There’s an old expression that says the shoemaker’s children always go barefoot, which comes from a tale about a shoemaker who’s so busy making shoes for his customers, that he has no time to make shoes for his own family. Well we don’t spend our days making shoes, but we do spend them building vibrant, award-winning, complete communities, places that encourage growth and help people thrive. Now, we’ve done it for ourselves – the shoemaker’s children are getting a brand-new pair of shoes, more specifically, we’re saying goodbye to our current home at Yonge and Eglinton, and moving into a spectacular new Collecdev head office at 365 Bloor Street East!

Our Pillars Come to Life

Social sustainability. Experiential design. Environmental stewardship. Day in and day out we live and breathe these three pillars, using them as our guideposts for every community we build. Recently, we put this ethos to work a little closer to home, using these values to build our new headquarters on Bloor.

Working with Figure3, one of Canada’s leading interior design studios, we’ve created a 14,000 square foot home base full of welcoming, neuro diverse spaces; industrial-inspired décor; and places to meet, collaborate and innovate, all wired to power tomorrow’s workplace, today.

Social Sustainability

Thriving communities require spaces that stimulate conversation and provoke new ideas for healthy, balanced environments. The same is true for a thriving workplace. That’s why our new office features a variety of spaces designed to encourage interaction, including a spacious reception area and a fully-equipped lunchroom where people can gather in one of the intimate booths, or take a seat at the community table for an unexpected exchange.

More formal discussions, presentations or brainstorming sessions can take place in one of the three large boardrooms, the Collaboration Rooms, the Innovation Room where ideas step out of the box, or in the dedicated Construction Meeting Room where our in-house construction team works to ensure that every Collecdev community is built with quality workmanship that results in residences of exceptional value that will last for generations.

Experiential Design

Multi-layered and human-centric, our new office space balances form and function to deliver features that help our team perform their best, no matter where they are or how they prefer to work. There are Zoom Rooms and individual Touchdown Pods that enable virtual collaboration and provide both flexible and permanent desk space, reflecting today’s new professional landscape. There’s a Wellness Room, where team members can reflect and recharge. And a Décor Zone where we mix and match the pieces that make up the ultimate living experience. The result is a sliding scale of spaces that provide choices for where team members want to work, maximizing creativity and wellbeing in the process.

Environmental Stewardship

Of course, when building our new home, we knew it had to incorporate some of the same advanced building technologies and alternative energy sources we use in our communities. Figure3 worked diligently to ensure that our new offices enjoy abundant natural light, encouraging the same sense of wellbeing found in our residences, and reducing the need for artificial lighting (where lights are necessary, LED lighting reduces our electricity use by about 50% compared to traditional options). Heeding the three Rs (reduce, reuse, recycle), we’ve opted to bring nearly all our existing office furniture to the new space, and additional features are locally-sourced and Canadian-made for a smaller carbon footprint. Finally, recognizing the detrimental long-term effects of plastic consumption, we’ve installed filtered cold-water faucets and provided every staff member with a Collecdev for Miir water bottle, a premium stainless-steel bottle that aims to minimize environmental impact and maximize product lifespan – a philosophy that aligns perfectly with our own.

A New Home

From the beginning, Collecdev has always stood for collaboration, innovation and progress, and over the last 18 months we’ve witnessed as those tenets have become more important than ever. The working landscape has changed drastically, but thanks to our commitment to future-proofed communities – for work, life, play and every moment in between – we’re ready for it.

We’re making the move this fall. Drop by any time, we’d love to show you around.

When Fernando Valenzuela learned about Nerva Energy, he knew it would be a good fit for Collecdev. “At Collecdev we believe we have an inherent responsibility to build long-lasting, future-forward, balanced urban landscapes that minimize our impact on the planet,” said the Vice President of Development. “I knew that collaborating with Nerva could help us reduce our carbon footprint and deliver healthier communities, creating real value not only for our homeowners, but for everyone.”

