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The county is set to officially unveil what its chief building officer Mike Giles is calling the most eco-friendly commercial building in Dufferins history.

Without question, Giles said of the new seniors apartment building located at 40 Lawrence Ave. I believe it is. I dont know of any that would be any more (eco-friendly).

The county will host the official opening ceremony for the Lawrence Avenue Apartments on Thursday (Sept. 9), inside the second floor common room at 11 a.m., followed by refreshments and a tour of the facility.

During that tour of the three-floor, 30-unit apartment building, visitors will be given the chance to see how some of its environmentally friendly features work first-hand.

Equipped with geothermal heating, every unit has its own independent furnace, so that when windows or a patio door are opened, each units heating or cooling system automatically shuts off.

That is relatively new in most places actually. We dont want to be heating cold air from outside, Giles said. It saves a lot of energy.

Fitted with solar power on the roof, Giles said the panels are expected to conserve 30 to 35 per cent of hot water heating costs, while its insulated concrete floor has pretty much double the insulation of a normal building. In addition, the heating ventilating recovery system will refresh air inside the building three times an hour, Giles added.

Last but not least, the apartment building features a tri-sorter for garbage, recyclables and compost, one of the first of its kind in Dufferin County, Giles added.

You push a button whether it is garbage, recycling or compost, he said. I dont know of a building that has a chute for compost.

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Eco-friendly Lawrence Avenue seniors building to officially open