Berkshire Homes, Tridel are "Green" Builders of the Year

    TORONTO, April 28 /CNW/ - The sophomore winners of the Green Builder of
the Year awards presented by the Building Industry & Land Development
Association (BILD) are Berkshire Homes in the low-rise sector and Tridel,
repeating their inaugural success, in the high-rise sector.
    The association established the Green Builder of the Year awards in 2007
as part of a strategic priority to promote sustainable development and green
building practices. The awards are intended not only to recognize the
outstanding accomplishments of the leading home builders but to inspire other
builders to take action as well.

    Berkshire Homes
    ---------------
    Laurie Gordon, principal of Berkshire Homes, deserved to win the Green
Builder of the Year, low-rise award just for the work she has done as co-chair
of the Green Committee of BILD, however that volunteer contribution did not
even factor into the judges decision. Instead, Berkshire was chosen for a
number of firsts which it has achieved on the green building front:-   At Credit Springs in Orangeville, Berkshire became the first builder
        to require buyers to sign a Homeowners Environmental Guide which
        dictates what can and can't be done on the site. Under the agreement,
        homeowners agree to restrict landscaping to only species native to
        the area, leave trees and natural vegetation undisturbed, and
        generally do their part to protect the land they share. "Unless they
        demonstrate a commitment to stewardship of this land, we won't sell
        them a home," says Gordon.

    -   At Bateman Lane, Berkshire is building the first LEED home in the
        Caledon area as a participant in the Canada Green Building Council
        Pilot Study Program. The Bateman Lane site also features "No touch
        Zones," to prevent residents from disturbing the natural vegetation.

    -   Berkshire was the first ENERGY STAR builder in Orangeville and is now
        promoting ENERGY STAR in all its homes.

    Tridel
    ------
    Tridel won BILD's inaugural Green Builder of the Year, high-rise award
hands down for everything it had done up to 2007 as a pioneer in the field of
sustainable development and green building. Tridel won the award this year for
continuing to build upon its enviable record. Specific new green initiatives
included:

    -   Tridel is redeveloping a 17 acre brownfield site in Scarborough into
        Metrogate, one of the first LEED Neighbourhood communities. All seven
        buildings will incorporate energy and water conservation features
        while the sales centre itself has solar panels that are designed to
        meet up to 50 per cent of the lighting electricity with the balance
        sourced from Bullfrog Power (Bullfrog also powers the BILD offices);

    -   Tridel's Republic project in North Toronto features a unique
        collaboration with the school board which will result in the first
        LEED Gold school in Ontario and two LEED Silver condominium towers;

    -   Tridel created the Eco-Suite, a high-design 1,900 square foot
        sustainable model suite open to the public with the sole purpose of
        educating the consumer, creating excitement about Green living and
        demonstrating that one does not have to sacrifice style for
        sustainability. More than 3,000 visitors received guided tours while
        another 15,000 visited the interactive website. This initiative was
        featured on the New York Times website.BILD congratulates Berkshire Homes and Tridel on their environmental
leadership. "It's amazing what can be achieved by the industry acting
altruistically and voluntarily," said BILD Chief Executive Officer Stephen
Dupuis.

    With more than 1,500 members, BILD, formed through the merger of the
Greater Toronto Home Builders' Association and Urban Development
Institute/Ontario is the voice of the residential land development, home
building and professional renovation industry in the Greater Toronto Area. We
are proudly affiliated with the Ontario and Canadian Home Builders'
Associations.

For further information: Cynthia Malagerio, Manager of Communications,
[phone] or [phone], [e-mail]; Stephen Dupuis,
Chief Executive Officer, [phone] or [phone], [e-mail]