Midway through a presentation last month on a proposal for 904 new homes on an 80-acre development called Cold Creek, which straddles the Warings Creek watershed, the developer noted the heating and cooling would come through a combination of geothermal technology, solar power, and high-efficiency heat pumps.

“We have told Enbridge,” said David Cleave, CEO of Port Picton Homes, “there will be no gas in this subdivision.”

It was a huge announcement, made with little fanfare.

That, along with the densities proposed — up to 47 units per hectare — suggests changes afoot in County planning. The keywords now are density, “verticality,” affordability, active transportation, integration, and “low impact design.”

Those who have been struck by the endlessness of Port Picton Homes’ subdivisions in West Picton — beautiful bungalows and two-storey residences wind round and round on near-identical streets — can get ready for a whole new approach, in Picton and throughout the County.

The Picton Secondary Plan’s preferred densities are 10 units per acre at the low end and 15 in the higher range. Cold Creek’s Phase 1 will see 18 units an acre. 

The southwest corner of the site contains the protected headwaters of Waring’s Creek, the only cold-water creek in the County. The developers plan 30-metre buffers to separate the new development from the watershed, cultural meadow, and forest on the site. Most will be preserved intact, with just a slight incursion on the forest and meadow. 

Almost 20 acres of the 80-acre site will be protected from development. A three-acre public park connects to 15 acres of Warings Creek wetlands.

The Millenium Trail will be incorporated into the development through open green space, connecting roads, and walkways. A series of condo and townhouse blocks will overlook the trail, but creating plenty of public access points is a planning priority.

Integrating the Trail as an active transportation corridor running through the County’s residential core is a planning priority for all development applications on the Trail from Picton to Wellington.

Going Green

Density might mean affordability, but it can also mean walkability, livability, a chance for the kind of vibrancy you get in places where people tend to congregate.

In Cold Creek, for example, much of the parking is going underground. That means more green space, and buildings closer together, not sprawled over endless expanses of asphalt, driveways, and garages. The plans create more permeable surfaces to carry groundwater, a feature of low-impact design.

Heating and cooling for the apartment buildings and some of the stacked townhouses will be through heat pumps, while geothermal systems will feature in the single detached homes. Part of the issue is that  underground parking makes installing geothermal more difficult. 

Another issue of course is expense. Mr. Cleave is aiming for entry level price points for Cold Creek, in the high $300,000s to mid-$400,000s for a townhouse. “In an area where things are generally going in the 700,000s, we are pretty proud of that.” 

With 40 years of building experience in Prince Edward County, David Cleave has seen environmental initiatives come and go with the political winds. He notes a lack of government investment in geothermal technologies over the last ten years — but stresses engineers and heating specialists are filling the gap.
 
“Builders, and increasingly consumers, want cost-effective green technologies to future-proof newbuilds and real estate investments.”

David Cleave, CEO, Port Picton Homes

“Everyone is working really hard, engineers and businesses in HVAC and in the skilled trades, to get to net-zero energy efficiency in the best way possible. We all know we need to stop using gas, we all know there is climate change.”

For Mr. Cleave, electric is now the best way forward, given major advances in heat pump efficiency — and governments unwilling to offset the cost of geothermal.

“Geothermal costs about a third less if you can bury a line while building,” he notes. “Drilling is much more expensive.  For a single residence, if you have to drill, it’s $40,000-$50,000. If you can dig and bury a ground loop, the cost is about half, $25,000.

“That’s still twice the amount of a traditional heating/cooling system, but at the higher price points, something geothermal helps make the house more saleable.

“Those who can afford a single-family bungalow may be attracted by geothermal. A lifetime of savings on heating and cooling makes the higher sticker price well worth it.”

For the rest, where affordability is a key issue, Mr. Cleave is turning to heat pumps.

“In the 70s, the whole OPEC crisis put electricity through the roof and everyone had to conserve. That is what gave the opening for gas — and now we are fully gassed out across the country. Today, electricity is the way to go. The government cannot avoid recognizing that heat pumps are so efficient, they offer a major opportunity to get off gas.”

Conservative funding models, however, pose another obstacle.

“If you can’t fund it, you can’t build it.” is Mr. Cleave’s mantra, by necessity. And he is hamstrung by conservative funding models — another area where government policy promoting geothermal and other energy-efficient building initiatives would help.

“If, in the funding application to a bank, you show it will reduce your expenses — in an apartment building geothermal can reduce costs by $30,000 a year — then funders are likely to approve the application.

“But if all you are showing is installing geothermal will add tens of thousands to the cost of building — well, then they are likely to say no.”

Banks won’t fund the extra expense — even if it’s for a technology that in the long run will be far more efficient.

“As long-time and experienced builders, we understand geothermal and we know it works incredibly well in larger-scale developments like condo and apartment buildings. It would add a long-term net benefit to the building — but I can’t fund it unless it’s rentals and the savings advantage accrues to me, as the holder of the building loan.”