TORONTO: One Smart Tower

Oxford Properties VP John Peets took us on a hard-hat tour of the 31-story, 900k SF WaterPark Place III in Toronto's South Core, which he touts as the city's smartest building. (Though, since buildings don't take the SATs, we'll never know for sure.) The third phase of a 1.7M SF, three-tower commercial complex at Bay Street and Queens Quay Boulevard, WaterPark Place III will be Royal Bank of Canada's retail banking HQ. It'll also house Cisco Canada's 100k SF head office and an innovation center showcasing the company's latest technology, while Canada Newswire will occupy the 30th floor. The building is already 81% leased; it'll also have 50k SF of retail, a big boost for the South Core, which has had few shops and services.

What makes it so smart? Designed to achieve LEED Platinum, WaterPark Place III has an array of green features: Fritted glass fins on the facade (above) deflect sunlight; green roofs reduce the heat island effect; and recycled greywater is used for irrigation. The building is equipped to take in 30% more fresh air than the ASHRAE standard, and there are 350 bike-park stalls—vs 450 car stalls—with showers and changing rooms. Another fun feature: Each light has its own IP address, so when a tenant swipes a parking pass, it alerts his or her workspace of the arrival and sets the lighting to their preference. (Same for temperature.) Each floor will be separately metered for power, so tenants can monitor consumption.