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Because We Want to Build a Better World Our Story

Illustration: Wenting Li

In the beginning
Disrupting the old order

Windmill Developments was founded in 2003 by Jonathan Westeinde and a group of like-minded thinkers and practitioners.

Like a tech start-up, Windmill set out to disrupt the old order. Jonathan and his colleagues believed real estate development was ripe for innovation, that it offered the ideal opportunity to make a big impact in the fight against climate change.

The first Windmill project, Victoria’s ground-breaking Dockside Green, laid the foundation to transform the way we build.

We continue to believe in the power – indeed, in the responsibility – of the development industry to embrace the change that is needed. Now.

Our record
Multiple sustainability firsts

Windmill and its sister company, Urban Equation, were the first in Canada to:

  • Deliver LEED Platinum Communities and mixed use buildings
  • Initiate a First Nations Friendship Agreement for urban development
  • Develop community-based zero carbon district energy networks
  • Establish green loans and other creative financial structures to deliver positive life cycle outcomes
  • Seek One Planet Living endorsements for Canadian mixed-use developments
  • Launch a real estate impact fund focused specifically on giving responsible capital a voice to deliver a portfolio of One Planet Living communities

While we’re proud of our past, we’re never content to rest on our record. We’re always learning and moving forward. Always using our experience to spot the next opportunity to create value.

Continuing to evolve our thinking
One Planet Living 

We’re not simply aiming to do better. We’re aiming for One Planet Living.

This means creating regenerative communities where humans and nature thrive in a mutually beneficial relationship.

We do this by applying the 10 One Planet Living principles, both within our company and outside, to:

  • Develop financially successful real estate projects that help people learn to live happy, healthy lives within the resources of the planet.
  • Advise others how to do this on their development projects through our advisory arm, Urban Equation.
  • Partner and share risk so other developers can join us in transforming the development industry.
  • Give responsible capital a voice through the One Planet Living Real Estate Fund.
  • Openly share our experience so anyone, anywhere, can learn from our journey and be inspired to join us in our mission to embrace One Planet Living as the way of the future.

The future of change
It takes community 

We understand that we can’t create change on our own.

We’ve long recognized that we get the best results when we act as connectors and co-creators, generously engaging in cross-sector, collaborative partnerships.

In fact, some of our greatest successes have come from seeding change within our industry and helping our partners accelerate their own journey towards net positive community impact.