Buy Social Canada is proud to announce that we have been selected by Westbank as their Independent Third-Party Monitor contractor to support them in meeting the City of Vancouver’s Community Benefit Agreement (CBA) goals for construction of the 150 West Georgia Project. The City of Vancouver CBA requirements are triggered by the rezoning of projects that exceed 484,000 sq. feet.

The 150 W. Georgia project involves the construction of 17 stories of high-quality workspace for an estimated 6,000 workers, and a 6 storey entertainment pavilion. The buildings will enliven the stadium district and sit above Creative Energy’s new 280-megawatt (MW) steam plant which serves over 50 million sq. feet of real estate in downtown Vancouver. As part of this project, Creative Energy will begin de-carbonizing its energy supply, replacing natural gas with clean electric boilers. Once complete, the emission reductions from this de-carbonization initiative will be equivalent to removing 60,000 vehicles from the road each year.

The construction project team, including Westbank and Peak Construction Group, is committed to working toward goals of 10% hiring of local individuals from equity-seeking groups, and 10% local and 10% social purchasing. Following the construction, the building’s owner will be required by the CBA policy to fulfill the same employment and purchasing criteria for the life span of the building.

Buy Social Canada will facilitate relationships and connections between the construction industry and local social enterprises and other social value suppliers, community employment resources, and local businesses. We will also support the gathering of data and reporting on outcomes.

“We look forward to collaboratively working with the City of Vancouver, community stakeholders, Westbank, Peak and key sub-contractors to achieve a successful CBA on the 150 West Georgia Street Project,” said Elizabeth Chick-Blount, Executive Director of Buy Social Canada.

Buy Social Canada is also the Third-Party CBA Contractor working with PCL Construction on construction of the New St. Paul’s Hospital.

For more information see: City of Vancouver CBA Policy, The 150 West Georgia Street Project and Buy Social Canada, or contact elizabeth@buysocialcanada.com.