Cutler Avenue Warehouse

This warehouse in Burnside Business Park, Dartmouth, N.S., redefines what industrial space can offer, combining a prime location with sustainability features that help tenants  lower their environmental impact, improve energy performance, and support their ESG goals.

The state-of-the-art, 33,000-square-foot precast warehouse designed to meet the Zero Carbon Building Standard from the Canada Green Building Council, a first for owner Commercial Properties Limited.

“The decision to go with carbon-neutral was made early on,” says Carl Blanchard, a longtime OSCO Construction Group executive who came out of retirement to help oversee the project for Commercial Properties. “There’s a solar array on the roof, in-floor heating, and other features to reduce the building’s carbon footprint.”

The solar photovoltaic system is designed to power the building’s heating and supplement general electrical use, reducing reliance on the grid and supporting more stable operating costs for tenants.

The building also uses CarbonCast High Performance Insulated Wall Panels, engineered with enhanced insulation and negligible thermal bridging for improved energy performance. Strescon supplied and installed 71 insulated precast concrete panels and 2 solid interior precast panels. The panels had a 1% dark buff pigment, with a light sandblast finish. Installation took only seven days.

For Karine Petrosyan, CPL’s Director of Engineering and Development, the project represents a forward-looking shift.

“There’s definitely a big demand for buildings that are more conscious and climate-focused,” she says. “This project is part of that switch in how we use the space, how we design, how we manage.”