Fully occupied mixed-income property pursues facade retrofit
The Heritage, preserved by L+M, showcases a multifamily retrofit project that eliminates fossil fuel usage, improves resident comfort, and minimizes occupant disruption through the use of innovative retrofit methods, materials, and technology. The 34-story, three-building complex , which was built in 1974 next to Central Park in New York City, contains 600 housing units, of which 402 are affordable, with 134 set aside for the formerly unhoused.
The Heritage is an affordable housing development with poor insulation and high utility costs due to outdated heating and water heating systems. This project dramatically cuts heating and cooling needs thanks to major building envelope improvements. Packaged terminal heat pumps for heating and cooling will reduce energy use and costs from the current electric resistance heating system. The retrofit project also pilot-tests state of the art heat pump water heaters and electric laundry dryers.
L+M is a pioneer in mixed-income, market-rate, and mixed-use developments that revive and transform neighborhoods. The company has acquired, built, or preserved nearly 46,000 residential units and more than 1.2 million square feet of retail and community facility space, representing approximately $16.5 billion in development and investment.
![Towers of the Heritage property](https://retrofitplaybook.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Tower-EIFS-7-scaled.jpg)
Project Status
Planning
Under Construction
Monitoring & Evaluation
Project Highlights
Step 1
Step 1: Examine Current Conditions
A baseline assessment is key to understanding current systems and performance, then identifying conditions, requirements or events that will trigger a decarbonization effort. The assessment looks across technical systems, asset strategy and sectoral factors.
Building System Conditions
- Equipment nearing end-of-life
- Comfort improvements
- Indoor air quality improvefments
- Facade maintenance
- Efficiency improvements
Asset Conditions
- Repositioning
- Recapitalization
- Capital event cycles
- Carbon emissions limits
- Owner sustainability goals
Market Conditions
- Technology improves
Step 2
Step 2: Design Resource Efficient Solutions
Effective engineering integrates measures for reducing energy load, recovering wasted heat, and moving towards partial or full electrification. This increases operational efficiencies, optimizes energy peaks, and avoids oversized heating systems, thus alleviating space constraints and minimizing the cost of retrofits to decarbonize the building over time.
Existing Conditions
This diagram illustrates the building prior to the initiation of Strategic Decarbonization planning by the owners and their teams.
Click through the measures under “Building After” to understand the components of the building’s energy transition.
Sequence of Measures
2022
2023
2024
Building System Affected
- heating
- cooling
- ventilation
![The Heritage Before Illustration](https://retrofitplaybook.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/EBC_step2_theheritage_before.webp)
![The Heritage After Illustration](https://retrofitplaybook.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/EBC_step2_theheritage_after_0.webp)
![Install VRF Heat Pump Unit for Lobby and Common Area](https://retrofitplaybook.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/EBC_step2_theheritage_after_1.webp)
![EIFS overclad from Sto Corporation](https://retrofitplaybook.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/EBC_step2_theheritage_after_2.webp)
![The Heritage After Illustration](https://retrofitplaybook.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/EBC_step2_theheritage_after_0.webp)
![Unitized prefabricated exterior wall (Dextall), windows, roof](https://retrofitplaybook.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/EBC_step2_theheritage_after_4.webp)
![Decentralized IceAir PTHP (no backup resistance heat), integrated with Dextall wall panels (electrical upgrades + condensate drainage)](https://retrofitplaybook.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/EBC_step2_theheritage_after_5.webp)
![Adding ERV to rooftop fresh air unit](https://retrofitplaybook.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/EBC_step2_theheritage_after_6.webp)
![CO2 ASHP for DHW](https://retrofitplaybook.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/EBC_step2_theheritage_after_7.webp)
![The Heritage After Illustration](https://retrofitplaybook.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/EBC_step2_theheritage_after_0.webp)
![The Heritage After Illustration](https://retrofitplaybook.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/EBC_step2_theheritage_after_0.webp)
Step 3
Step 3: Build the Business Case
Making a business case for strategic decarbonization requires thinking beyond a traditional energy audit approach or simple payback analysis. It assesses business-as-usual costs and risks against the costs and added value of phased decarbonization investments in the long-term.
Strategic Decarbonization Action Plan
An emissions decarbonization roadmap helps building owners visualize their future emissions reductions by outlining the CO2 reductions from selected energy conservation measures. This roadmap is designed with a phased approach, considering a 20- or 30-year timeline, and incorporates the evolving benefits of grid decarbonization, ensuring a comprehensive view of long-term environmental impact.
![Strategic decarbonization roadmap for The Heritage](https://retrofitplaybook.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/EBC_SDroadmap_TheHeritage.png)