Two development projects in London are at the centre of an $88,000 investment from the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM).
London North Centre Member of Parliament Peter Fragiskatos announced Friday that London is benefiting from the $45-million Green Municipal Fund (GMF) by inclusion in a study of “net-zero energy developments.”
The study, which will also investigate two projects each in Kitchener, Waterloo, and Kingston, aims to explore barriers and opportunities for sustainable developments.
Profiled in London will be Sifton’s West5 community, built in RiverBend as a net-zero development, and Sierra Construction Group’s McCormick project in east London.
“The City of London is committed to building a sustainable community,” said a statement from the FCM. “The GMF announcement adds to the impressive suite of local climate change solutions being developed in London. Through initiatives large and small, the road to Canada’s environmental leadership runs through our cities.”
Using a library in his hometown of Acton as an example, FCM past-president Clark Somerville says these studies are helpful because they allow communities to share the knowledge they’ve learned.
“Every grant or every loan that’s done there, there’s sometimes a grant component to see how has this really worked, so then other municipalities are able to take that and say, ‘hey, Acton has a library that is on heat-source pumps, how does that work for us to maybe look at doing in London, or anywhere else in the country?”
Fragiskatos announced the funding on behalf of Canada’s minister of natural resources, Jim Carr, at the Stoney Creek YMCA in London’s north end.