geothermal system

Lambertville, New Jersey-based Hone + Associates Architects recently saw its LEED Gold-hopeful Oldwick Animal Hospital open in Tewksbury Township, New Jersey. Hone is no stranger to green design; it designed the Willow School in Gladstone, which was the first LEED-certified private school in the country and only the second LEED building in the state of New Jersey. The 4200-square-foot, 2-story Oldwick Animal Hospital would be the first small veterinary hospital in the country to earn LEED certification from USGBC. Veterinarians Janisse Cailles and her husband, Glenn Likus, will be resident at the hospital and retained a veterinarian architect to create the building’s floor plan, before turning to Hone specifically for its green design expertise. After considering a solar system which Ms. Cailles says the township "wasn’t wild about," the couple installed a closed loop geothermal heating and cooling system, "even though it cost more to install." Other green features include LEED-standard low-VOC paints and sealants, FSC-certified wood products, a graywater system, and locally sourced materials.

We noted recently that Community Housing Innovations ("CHI") has broken ground on the $4.5 million, affordable, green Minerva Place Condominiums in White Plains, but wanted to formally present you with a few more details about the project. Minerva Place is one of the first low-rise new developments in Westchester County to satisfy the New York Energy $mart Multifamily Performance Program guidelines. The project includes a 350-foot-deep geothermal heating and cooling system, as well as efficient insulation and construction techniques that CHI anticipates will save residents up to 30 percent on energy costs. Minerva's energy-efficient features are being subsidized by a $55,000 grant from NYSERDA. The project was designed by Warshauer Mellusi Warshauer Architects and includes 11 two-bedroom (priced at $265,000) and 3 one-bedroom units ($225,000), each with hardwood floors and granite kitchen countertops.

Designed by Barry Rice Architects, Greystone Property Development’s 180 East 93rd Street broke ground last week and joins a growing crop of green condo projects on the Upper East Side (including the Laurel, Lucida, and Observatory Place). The condominiums will feature a number of green design features, including a geothermal heating and cooling system. The nine-unit development will rise on the south side of East 93rd Street between Lexington and Third Avenues, though it’s unclear whether the team will seek any sort of third-party certification for its efforts.