Montréal, December 20, 2010– Eighth Avenue Place, the 49-storey, 1,100,000-square-foot office tower located in the heart of Calgary, has just been pre-certified LEED Platinum by the U.S. Green Building Council, making it Canada’s first LEED Platinum high-rise office building. The U.S. has two office high-rises pre-certified LEED Platinum. Jointly owned by SITQ, Alberta Investment Management Corp. and Matco Investments Ltd., Eighth Avenue Place was originally pre-certified Gold, but has been upgraded to Platinum following a series of groundbreaking building innovations.

 One of the most remarkable features is the air distribution system. Eighth Avenue Place is the first building in Canada to utilize heating distribution techniques that decrease construction costs and operating costs while improving thermal comfort for occupants. The system distributes heat through the same overhead perimeter air delivery system that is utilized in cooling during the summer months, whereas the more conventional radiant heating systems in Canada pipe hot water into occupant spaces along baseboards at the perimeter wall. Also, the high-performance glazing systems mitigate cold surface temperatures, therefore rendering the use of baseboard radiator systems in the tower no longer necessary. Baseboard radiator systems take up more usable space and are less effective at regulating ambient office temperatures.

 Other noteworthy sustainable features and programs include:

• Installation of a state-of-the-art building management and control system to monitor and manage energy consumption and tenant comfort requests.
• Use of outside air (at certain temperatures) to cool the building.
• 40% reduction in water use through features such as ultra-low-flow urinals.
• 300-stall bicycle parking with adjacent showers.
• 50% landfill diversion of construction waste, including waste generated by the demolition of the previous buildings.
• Use of low-emitting paints, adhesives and sealants.
• Use of environmentally sensitive refrigerants.
• One of Canada’s largest green roofs, encompassing 30,000 square feet.

 Designed by the internationally recognized architectural firm of Pickard Chilton, Eighth Avenue Place consists of a 49-storey tower, a two-storey retail podium spanning a full city block and featuring a dramatic atrium winter garden, a 1,143-car underground parking garage and a 40-storey future west tower. Construction began in December 2007 and will be completed in the summer of 2011.

 “Calgary is Canada’s energy capital, and energy companies place particular emphasis on sustainability and responsible energy consumption,” points out Arthur Lloyd, Executive Vice-President, Western Region, Canada and the U.S. “The emphasis on sustainability and responsible stewardship of energy consumption and the resonance of these issues in the Calgary market motivated SITQ and the project’s two other owners to raise the bar to a level never achieved before in a large commercial setting in Canada.”