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Expanding for Multifamily Growth

The MET Condos and ICT

 

The MET is a multi-purpose community 30 minutes from downtown Toronto, in Vaughan, Ontario. Anchored by a 35-floor quadrangle-designed tower with over 500 suites, it’s surrounded by 62 town homes, and includes amenities such as a sports bar, private dining rooms, a gym, hot tub, and sauna. With easy connections to downtown via the subway, it’s one of the first high-density neighbourhoods to emerge around the burgeoning Vaughan Metropolitan Center area which also boasts the nearby Kortright Center for Conservation.

Project Highlights

  • Future proofed with mobile credentials (and multi-technology readers)
  • Integration with video surveillance
  • Simple solution for complex parking requirements
  • Protege GX floorplan to assist concierge
  • ICT Entry Stations for visitor access via video intercom
Location

Toronto, Canada

Location

Man looking out open window

Multifamily Residential

Industry

Citywide Group logo

Citywide Automation

Integrator

Buildings

35

Floor Building

Apartments & Town Homes

560+

Apartments & Town Homes

Cardholders

1400

Card Holders

Citywide was able to demonstrate to the developer the countless value-adds that ICT brings as standard, over all other systems.

- Adam Perrin, CTO – Automation at The Citywide Group

Wooden door with lock, access control reader, and wheelchair button

Citywide was able to demonstrate to the developer the countless value-adds that ICT brings as standard, over all other systems.

Adam Perrin, CTO – Automation, The Citywide Group

The Story

The challenge was to select a security system for The MET that had the future in mind, in addition to supplying a robust solution for today. For Adam Perrin, CTO – Automation at Toronto based integration partners The Citywide Group, that’s why any decision had to be about more than just access control systems or commercial alarms and monitoring.

“ICT isn’t strictly about providing cutting edge access control, it’s also about the relationship. We can always rely on the ICT team to help with design, implementation and troubleshooting, even in complex and custom projects like The MET.”

Future Proofed, Multi-Tech, and Mobile

The developer recognized the importance of making decisions with the future in mind. As development takes place all around the MET, traffic and security concerns will inevitably increase. This gave Citywide an opportunity to present an ICT solution that was a win for all parties.

With Protege GX, the developers have a platform that can evolve with the needs of the building. It delivers instant security and a rich set of features, without limiting the future potential of the platform.

The MET is also seeing the advantages of mobile credentials. With smartphones playing such a major part of our lives, the convenience and connectivity of using the Protege Mobile App and Bluetooth enabled keys brings benefits to all involved.

“The convenience and simplicity of having your security credential on your phone is a feature that more and more end users are requesting,” says Perrin. It’s not just residents that love mobile credentials. “Using multi-technology tSec readers with both mobile keys and fobs ensures that key duplication, and granting or revoking access during turnover is optimized.” Property Managers can instantly issue new mobile keys to new tenants on, or ahead of arrival, then remove credentials on departure without having to physically exchange keys.

Simplicity in Action

Despite the complex array of Protege GX features in use, the simple interface has proved invaluable for users at The MET. The 72 doors have been simplified onto one easy-to-use status page using floorplan modelling. “Concierge staff love this as it helps lay out a map to aid with orientation. Many features have also been incorporated into the dashboard, such as integrating CCTV images into it or releasing certain doors directly from the floorplan,” Perrin says.

And with ICT Entry Stations acting as digital doormen at entrances, it’s also simple for visitors to The MET to contact their hosts using the Protege Mobile App, or for the concierge to facilitate deliveries to the complex.

Hassle-Free Wireless Parking

A frequent problem with parking access is when multiple garage doors exist in a confined area. This can make it difficult for the system to discern which door a user is attempting to open. Citywide solved this for The MET’s four parking doors by teaming 4-button remote fobs with four ICT wireless receivers to simplify the equipment needed to distinguish the doors. This system guarantees that parking access is restricted to only those residents that have been verified, and that only the correct door is opened.

Find out more about ICT

If you’d like to know more about how these features could benefit your business, or would like information on ICT's unified solution, contact us today and we will put you in touch with an ICT professional in your area.

The Outcome

“We have the long-held philosophy that our suppliers must provide high-quality goods and services at competitive prices that add value to our business and meet the expectations of our customers. Every aspect of these market requirements and expectations is met by ICT,” says Perrin.

By solving many of the problems commonly associated with high-rise apartment and town home living, Citywide has provided an access control solution that provides security, ease-of-use and looks to the future with modern technology such as mobile credentials and a scalable system.

As the Vaughan area surrounding The MET continues to grow alongside the metropolis of Toronto, residents, property managers, and developers can all be assured that with Protege GX, they have a robust platform that can adapt and scale with them.

ICT isn’t strictly about providing cutting edge access control, it’s also about the relationship. We can always rely on the ICT team to help with design, implementation and troubleshooting, even in complex and custom projects like The MET.

- Adam Perrin, CTO - Automation at The Citywide Group

ICT isn’t strictly about providing cutting edge access control, it’s also about the relationship. We can always rely on the ICT team to help with design, implementation and troubleshooting, even in complex and custom projects like The MET.

Adam Perrin, CTO - Automation at The Citywide Group

ONTARIO, CANADA

The Citywide Group

The Citywide Group have been a leading provider of multi-dwelling unit, commercial and institutional building solutions in Canada for over 50 years. They focus on improving every facet of how a building operates by developing systems that are innovative, efficient, sustainable, and marketable.

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