The Albanese Organization, working in partnership with Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company, began construction on a second “green” building in Battery Park City in September 2004. This is the same team that first brought environmentally friendly urban living to the neighborhood in 2003 with construction of the Solaire, the nation’s first environmentally engineered residential tower. Cesar Pelli and Associates, designers of the Solaire, again served as design architect. The development team also includes the firm Schuman Lichtenstein Claman & Efron as building architect, Flack & Kurtz as mechanical and electrical engineer, and DeSimone Consulting Engineers as structural engineer. Turner Construction Company was general contractor.
As a qualification for tax-exempt financing to fund construction, Albanese committed to making at least five percent of the units in each building affordable for people of moderate income. The developer received more than $98 million in Liberty Bonds to construct the new building, which opened for occupancy in spring of 2006. The total project cost $105 million.
The 24-story, 299,000-square-foot building, located adjacent to TeardropParkand just east of the Solaire, houses 253 residential units ranging from studios to three-bedroom apartments. Chief among its many environmental features ia an HVAC system that conditions fresh air introduced into each apartment, exceeding New York Cityenergy efficiency standards by almost 40 percent. Overall, the building lowers peak electric demand by 65 percent.
Like the Solaire, the new building features air filtration systems that optimize indoor air quality for the benefit of residents and staff with allergies or respiratory problems. The integrity of the internal environment is also protected through the use of finishing materials containing no or low-volatile organic compounds. High-recycled content is a prerequisite both for construction and finishing materials used throughout the building.
The building is linked to the Solaire’s existing black-water treatment plant, which recycles water from bathrooms and kitchens to re-supply toilets and provide water for the HVAC system cooling tower. The building also harvests rainwater and stores 10,000 gallons of recycled water for irrigation of the “green” rooftop garden, which itself provides an important layer of insulation for the building.
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