That value will soon become evident in our Tippett Park community in Wilson Heights, thanks to an innovative construction technology known as Nerva Suite Seal, a system that will not only significantly lower energy consumption for the building, resulting in operational savings, environmental benefits, and optimized HVAC function, but will also reduce the spread of airborne disease and improve air quality, two important benefits, following Covid-19. Nerva will be implemented in a multi-unit residential building at Tippett Park Phase 2, which is scheduled to occupy this summer.

Leaders of Innovation & Sustainability

Collecdev is the first major developer in Canada to roll out Suite Seal in a multi-unit residential building. The advanced technology prevents air transfer between suites, creating air tightness that results in a tighter building envelope. Suite sealing technology can seal gaps as big as ½” in diameter, and as small as a hair follicle.

This small change delivers big benefits:

• A 98% reduction in air leakage
• Lower utility bills (up to 30%)
• Better indoor air quality
• Reduced transfer of odours
• Better performance for HVAC systems
• Improved soundproofing
• Protection against insects and pests

As a result, residents of our Tippett Park community will enjoy greater comfort, greater savings and greater peace of mind in a future-proofed building that puts tomorrow’s technology to work today.

Natural Synergy  

As an industry leader in Environmental Stewardship, Collecdev’s collaboration with Nerva Energy is a natural fit. The award-winning Canadian energy consulting firm – recently recognized as AEE-International Energy Innovator of the Year – shares our vision to leverage advanced building technologies that go beyond industry standards and create high-performance communities that promote a healthier planet.

Their relentless pursuit of innovation dovetails with our own ethos, one that underpins each of our three pillars – Social Sustainability, Experiential Design and Environmental Stewardship – and that has positioned us as an early adopter of many future-forward technologies including geothermal energy systems, cloud-based management software, 3D laser scanners and drones. With each new tool we move closer to our goal of building communities that go beyond traditional building methodologies to conserve more energy and resources than standard code compliant buildings, and move the industry forward.

“We’re paving the way for the next generation in community-building,” says Valenzuela, “and our Tippett Park is just the start. We will continue to pursue every option available to deliver healthy, human-centred developments that respond to today’s needs, while shaping a brighter tomorrow for future generations.”

“Stop and smell the roses.” It’s an expression that aligns perfectly with our philosophy at Collecdev – live in the moment, savour the experience of the everyday, surround yourself with beauty. And now, it’s an expression that extends to real life thanks to our latest collaboration with the young artists of the Claude Watson Secondary Arts Program – Earl Haig (CWSAP-EH) and their rose-inspired artwork at Westwood Gardens.

The Westwood Gardens Lobby is In Full Bloom

If you read our blog post a few months back, you know that, for our second art initiative with the Visual Arts Department at CWSAP-EH, students were invited to produce works inspired by blooming roses and romantic floral motifs, pieces that are now gracing the lobby at Westwood Gardens.

“Our first initiative with CWSAP-EH for Nørdic Condos was such a success that we were inspired to do it again. This partnership exemplifies one of our core beliefs – that art has the power to engage the public and enhance the built environment.” – Natascha Pieper, VP of Sales and Marketing, Collecdev

Once again, in the spirit of collaboration, our Instagram audience helped shortlist their favourite submissions. Those works are now on permanent display in the East Tower lobby at Westwood Gardens, creating a spectacular entrance for residents each time they arrive home.

Check out their inspiring works below, now on display at Westwood Gardens.

A Tapestry of Beauty at Westwood Gardens

Inspired by the celebrated floral history of Richmond Hill, Westwood Gardens presents a community where exquisite landscape design is integral to the overall residential experience. From the Dreamer’s Court, a bold street-level patterned courtyard radiating out from a central island full of greenery, to the eighth-floor rooftop terrace where a dramatic central corridor leads to a fireside lounge under glowing chandeliers and a flowering pergola, outdoor spaces have been carefully programmed to create the feeling of an intimate urban backyard.
“Like the Rose, I Flourish,” “En la Rose Je Fleuris,” states the Richmond Hill motto, and that’s exactly our aim – to see Westwood Gardens residents and future generations of young artists, flourish, just like the Richmond Hill rose.

Westwood Gardens is currently sold out and under construction. To learn more about other inspiring Collecdev communities, register here.