PLANET +
PROSPERITY
We are community builders
There is an immediate need to change how we build. We help our clients achieve transformative sustainable developments by navigating complexities, streamlining opportunities, and striving for cost-beneficial solutions. We understand and can apply the business case needed for this change because we have been developers and we have worked with governments across the country.
“Urban Equation used rigorous financial and technical analysis to help us refine our guiding principles and align a complex group of investors and consultants around our financial and sustainability goals.”
Donald F. Smith Jr. - President - RIDC
Regional Industrial Development Corporation (RIDC)
Almono, Pittsburgh, PA
Jenny McMinn
B.E.S., B.Arch., LEED AP BD+C
Managing Director
Jenny provides real estate development and sustainability advisory services across North America. Her clients include all levels of government as well as private developers, such as Quadreal, North Crest, and Morguard.
With experience in sustainable architecture, performance management, facilitation and business modeling, Jenny has a strong track record of leading multi-disciplinary teams and stakeholder groups on a range of cutting-edge green projects, including those targeting One Planet Living, Living Building Challenge, the WELL standard and LEED Platinum.
A LEED accredited professional, Jenny holds degrees in architecture and environmental studies from the University of Waterloo. She is a former member of the City of Toronto’s Design Review Panel and Vice-Chair on the Board of Directors of the CaGBC.
Jonathan Westeinde
MBA
Founding Director
As the founder of the Windmill Development Group (Urban Equation’s founding parent company), Jonathan represents Windmill on Urban Equation’s Board of Directors.
“Urban Equation was created as a vehicle to share Windmill’s leadership in viable low impact development with the broader real estate community,” he says.
Jonathan has a developer’s mindset. His deep experience in real estate development, financing, leasing, and venture capital services provides clients with a strategic perspective on the complex realties of sustainable real estate.
Steve Dulmage
BSC., Dip Env Tech, LEED AP BD+C
Director
Steve brings both a passion for sustainability and more than 20 years of experience delivering sustainability outcomes on a wide range of projects. Steve’s experience with engagement, connecting the dots across project teams, and delivering client values, ensure comprehensive and holistic sustainability plans that establish a long-term framework for success.
Steve has had his hand in many of Ottawa’s most exciting redevelopment projects, defining sustainability for Zibi, Lebreton Flats and Tunney’s Pasture. Additionally, he has supported recent master plans for existing campuses such as the Perley and Rideau Veterans’ Health Centre and Algonquin College. Steve’s passion has led to working on some exciting firsts, from the use of ecological footprinting to creating a shared sense of responsibility to complete a journey towards one planet living. His experience working on Canada’s first two One Planet Living communities has put him at the forefront of sustainable real estate development.
Team
Georgia Radakovic
Sustainability Analyst, Communications
Georgia supports Urban Equation in both delivering innovative sustainability strategies to our clients and sharing our story and mission with the world.
“I believe storytelling is a powerful vehicle for positive change, both on an industry and individual level,” says Georgia.
Having recently completed her Commerce degree with a major in Finance at McGill University, Georgia brings a pragmatic approach to delivering innovation in the urban realm. During her time at McGill, Georgia worked in investment banking and venture capital and consulted for social impact start-ups in Johannesburg and Montreal. She also worked as a research assistant at the McGill Institute of Marketing.
Fin MacDonald
Senior Consultant
Fin is an ESG and carbon management professional with over 10 years’ experience managing sustainability programs and advising clients on sustainability strategy. As a senior consultant at Urban Equation, Fin assists clients with corporate ESG strategy and materiality, while providing best in class support for ESG frameworks such as the Green Real Estate Sustainability Benchmark (GRESB), the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), One Planet Living, and the Science Based Targets Initiative.
Prior to joining Urban Equation, Fin managed the Canada Green Building Council (CAGBC)’s Zero Carbon Building Program where he helped launch the first zero carbon building standard in the world. During his five year tenure he grew the program from the original 16 pilot projects to over 200 registered and over 50 certified zero carbon building projects.
Fin also contributes regularly to the industry as a volunteer. He recently served as a member of the World Green Building Council’s Advancing Net-Zero Steering Committee, and also served on the taskforce responsible for the development of their Net-Zero Carbon Buildings Commitment. Fin also provided his expertise as a member of the Ottawa Envirocentre’s Carbon613 technical committee, the CAGBC Ottawa Region Chapter’s board of directors, and the CAGBC National Emerging Green Builder (EGB) Committee.
Sneha Ramaprasad
Sustainability Analyst
Sneha is a climate change professional with a keen interest in sustainable built environment. As a Sustainability Analyst, Sneha supports various projects in achieving sustainability in the development through green building certifications. Sneha comes with international experience in the field of sustainable built environment with her work in delivering sustainable projects in the middle east such as ‘The Sustainable City, Dubai’ and many others.
Prior to joining Urban Equation, Sneha completed her Masters in Climate Change from University of Waterloo which led her to understand the linkage between the buildings and their impacts on climate change. She has previously worked as a sustainability consultant in Toronto, supporting projects to achieve various green building certifications like LEED, Green Globes, WELL and CaGBC Zero Carbon Building Standard.
