350-352-354 West 12th St. completes decarbonization project with VRF Solutions

New York, NY A five-story co-op at 350-352-354 West 12^th St. in the West Village has completely eliminated the carbon footprint of its three contiguous landmark buildings. Led by VRF Solutions LLC, a design-build mechanical contractor, the project entailed the installation of air source heating, air-conditioning, and hot water systems. 

The new mechanical systems will effectively decarbonize the buildings, bringing them into compliance with the Climate Mobilization Act (CMA), passed in 2019. Also known as Local Law 97, it mandates the decarbonization and electrification of New York City’s fossil fuel-based building infrastructure. Starting in 2024, the city will be imposing penalties based on a building’s carbon footprint.

“These are 158-year-old, landmark buildings featuring time-honored architectural details that are lovely to look at, but not energy efficient by today’s standards,” said VRF president Tom Esposito. “With the retrofit of the heating, air-conditioning, and domestic hot water infrastructure, the buildings are not only more comfortable, but they are also able to meet critical environmental standards and help the co-op avoid significant carbon penalties from the city.”

The benefits of the work include:

• Individual temperature control for improved occupant comfort

• Improved indoor air quality (IAQ) 

• Decarbonization

• Reduced operation and maintenance costs

• Increased property values

The 42-unit co-op was able to complete the work in less than a year because VRF Solutions provided a comprehensive design-build program that handled all of the project’s engineering, permit expediting, procurement, contracting, and commissioning work. 

Joe Novella, chief building scientist, said, “In the time it would have taken other co-ops to conduct a preliminary study and explore how to approach a project like this, VRF delivered the finished project. Because we do all the work in-house, our ability to value-engineer and execute on our client’s decarbonization and electrification projects takes half the time and is less expensive than the conventional approach.”