort, and lower bills while reducing carbon emissions and improving efficiency” and stated that the company “…is an inspiration to other building owners and property managers as well as the residents of the Thorncliffe Park and an industry leader in building management and sustainability practices.”
Park Property Management’s accomplishments are an example of what can be done when people and organizations work together toward a healthier environment. In line with this philosophy, FRPO took a step forward in corporate environmental responsibility for the rental housing industry, with its new Living GREEN Together™ initiative launch in 2013.
The Certified Rental-housing Program (CRBP) established by FRPO is the only resident-focused ‘quality assurance’ in North America. The program’s new Living GREEN Together™ sustainability component (the first industry-developed environmental operating standards for multi-residential apartment buildings). By the end of the year, FRPO’s CRB program expects to have over 1,000 multi-res buildings housing 250,000 Ontario apartment residents all under voluntary compliance with its new Living GREEN Together™ standards.
For more information, visit www.frpo.org and www.crbprogram.org.
