An up-and-coming enclosed retail/residential development project in Markham, Ont., is set to become one of the largest retail centres in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA), boasting the largest geothermal system of its kind in the country.

Developed by the Remington Group, the project will be named the Remington Centre. Its team has filed for its building permit with the city. This milestone comes after hundreds of technical and mechanical drawings were completed and provincial building codes were met. The 74,322-m² (800,000-sf) shopping/residential complex is being designed by Kohn Partnership Architects and is designed to be a North-American style mall that includes condo-style retail spaces.

Construction is scheduled to begin the fourth quarter of 2014. In addition to the 74,322-m² facility, its first phase includes onsite parking for more than 3500 cars, and home to 700 retail operations. The inclusion of 550 residential units in two towers will take place in the second phase.

“Offering opportunities to shop, dine, live, and play, the Remington Centre will become a social hub in Markham,” Wayne Chan, its vice-president of commercial and residential property investment, told Construction Canada Online. “The centre will offer inspired shopping and living to local residents and be a tourist centre for the millions of visitors who come to the GTA every year.”

The use of natural daylighting will be maximized throughout the facility. Also, the roof extends slightly outward, helping shade direct sunlight while still encouraging natural light, thus reducing the extra load on air-conditioning.

A hybrid approach—including a geoexhange system with high-efficiency peaking boilers and fluid coolers—was specified for the centre. A closed loop geoexhange system will meet the centre’s heating and cooling requirements for makeup air and for the retail suites. The geoexhange system includes a field of 284 boreholes on a grid of 4.5 to 6 m (15 to 20 ft). Each one is 152 m (500 ft) deep, and the entire system uses over 80 km (50 mi) of underground tubing. The geoexchange system is combined with an in-slab hydronic radiant heating system with high-efficiency condensing boilers for all common areas.

Also, the centre will employ an energy recovery ventilation (ERV) system. The core of these units transfer a portion of heat in the stale exhaust air to the incoming fresh air from outside before being distributed throughout the centre. Net energy reductions include a 40 per cent lowering of consumption and 25 per cent decline in cost. The geothermal design reportedly removes 2500 tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO₂) from the environment annually—the equivalent to removing 500 cars from the road.

Other notable features of the facility include:

• 9290-m² (100,000-sf) indoor night market, which will be open until 3:00 a.m.;
• tour-bus drop-off bays;
• white roof, which will reflect up to 90 per cent of sunlight;
• green public spaces; and
• reduced water use and rainwater harvesting.

Additionally, a 2.4-ha (6-acre) tree-lined public space with a fountain that converts into an ice rink will be included in the design. By recovering the thermal energy made during the refrigeration process, the rink is a prime candidate for waste heat recovery and will be used for snow melting at the entrance of the centre as well as heating the building.