ALBANY, N.Y. – New York University (NYU) is moving forward with plans to advance sustainable construction and renovation projects throughout its university system.

Gerrard P. Bushell, Ph.D., president & CEO of the Dormitory Authority of the State of New York (DASNY), recently announced that NYU issued $862.8 million in bonds through DASNY. The financing will be used in conjunction with previous financings to advance construction and renovation projects throughout the university system. The $862.8 million issued by DASNY on behalf of NYU was offered as $603.5 million in tax-exempt bonds and $259.3 million in taxable bonds.

The issuance includes more than $83 million in Green Bonds providing investors with the opportunity to directly support projects that NYU has identified as environmentally sustainable. Green Bond proceeds will go toward sustainable construction projects and equipment at NYU’s 181 Mercer Street, 370 Jay Street, and the Langone Health Science Building.

“We are excited to have the opportunity continue our long-standing partnership with New York University,” said Bushell. “In working to reduce the university system’s carbon footprint, we are creating more sustainable communities and helping support Gov. Cuomo’s vision for a cleaner, greener New York.”

The proceeds of the issuance will be used to pay for the construction and equipping of a mixed-use building at 181 Mercer Street, which will include dozens of new classrooms, spaces for performing arts education, training, and rehearsals, student and faculty housing, and a replacement sports and recreation facility. The construction will incorporate a variety of sustainable design features such as:

• Connecting to the university’s high-efficiency, green-house gas and pollutant-lowering Co-Generation (CoGen) facility, which produces electricity, heat, and chilled water
• Low-flow plumbing
• Green roofs and outdoor terraces with low irrigation plants to help naturally cool the building, with a retention tank to manage rainwater runoff.

Other Green Bond-funded university system upgrades include:

• Converting the facility at 370 Jay Street into an innovation hub for engineering, applied and urban sciences, and digital technology and media arts. Restoring the existing façade of the building using high-performance, energy efficient windows, and preserving the neighborhood’s aesthetic character, while significantly reducing the building’s energy footprint
• Construction and equipping of the Langone Health Science Building, incorporating various green design strategies such as external glass louvers on the south façade to mitigate direct sun and glare, a light-colored roof and paving stones along with vegetated terraces to also reduce energy load and mitigate urban heat island effect, and high efficiency lab equipment.

NYU embraces sustainable building practices, with the vast majority of the 2019 transaction (tax-exempt and the taxable) slated to support green construction and renovation projects. Last year, NYU made a commitment that all new building construction earn LEED Silver designation at a minimum.

“NYU plans to be carbon neutral by 2040,” said Cecil Scheib, assistant vice president for Sustainability. “With DASNY’s support to make sustainable capital projects cost effective here in New York State, NYU can make the most of each construction opportunity.”

The remainder of the Series 2019 bonds financed other projects, including:

• Upgrades to the university’s CoGen plant to improve energy-efficiency and accommodate increased electricity, heating, and cooling needs related to expansion, the Co-Gen plant substantially reduced NYU’s carbon footprint when it first came on line in 2011
• Upgrades to infrastructure and renovations at 404 Lafayette Street and 708 Broadway
• Improvements to academic facilities in Brooklyn for the Tandon School of Engineering
• Renovations and equipping of space for use by the university’s Chemical Biology Department at the Silver Complex.

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Yes, yes and yes thanks to an ambitious effort to further sustainability efforts in New York City and it’s NYC Zero Waste Challenge, an initiative from the NYC Mayor’s Office that encourages waste-generating businesses to strive to reach zero waste to landfill and incineration. The New School, a progressive university with its main campus in New York City, has constructed a 16-story LEED Gold–certified University Center (UC). To date, the center is the only college or university to participate in the the NYC Zero Waste Challenge.

The center first opened in January 2014 and was then one of the most green-friendly academic institutions in the nation. Two years later, the NYC Mayor’s Office invited The New School to participate in its Zero Waste Challenge.

“Achieving the city’s ambitious climate change agenda will require meeting our zero waste goals. The Zero Waste Challenge has proven to be a successful way to highlight effective actions to reduce waste, diverting over 36,000 tons of waste. This should inspire every New Yorker to do their part and commit to sending zero waste to landfill,” said Daniel Zarrilli, senior director for Climate Policy and Programs and Chief Resilience Officer for the Office of the Mayor, in a statement issued when the challenge was first issued.

As part of the challenge, The New School contributed data and other valuable feedback to the city, documenting its experience as a multibuilding campus and the vicissitudes of its various waste streams, according to a post on The University Network blog.

The university has also retrofitted signs on campus disposal receptacles that better identify where recyclables, compostables and materials intended for the landfill should be tossed. Additionally, the university launched a program dubbed “Good As New,” which is a “a reuse and waste reduction initiative that encourages all New School students to donate reusable school supplies and materials at the end of each semester so that these items stay out of landfills and can be used by other students in the future,” according to the school’s website.

