A Toronto office complex that has Hydro One as one of its tenants is a sustainability standout, having attained major certifications and recognition by BOMA BEST as the best of its kind in 2024.

483 Bay St. is an approximately one-million-square-foot property managed by Toronto-based Northam Realty Advisors Ltd. Since it was acquired by the company in 2007, it has marked a number of milestones, including:

• being the first building in Ontario and second in Canada certified by LEED for existing buildings;
• the LEED Platinum certification; and
• a Zero Carbon Building standards certificate for performance from the Canada Green Building Council.

Most recently, it topped the BOMA BEST Awards 2024 for office properties over one million square feet, another indicator of Northam’s efforts to promote energy efficiency and carbon reductions.

As an operator of Canadian real estate for European funds, Northam is prioritizing sustainability because of the elevated green standards for buildings in effect in Europe, and existing and potential tenants of 483 Bay St. who are demanding best-in-class performance.

“Our role was to take the temperature of the market, understand what tenants want, understand what we want, understand what our ownership wants, and then create (a) pathway to it,” Neil Armstrong, a general manager at Northam, told Sustainable Biz Canada in an interview.

‘The most unknown’ one-million-square-foot building in Toronto

Described as a flagship property for Northam, 483 Bay St. was opened in 1983 as the Bell Trinity Square, purpose-built for the telecom company. It is made up of a 10-storey south tower and 15-storey north tower connected by an eight-storey atrium.

Armstrong said 483 Bay St. is “probably the most unknown million-square-foot building in Toronto,” despite having private and government tenants such as Fidelity Investments, the Trillium Gift of Life Network and Ombudsman Ontario - in addition to Hydro One. CIBC formerly also had an office at the location.

The tenant mix at the “unassuming” complex includes large professional firms that have the “savviness to say, ‘We need you to be LEED Gold as a minimum or we get a dollar off a square foot less,’ ” Armstrong said. 

With companies setting their own environmental targets that play a role in their office leasing choices, Northam is obliging with the features it offers.

Hybrid boiler system, energy efficiency, planning

Atmospheric boilers were replaced with condensing boilers in 2009, improving energy efficiency and reducing natural gas consumption.

But when it was built, 483 Bay St. had featured five 750-kilowatt electric boilers that were mothballed for gas boilers before it was opened. With the increasing focus on decarbonization, Northam slowly restored the electric boilers in 2023, with three active currently as part of a hybrid set-up.

The move resulted in greenhouse gas emissions from electricity and natural gas being cut 37 per cent from January 2023 to December 2023, and thousands of dollars were shaved from energy bills.

Northam did not run a gas boiler at 483 Bay St. in the first two months of 2025, running on only electric equipment, Armstrong added.

A continuous building automation system that optimizes 483 Bay St.’s HVAC operations are in place. Real-time energy monitoring is in place to track consumption and uncover efficiencies. Energy-efficient LED lighting illuminates most of the complex.

A “dramatic” impact has arisen from the company’s energy management plan “that is probably the single-biggest driver of awareness,” according to Armstrong. Northam meets with an energy engineering group every month to discuss reports that cover topics such as possible upgrades and how much hot water needs to be heated.

483 Bay St. achieved an Energy Star score of 97 per cent for 2024, which is “exceptionally high,” Armstrong said.

“We compete with all these new buildings for a building that’s over 40 years old. It’s pretty impressive.”

The vision for change

Implementing such features did not come easily for Northam, he explained. Restrictions on space and energy intake translated into difficulties, and thus more capital investment.

But fortunately, the original design of 483 Bay St. with those electric boilers eased the process, Armstrong said. The building is also managed by a team that has the foresight to move forward on sustainability.

483 Bay St. could see additional changes to further cut energy consumption and its bills. An example Armstrong gave is a larger, more efficient reclaimer that recovers the heat, cooling and humidity from the property’s exhaust system.

Northam managed a portfolio valued at approximately $2.2 billion as of September 2023, and 82 per cent of the portfolio was BOMA BEST-certified.

Other buildings it manages include 207 Queens Quay W. in Toronto that has Zero Carbon Building and LEED Gold certifications, and 250 University Ave., also in Toronto, that achieved the BOMA BEST Platinum standard.

Armstrong noted 6880 Financial Dr. in Mississauga as a property to watch in its portfolio. It has a LEED Gold certification for existing buildings.