Canmore, Alta. community, Spring Creek Mountain Village, honoured in national awards
Built Green Canada announces winners in its second annual Maverick Awards—a program to reward and profile leadership in sustainable building through its three exclusive categories. Out of entries from British Columbia to Ontario, the Built Green team was keen to see what transformative green solutions would be unveiled through the transformational award submissions. The purpose of this award is to recognize the impact sustainability practices can have in driving real change: enabling fundamental progress. This year, the judges were deadlocked, and this distinction would go to two builders: one in Alberta and one in B.C.
One of these awards went to Spring Creek Mountain Village in Canmore, Alberta. Originally a dairy farm in the 1920s then a mobile home park in the mid- and late-1900s, this 28-hectare redevelopment has transformed into an impressive multi-phase community largely fueled by geo-exchange, which has prioritized performance, walkability, green space, and local businesses—embracing social, environmental and economic sustainability: a community certified BUILT GREEN® Platinum.
So far, this redevelopment has earned 65 BUILT GREEN® certifications: for Single Family (53), High Density (10 with 516 units), and Community – Phase 1 & 2 (2), going back to 2008. They’ve also been involved in two pilot programs through Built Green (Multi-Family & Community). These programs have acted as a guide across various pillars of sustainable building, not just energy performance, helping them see more pathways towards their goal of being as sustainable as possible—while verification measures help them both prove their gains and see where they’re falling short and need to tighten their processes, encouraging continuous improvements.
Home to commercial, single- and multi-family housing, this community is designed for all stages of life. This includes special housing designed for active senior living and aging in place; alongside live/work condominiums that allow owners to operate street-front shops connected to their homes; a luxury hotel and conference centre with a living roof; and affordable housing: five per cent is offered at half price, as part of Canmore’s Vital Homes Program, helping staff and previous residents continue to live there. With multiple businesses, this community is also one of the largest employers in the Bow Valley.
Spring Creek includes extensive renewable energy utilization with geo-exchange systems and solar—working towards net zero. They estimate that, on an annual basis, the geo-exchange heating and cooling system eliminates 6,000 tons of greenhouse gas emissions and will eliminate minimum 10,000 tons per year using geo-exchange with clean electricity instead of natural gas.
As one of the first in Alberta to adopt this clean energy source, when they started with geothermal, there was a learning curve to master, but it’s since become their standard. Owner, Frank Kernick, learned about this renewable, sub-surface energy source through his training as a mechanical engineer. He applied it to his own home and a community recreation centre in Invermere, B.C. before incorporating it into the Spring Creek development. At that time, there was an exorbitant increase in the cost of propane, plus, Frank was always looking for ways to deliver on his environmental commitment, so he took the leap. In most cases, at that time, the cost to set up geothermal in residential application was around $20,000 more per home than conventional methods. But with practice, they now use geo-exchange at approximately equal cost to traditional methods!
While they’ve done considerable work on their energy systems, Spring Creek also recognizes that sustainable living isn’t just about energy performance, but also healthy, active lifestyles, social sustainability and economic benefits.
To start, this community has an impressive Walkscore of over 90. Through a joint effort with the Town of Canmore, they included the first "complete street", an approach to planning that more safely and conveniently accommodates vehicle, pedestrian, and bicycle traffic (compared to a traditional vehicle-first approach). This is one of several ways they’ve worked with the municipality—and have included thoughtful designs like their irrigation system that uses only ground water, so they do not pull from the municipal water supply.
The development is encircled by two pristine mountain-fed creeks, and within this, they have done extensive greenspace preservation, resulting in greater biodiversity than prior to construction. Their green space requirements far exceed those of Canmore Municipal and Environmental reserve standards—which are governed by the Municipal Government Act and guide land use in planning and development, protecting natural features and public spaces. Meanwhile, they have created a beautiful trail system, complete with bridges over the encircling streams, providing pedestrian and bicycle throughout their community and with access to the town, including to schools, employment, public transit, entertainment, healthcare and parks.
A key social feature is Spring Creek’s focus on enabling an active lifestyle—beyond their trail system and bike storage and maintenance, they offer state-of-the-art fitness equipment to enable residents of any age to take control of their physical wellbeing. However, they have a special focus on seniors, inviting destination retirement amidst the natural splendor of Canmore. Their Origin at Spring Creek provides seniors with the care they need to continue living full and active lifestyles—while aging in place with assisted and independent living, as well as memory and respite care. They also offer guided activities, including walks, hikes and snowshoeing.
Meanwhile, they’ve prioritized local businesses and food availability, as one of the largest employers of Bow Valley that includes shops with local produce and artisan wares. And affordability remains critical, with five per cent offered as affordable housing. All this, while giving back to the community through their donations program, which, in 2025 alone, contributed close to $100,000 to their community.
Recognizing gathering spaces as critical to social wellness, Spring Creek has created numerous such spaces, one of which is also a piece of history! Canmore has a unique mining heritage, which Spring Creek has preserved through replication of the original Canmore Opera House (built in 1898). This is about honouring the past, creating community, as well as enhancing health and wellness, with ongoing activities hosted here. This building also serves as a gathering hall for the Property Owners’ Association—it helps bring together the neighbourhood and create a sense of belonging, conducive to social sustainability.
While this space was still a mobile home park, Frank used to overlook the land from a high point and imagine how the community would flow within the natural borders of the encircling mountain-fed creeks. His motivation to transform this land into a beautiful, sustainable community was largely driven by the region's spectacular natural beauty and his commitment to keeping Canmore an alpine town, but it goes deeper than that.
“Spring Creek is a nod to my parents, grandparents, as well as Canmore itself,” says Frank Kernick, Spring Creek’s owner and developer. “It’s meant to stand as a legacy for the town where I grew up and to contribute to a more sustainable future for my grandchildren.”
“The evolution of this land into a vibrant, multi-faceted community is the embodiment of the transformational effect of holistic sustainability—we’re thrilled to know our programs helped guide this process,” says Jenifer Christenson, chief executive officer at Built Green Canada. “This trailblazer has embodied our mission.”
The Maverick Awards are another step forward in Built Green Canada's mission to progress sustainability practices and recognize leadership; this year, four winners have been announced in conjunction with title co-sponsors, Jayman BUILT and SkyFire Energy. The Transformational Award, sponsored by Alberta Real Estate Foundation, had a tie this year; the other winner is Best Builders for their Phoenix House in Delta, a remarkable rebuild setting a new benchmark for low-carbon renovations, while addressing resilience and holistic sustainability. The Mavericks awarded Jim Zsiros of J. Zsiros Contracting with the Ambassador Award for exemplifying the power of hands-on ambassadorship—he’s created a ripple effect that’s elevated green building standards, particularly Built Green, across the region. Meanwhile, s2e Technologies won the Innovation Award for their London-based project, EVE Park, which is aiming for a net zero residential development rethinking suburban living: addressing high performance buildings and smart parking.