Coming soon from Sifton Properties, Helio is slated to become the most energy-efficient high-rise apartment tower in Canada, designed and constructed to be 77 per cent more efficient than a similar building built under the current Ontario Building Code.

In a changing world where “zero carbon” is the ultimate goal in building design, can retrofits alone make Canada’s aging apartment stock sustainable?

While green benchmarks such as LEED are provable targets, net-zero buildings have yet to gain momentum in the industry, mainly due to their perceived cost.