In all, the UC enjoys about 360,000 square feet of floor space, which includes classrooms, a cafeteria and a cafe in addition to a 600-student residence hall and a 800-seat auditorium. It boasts smart lighting and climate systems throughout, a cogeneration plant and is topped by a green roof. The university’s investments are also green, as it entirely divested from fossil fuels, which required shedding all related investments, stocks and bonds.

The New School will also deepen its green-themed efforts this-coming May 2018 when the Tishman Environment and Design Center at The New School will partner with the Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives in hosting the Design, Justice, and Zero Waste Conference and Research Collaborative. The goal of the partnership is to address the impact of production, consumption and waste on environmental justice communities, workers and vulnerable populations.

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Following this trend is the Princeton Review, which produces an annual guide to the most environmentally responsible or “green” colleges. Now, in its eighth incarnation, the New York-based Princeton Review (which is not affiliated with Princeton University) presents its Guide to 375 Green Colleges, 2017, which profiles “colleges with the most exceptional commitments to sustainability based on their academic offerings and career preparation for students, campus policies, initiatives and activities,” according to a statement.

The Guide to 375 Green Colleges presents an array of data, including renewable energy, recycling and conservation programs to the availability of environmental studies and career guidance for green-sector future employment prospects.

The 2017 edition includes a ranking list of the Top 50 Green Colleges on which College of the Atlantic (Bar Harbor, Maine) captured (drumroll, please…) the No. 1 spot.

The top 15 schools on The Princeton Review’s Top 50 Green Colleges list are:

1. College of the Atlantic (ME)
2. State University of New York—College of Environmental Science and Forestry
3. Colby College (ME)
4. University of Vermont
5. Dickinson College (PA)
6. St. Mary’s College of Maryland
7. Cornell University (NY)
8. Colorado State University
9. Stanford University (CA)
10. University of California, Davis)
11. Saint Michael’s College (VT)
12. Santa Clara University (CA)
13. University of California, Santa Cruz
14. Lewis & Clark College (OR)
15. Green Mountain College (VT)

The Princeton Review selected the colleges based on its own Green Rating scores, which were tallied during summer 2017 from 629 colleges using data from its 2016-17 survey of school administrators. Questions on the survey asked them to report on their school’s sustainability-related practices and academic programs. Of note are the facts that, of these schools, 24 percent of their total food expenditures go to purchases of local and/or organic food; 68 percent of new construction on their campuses is USGBC  LEED certified; 100 percent provide undergraduate majors or degrees that are sustainability focused; and 98 percent have a sustainability officer and sustainability committee on campus. 

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Disney, Igoe and Schulz residence halls will each receive new windows to replace the aging, single-pane, steel-framed windows currently in place. More than 350 windows will be replaced with high-performance windows as part of ongoing window replacement projects that began in 2013 and will be completed in 2017. Wausau Window and Wall Systems will supply the new windows; new entrances from Tubelite Inc. and architectural finishes by Linetec will also be installed. All three companies are part of Minneapolis-based Apogee Enterprises Inc.’s building retrofit strategy team.

The high-performance window and entrance systems are intended to help optimize natural daylight and thermal comfort, according to a statement by Kevin Robbins, an account executive for Apogee’s building retrofit strategy team. “These attributes are proven to support better learning environments, promote happier and healthier residents, and lower operating costs for building owners,” Robbins added.

“In many aging buildings, existing windows can be leaky, single-glazed sash with conductive framing systems,” Robbins continued. “They can be difficult, or even dangerous, to operate, promote unhealthy condensation, mold or mildew formation, and force occupants to keep their distance from exterior walls due to glare, drafts and noise.”

TGR Enterprises Inc., a West Seneca, N.Y.-based glazing contractor, installed 190 of Wausau’s project-out, project-in and fixed units on Disney Hall. These projected windows allow for natural ventilation, which offers a seasonal opportunity for air-conditioning energy savings when included as part of a facility’s HVAC design. They also meet stringent industry testing for air, water and structural performance, which improve Disney Hall’s energy performance by 24.5 percent over the ASHRAE standard for residential buildings.

The updates to Disney Hall, which was built in 1967, were part of the $6 million Kirkland Complex window replacement project. Today, the three-floor building is a co-ed residence that primarily houses junior and senior students. It features three-bedroom kitchen suites with shared dining and living areas.

Opened in 1970, Igoe and Schulz halls also are primarily used as residences for upperclassmen. They make up two of the four buildings within the Andrews Complex, and both feature shared common areas and private four-bedroom suites. Window Specialists Inc., a Lancaster, N.Y.-based glazing contractor installed 120 INvent Retro-XLT 2250i Series windows plus 70 Wausau 3250-Z Series project-out zero sightline windows on Igoe Hall as part of the $6.1 million Andrews Complex window replacement project.

In addition, a combination of Tubelite’s T14000 I/O Series thermal storefront and 17 Wide Stile entrance doors were installed within the Andrews Complex. Linetec provided the aluminum-framed window, storefront and entrance systems with a durable anodize finish to maintain the intended appearance and performance of both halls far into the future.
 

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