Jenny McMinn
Managing Director
Jenny provides real estate development and sustainability advisory services across North America. Her clients include all levels of government as well as private developers, such as Quadreal, North Crest, and Morguard.
With experience in sustainable architecture, performance management, facilitation and business modeling, Jenny has a strong track record of leading multi-disciplinary teams and stakeholder groups on a range of cutting-edge green projects, including those targeting One Planet Living, Living Building Challenge, the WELL standard and LEED Platinum.
A LEED accredited professional, Jenny holds degrees in architecture and environmental studies from the University of Waterloo. She is a former member of the City of Toronto’s Design Review Panel and Vice-Chair on the Board of Directors of the CaGBC.
Aditya Bhujle
Director, District Energy
Aditya (Adi) is an engineering and business professional with over 10 years of experience working at the intersection of district energy, environmental, water, infrastructure, renewable and industrial sectors, specializing in the development and implementation of projects with low-carbon and water management technologies, renewable technologies and environmental sustainability solutions. Adi has been leading and driving sustainable infrastructure development on various platforms, building and scaling businesses, and has developed and managed technology transfers, joint-ventures and the execution of projects from conceptualization to final execution.
Prior to joining Urban Equation, Adi was a key member of the Energy Planning and Development team at Enwave Energy Corporation where he progressed multiple major projects from development to implementation including some of the largest district energy projects in North America. Over his career, Adi has been steering a strategic portfolio of projects in district energy, water and renewables of over US$ 1 Billion for notable communities and institutions in North America and globally where he has been responsible for all aspects of project development, delivery planning and execution. Adi has a combination of technical, business and commercial knowledge and has gained a multi-faceted perspective on large complex projects having worked in advisory, execution and development capacities.
Adi graduated with engineering and business degrees from the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) and has a Master’s degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the US.
Steve Dulmage
Director
Steve brings both a passion for sustainability and more than 20 years of experience delivering sustainability outcomes on a wide range of projects. Steve’s experience with engagement, connecting the dots across project teams, and delivering client values, ensure comprehensive and holistic sustainability plans that establish a long-term framework for success.
Steve has had his hand in many of Ottawa’s most exciting redevelopment projects, defining sustainability for Zibi, Lebreton Flats and Tunney’s Pasture. Additionally, he has supported recent master plans for existing campuses such as the Perley and Rideau Veterans’ Health Centre and Algonquin College. Steve’s passion has led to working on some exciting firsts, from the use of ecological footprinting to creating a shared sense of responsibility to complete a journey towards one planet living. His experience working on Canada’s first two One Planet Living communities has put him at the forefront of sustainable real estate development.
Alex Speigel
Senior Consultant
Alex has designed and developed a wide range of innovative projects—commercial, residential and mixed use—over the past forty years. He is a registered architect (retired) with the Ontario Association of Architects (OAA).
Formerly as Director of Development with Context and now as Toronto partner with Windmill Developments, Alex has developed a wide range of complex mixed-use projects to critical acclaim.
As a development consultant he has provided advisory services to clients that include the development community as well as non-profits, social enterprises faith groups. He is a volunteer with the Toronto Park People on their Greenline Advisory Committee and has served on the Annex Residents Association (ARA) and the OAA Sustainable Built Environments Committee.
Jonathan Westeinde
Founding Director
As the founder of the Windmill Development Group (Urban Equation’s founding parent company), Jonathan represents Windmill on Urban Equation’s Board of Directors.
“Urban Equation was created as a vehicle to share Windmill’s leadership in viable low impact development with the broader real estate community,” he says.
Jonathan has a developer’s mindset. His deep experience in real estate development, financing, leasing, and venture capital services provides clients with a strategic perspective on the complex realties of sustainable real estate.
Ross Farris
Senior Consultant
Ross has been advising municipalities, institutions and private developers at both the building and community scale across North America for the last 10 years. He brings a multifaceted perspective with sustainability consulting, mechanical and energy engineering, architectural and construction experience. Ross works with clients and project teams to integrate all aspects of the development from every project onset to ensure issues are identified early, and holistic solutions are derived to mitigate cost and schedule impacts.
“My goal is to drive down every project’s environmental footprint while creating a built environment that better serves the whole community – in a cost effective and timely manner.”
Ross holds a Master of Architecture degree and a Bachelor of Science in Architectural Engineering degree with an emphasis in Building Environmental Systems, both from the University of Kansas. He is a registered mechanical engineer in the State of California and an ASHRAE Certified Building Energy Modeling Professional.
Urban Equation, along with our partners EQ Building Performance and Energy Profiles Limited, were specifically retained by Sidewalk Labs, a division of Google’s parent company Alphabet, to extract real anonymized data from various building databases to analyze how a community can be actively and measurably climate positive.
You can read the full study here.
The Baker District redevelopment is a partnership between the City of Guelph and Windmill Development Group that will transform three acres of an existing parking lot and properties fronting the north end of Wyndham Street into a unique, mixed-use downtown development. Urban Equation is leading the public engagement and sustainability planning for this innovative project, only the second development in Canada and the third in North America to receive international endorsement under the One Planet Living sustainability framework.
