News
THE NAVY YARD'S ENERGY BOOST
May 17, 2012
| Thanks to a US Department of Energy grant, Building 661 at the Navy Yard in South Philly is about to undergo a $30M full-spectrum retrofit to become the new HQ of the EEE Hub. (In civilian-speak, that's an Energy Innovation Hub for Energy-Efficient Buildings.) Formerly known as the Greater Philadelphia Innovation Cluster, it's one of only three such hubs in the nation. |
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| A team of Balfour Beatty companies has been awarded the integrated construction management contract. With KieranTimberlake and PIDC holding the reins, construction is expected to begin this December on the retrofit, transforming the Navy Yard's long-vacant gymnasium and rec center into the 32k SF HQ. (And maybe they can finally get rid of all those muscular, exercise-crazy ghosts.) As a regional economic development driver, the EEE Hub has a critical mission that should interest any owner or developer in the local market's CRE space: Through market-proven technologies and old-fashioned word-of-mouth, it aims to reduce energy use in the nation's commercial buildings sector by 20% within the next eight years. |
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| Building 661, we're told, will act as a so-called "living laboratory," where some of the Hub's employees will be housed. There, the tools and methods that move the construction industry toward energy independence will be forged. According to Balfour Beatty's Amanda Goolsby, the HQ building will act as a best practices showroom for owners. (You can do some window shopping for something green, it'sall the rage.) "It'll serve as a place for them to see how different mechanical systems and applications might look and interact with one another," she says. It's scheduled for a Dec. '13 delivery. |
