Oxford Properties Group (‘Oxford’), a leading global real estate investor, developer and manager, today officially opened the doors of The Stack at 1133 Melville Street. The opening represents a landmark in the commercial real estate industry’s journey to decarbonization by being the first office tower to attain the Canada Green Building Council’s Zero Carbon Building – Design standard certification and the first high-rise commercial tower in North America built to zero carbon standards. The Stack is co-owned by Oxford and CPP Investments.
An official opening ceremony is being held today for over 200 guests including representatives of the companies that will call The Stack home such as BDC, Blakes, DLA Piper, Canaccord Genuity, EY, Fluor and Plenty of Fish, in addition to local business leaders. Designed by Vancouver-based and internationally renowned architect James K.M. Cheng, the 37-storey, AAA-class 550,000 sq ft office tower is situated in a premium location in downtown Vancouver and enhances the city’s skyline with its unique twisting, stacked box design.
By achieving zero carbon status, The Stack also plays an important part in the progress of the City of Vancouver and Province of British Columbia’s 2030 zero-carbon goals. The Stack was able to achieve this status through its implementation of innovative features that minimize both carbon emissions and energy intensity, including low carbon building systems and a high-performance triple-pane glazing system. The Stack also deploys smart building technology to provide insights on energy management, optimize building performance and enable preventative maintenance. On-site renewable energy is achieved through a rooftop photovoltaic solar panel array that will generate 26,000kWh of energy annually.
“The Stack is leading the real estate industry to new levels of sustainability and reflects Oxford’s commitment to integrating ESG best practices throughout our assets,” commented Andrew O’Neil, Vice President of Development, Oxford Properties. “We’re incredibly proud to deliver a building that creates economic and social value for the city of Vancouver, and actively contributes to our partners and customers’ ESG goals. By being the first to achieve a Zero Carbon high rise office building, we can use the insights and learnings from this project across our portfolio and share best practices with the wider industry as we collectively tackle decarbonization as one of the most pressing issues of our times.”
Employee experience and wellness are also at the forefront of The Stack’s design, with architectural elements such as operable windows for natural ventilation, several outdoor terraces and a landscaped pocket park that features a public art installation by Lawrence Paul Yuxweluptun. To foster active transportation and promote wellness, The Stack features a 5,000 sq ft fitness centre, 250 bike parking stalls and health-club quality end-of-trip facilities for those who want to bike, jog, or walk to work. Popular local restaurant Nook will provide destination dining for the building’s customers and the community with a 5,000 sq ft location on the first floor. In addition, with its 6,000 sq ft rooftop terrace available to all building occupants, The Stack’s customers can take in unobstructed panoramic views of English Bay, Stanley Park, Burrard Inlet and the North Shore Mountains from 530 feet in the air. The rooftop terrace is also available for the building’s occupiers to reserve to entertain employees and clients with signature corporate events against the backdrop of one of the best views in Vancouver.
“With its architectural prominence, unrivalled suite of amenities and breathtaking views, The Stack redefines the workplace experience in Canada,” commented Ted Mildon, Vice President, Office Leasing and Operations at Oxford Properties. “We have long foreseen the evolution of the office from simply being the ‘production floor’ where employees congregated to complete tasks into a destination that creates employee engagement, and drives collaboration, learning and mentorship for high performing teams. We’re seeing in cities across the globe that providing employees with a high-quality workplace experience has been an integral part in successful ‘Return to Office’ programs for firms looking to unlock the benefits of in-person collaboration.
“We have enjoyed enormous recent leasing success with The Stack, with the majority of the building’s leasing being secured over the past 12 months. This is further evidence of our ongoing conviction that high quality, highly sustainable office buildings in the best locations that are focused on the employee experience and wellness will continue to outperform.”
“In addition to the building’s achievements in sustainability and the workplace experience, we have also received a lot of compliments from our neighbours as to how well this project is fitting into the community, and how much they appreciate the Lawrence Paul Yuxweluptun sculpture and the pocket park connecting to the existing network of mid-block passages and plazas,” commented James K.M. Cheng, Principal, James K.M. Cheng Architects.
Oxford boasts a well-established commitment to sustainability and decarbonization, having achieved a 37 per cent reduction in its portfolio carbon intensity in 2021 (vs 2015 base year), surpassing its public goal of a 30 per cent reduction in carbon intensity by 2025. Oxford achieved this by pioneering ground-breaking new developments that raised the bar on sustainability, investing in data and analytics to set hourly carbon targets for its properties, and implementing human solutions that encourage sustainable active transportation by a building’s occupiers.
Oxford counts several landmark and award-winning development projects among its portfolio, including Vancouver’s MNP Tower and Riverbend Business Park, Manhattan’s St. John’s Terminal (subsequently acquired by Google), The Center Potsdamer Platz in Berlin and Toronto’s Park Hyatt redevelopment.
To learn more about The Stack, visit: thestackyvr.com.