News Release

Four-Pad Arena Benefits from Green Municipal Fund

(Thursday, March 10, 2011) Halifax Regional Council has approved taking out a loan from the Federation of Canadian Municipalities’ (FCM) Green Municipal Fund to support the finance plan for the four-pad BMO Centre. The funding package consists of a loan for $4 million and a grant for $400,000.

The FCM Green Municipal Fund supports best-in-class municipal projects in brownfields, waste, water, energy, and transportation. The HRM funding application for the new BMO Centre was initiated a year ago in the energy category. The loan will be paid back over 20 years at an estimated interest rate of 2.09 percent - a rate that will be roughly half of what would normally apply to a loan of this term.

Mayor Kelly said the FCM’s program is helping HRM become more sustainable and allows municipalities to become leaders in innovative environmental stewardship.

“This green fund lets municipalities develop projects that expand the boundaries of sustainability,” the mayor said. “HRM is certainly benefitting from the federation’s leadership on this important front.”

The BMO Centre is the most efficient four-pad complex in Canada. Built to a minimum of LEED Silver standard, it incorporates many sustainable features including an advanced heat recovery system that uses the ice making process to heat the facility. In addition, waste heat is directed to in-floor heating in the locker rooms, ventilation system heating, domestic water use, floor water, and melt pit and bleacher seat heating.

For more information on the BMO Centre visit bmocentrehalifax.com.

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Contact:

Mayor Peter Kelly
HRM
490-4010

Julian Boyle
Infrastructure and Asset Management
476-8075