You know our Local GT feature, right? Right! It’s where we put the spotlight on totally local projects or businesses. Last time we looked at an amazing bakery in New Jersey. Today - the Ecoplace Community in Whitby, Ontario, Canada. It’s a new work-live complex being developed along Lake Ontario’s edge.

According to the Toronto Star…

By the time Ecoplace Community by the Lake is completed, it’s expected to provide homes for 14,000 and jobs for 10,000. That’s huge for Whitby, says Mayor Pat Perkins…”People are spending two to three hours on the highway every day” to get to work in Toronto. “The highlight of this development is the employment opportunities for residents.” Preliminary plans for the first phase include a 20-storey office tower, 700 units in three condominium highrises and retail stores. The entire development, to be built in four phases over about 10 years, will include a hotel, convention centre and multiple residential and commercial buildings. The development will not only have little environmental impact, she notes, but it will “take people out of their cars and help revitalize the waterfront.” “We want to set a new standard for a sustainable neighbourhood. … We believe it’s important for residents to feel as proud about how they live as where they live,” says Montemarano.

Ecoplace is so named for its environmentally healthy features. The LEED buildings will all be designed for high efficiency. We look forward to seeing it if and when it comes to fruition.