Fredericton's 'sexiest building' to feature bird-friendly glass

Fredericton's so-called "sexiest building" will get some additional bells and whistles before it rises downtown.

The glass-facade building planned for 140 Carleton St. will feature bird-friendly glass on the first three floors.

Council will decide Monday whether the building can go ahead. 

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The developer decided to add the special glass to the plans after receiving complaints from residents who were concerned about birds crashing into the reflective windows.

"It wasn't cheap but we think it was the right thing to do," said Jeff Yerxa, president and CEO of Ross Ventures.

Plans for the building were revealed in September 2016, when council approved the sale of the parking garage at Brunswick and Carleton streets to Ross Ventures for $1.85 million.

At the time, the developer said the structure planned for the spot would be "the sexiest building" in town, a description some residents picked up on. Others, however, were concerned about the environment, particularly the threat to birds in the downtown.  

Bird-friendly glass uncommon in region

Environmentalists estimate a billion birds a year, many of them migrating, die flying into the glass buildings of North America. Industry has responded with changes to the glass, and some cities have responded with guidelines. 

But Yerxa said a building with bird-friendly glass isn't often seen in Atlantic Canada.

"It's an expensive measure and it's not one that's taken very often," he said. "No question it has an impact on the profitability of the building."

Yerxa wouldn't reveal the cost of the protective windows but suggested it was justified by the community's concern.

"We wanted to make sure the community saw us as a developer that listens to their concerns and addresses them."

When they fly into buildings is when they can't see any open sky, when they're down on the ground or in lower parts of the streetscape.- Jeff Yerxa, Ross Ventures

​Yerxa said his team is following Toronto's window-glass safety guidelines and will use glass designed to protect birds from confusion.

Dots are etched four inches apart inside the glass windows, using paint or a laser.

"You've got to break up that uniform appearance of the glass," Yerxa said. "This will limit collisions."

He said people inside the building will be able to see the etching, but it won't be obvious, and different designs can be more attractive than others.

Preventing bird strikes

Ross Ventures would use the glass on the first three floors of the Carleton Street building, since birds don't typically fly into buildings at higher heights, Yerxa said.

"When they fly into buildings is when they can't see any open sky, when they're down on the ground or in lower parts of the streetscape," he said. "That's where they tend to crash into buildings."

Vanessa Roy-McDougall, the executive director of Nature NB, applauded Ross Ventures for its decision to use bird-friendly windows.

"It sounds like they're on the right track."

But Roy-McDougall said she would like to see the etched windows on all floors of the building to prevent bird collisions. 

"A window is a window, and you're not necessarily going to control where the birds go," she said.

"I don't think it's necessarily prudent to say, 'No birds will hit the windows higher up.'"

Plan grows

Initial renderings of the new building showed a five-storey, glass building for commercial and retail space, but Yerxa now hopes to put up a seven-storey building.

Many tenants are interested in leasing floors, he said.

Yerxa would not name the potential tenants.

He hopes construction can start at the end of August.