You can read the Baker District One Planet Action Plan here.
Ottawa’s Algonquin College is a pioneer in the design and construction of high performance buildings. Since 2007, Urban Equation has been a key member of the College’s Campus Development Consortium, originally conceived to support the design and construction of four major capital expansion projects. We were initially engaged as sustainability consultants, working with the College to establish a sustainability decision-making framework based on a vision, guiding principles and specific project objectives. Once the projects were set up for success, our role shifted to compliance. Over the years, we have become trusted advisors to the College on a range of real estate and strategic initiatives, including the College’s 5-Year Campus Development Plan and sustainability strategies relating to energy, water and transportation.
Zibi is a pedestrian-oriented, mixed-use development situated on two islands in Ottawa and riverfront property in Gatineau, Quebec. Through residential, commercial and communal developments, this neglected brownfield industrial site, once the heart of Ottawa’s bustling industrial sector, is being reclaimed, transformed and reanimated into a vibrant new community. Urban Equation facilitated stakeholder engagement, including with First Nations groups and various governments, to gain alignment on sustainability and development principles.
We are leaders of transformative change. We know how to bring innovation to market. We demystify sustainability and offer streamlined solutions that keep pace with the rapid evolution of sustainable development.
We strive to create replicable models – of plans, communities, buildings and investments – that support the social, economic, environmental, cultural and educational health of the regions where we live, learn and work.
Through our commitment to outstanding performance, we consistently deliver on the Triple Bottom Line – People, Planet and Prosperity.
People
We believe in vibrant, healthy communities. Equitable communities. Complete communities where people can live, work, play and thrive.Planet
We believe in protecting the planet for future generations. We advocate for a low carbon society where we live within the means of our planet.Prosperity
The narrative around the economics of sustainability needs to change. We are leading that discussion by looking at the real cost of city building and total community benefit.Performance
We believe the best way to serve our clients is through disciplined performance. We bring rigour, energy and consistency to everything we do. Our people and processes are there not just to guide and manage your projects but to inspire you to greater creativity and innovation.Urban Equation combines decades of practical experience, diverse backgrounds and passion in real estate development, sustainability and community planning to help our clients drive value for their projects, investments or initiatives.
- Success Planning
- Masterplan Support
- Due Diligence/Feasibility Analysis
- Benchmarking/Cost Studies
- Market Sounding
- Project Recovery Services
- Development Advice and Management
- Community Energy + Microgrid Feasibility
- Regulatory + Utility Insight
- Alternative Fuel Readiness Analysis
- Innovative financing solutions
- Sustainability Plans
- Healthy + Productive Buildings
- Net Zero Energy + Zero Carbon Strategy
- Life Cycle Analysis + Triple Bottom Line Reporting
- Carbon Reduction Plans
- Certification systems at building and community scale (such as One Planet Living. Ecodistricts, LEED, WELL, TGS , BOMA)
- Sustainability, CSR and GHG Reports
- Alternative Financing Strategy
- Real Estate Development Standards
- Building + Community Sustainability Programs
- Community Energy Planning
- Low Carbon Economy Planning
- Green Loan Programs
- Green Lease Programs
- Sustainable Campus Plans
- Benchmarking
- Existing Building Renewal
- Green Leasing Strategy
- Existing Building Optimization
- Renewable Opportunity Analysis
- LEED EB + BOMA + WELL
- Partnership Opportunities
- Healthy Workplaces
- Adding Social Value and Vibrancy to Spaces
- Resiliency Planning
“What is clear to me is the collective passion and commitment that the Urban Equation team has for [the Baker District] development. That passion was clearly (and authentically) demonstrated to the community in the first public engagement event. The level of professionalism and organization on display created a deep trust in Urban Equation’s ability to manage public engagement events. It is a privilege to work with (and learn from) such a talented group; a group that will help to make the vision for Baker District a reality.”
Martin Jewitt, Program Manager, Portfolio Development, Business Development and Enterprise
City of Guelph
Deeply rooted in transforming traditional development to deliver environmental sustainability.
Urban Equation knows how to bring innovation in sustainable development to market.
We were founded 15 years ago by Windmill Development to execute a big vision. Windmill transforms conventional development practices with a built-in approach that creates opportunity for profit, people and the planet. Urban Equation is a vehicle to share this knowledge and experience.
Urban Equation provides a needed body of expertise to the industry. Our first project, Dockside Green in British Columbia, set an international benchmark and proved that community building did not have to come at the expense of the environment or economics.
Sustainable development is an evolving sector and we are leading the transition. We develop sustainability frameworks that allow developers to work more efficiently with city planners for approvals. We stay on top of changes to building codes, standards and certifications so you don’t have to. We support governments to achieve the long-term change they envision for their communities. And we operate in the spirit of openness and collaboration to achieve exponential impact.
Urban Equation’s unique understanding of the complexities of development and complexities of designing sustainable communities provides clients with a level of knowledge unparalleled in the marketplace. There is simply no other consultant like us.