Somerset Square’s story is a great one from many angles. Even before construction began, building owner, Commercial Properties Limited redeveloped a North End Saint John Brownfield.  It meant reclaiming a plot of land that had been contaminated by years of commercial use to put up a showcase building that has been a very positive addition to a neighbourhood that has seen little development in recent years.  The building also received LEED Gold certification which validates its high energy and environmental performance. Somerset Square is now the first privately-owned LEED Gold building in Atlantic Canada.  To top off its first year of the building’s occupancy, Efficiency NB has chosen Somerset Square as the recipient for its Award for Commercial New Construction.

Somerset Square was designed to save energy and minimize greenhouse gas emissions and received incentives through Efficiency NB’s Start Smart program for new commercial construction.  This program provides incentives to help offset the cost of designing and modeling highly energy efficient buildings.  

When prospective tenant Stantec were looking for a new building to be constructed to the LEED Silver standard, Commercial Properties agreed to meet the challenge.  Once planning and design was under way, Commercial Properties, led by Project Manager Peter Milan, realized that if they were really going to strive for a sustainable building, why stop at LEED Silver?  Thus, the decision was made to “go for Gold”.

There are many premium energy efficiency features incorporated into the design and construction of Somerset Square.  The building has very efficient lighting technology both in the parking lot and inside the building where there is little need for artificial light because it uses over 90% daylighting.  Very high levels of insulation were used in the walls and roof and the natural gas heating system is fully accessible by remote through a full direct digital control system.  It also has a white solar reflective roof and a rainwater collection system which collects and recycles water for use in washroom fixtures and for building services. The energy modeling done for the building estimated an impressive 45% energy cost savings.

Commercial Properties Limited President, John Irving is proud of the building. “We are thrilled to have the first privately owned LEED Gold building in Atlantic Canada and hope it sets an example that all new commercial construction in New Brunswick can follow.  We know it’s a great building to work in for tenants and their employees.  It is a first for us and we’ll definitely target LEED certification and work with Efficiency NB again,” he said.

The building is home to the Saint John office of Stantec, an engineering firm involved in building design, and the corporate head office of Coast Tire.  In addition to the many energy efficiency measures the 100 or so people working there also enjoy many other sustainable building features including being on a bus route, having preferred parking for fuel efficient vehicles and bike racks, paint, carpet and sealants that are non-toxic,  and the building is cleaned using green cleaning products that are 100% biodegradable.