Neighbor News
The Fortune Society Awarded in Buildings of Excellence Competition
-Competition Highlights Model Projects to Bring Low-to Zero Carbon Multifamily Buildings to Scale in New York State-
(March 28, 2023—NEW YORK, N.Y.) - The Fortune Society’s Castle III affordable housing residence in East Harlem was selected as a winner in the third round of the New York State Buildings of Excellence Competition for the construction of a low-carbon emitting multifamily building. The award includes a $1 million prize to make the residence more energy efficient.
This competition, administered by the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA), supports Governor Kathy Hochul’s nation-leading climate goals outlined in the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (Climate Act), which places New York State on a path to economy-wide carbon neutrality and mandates an 85 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.
Castle III was selected for its low carbon performance, ability to be adopted broadly, and for creating a healthy and safe living environment.
“We want to ensure our residents live in the safest and most efficient residence possible. The Fortune Society is always looking for ways to improve the quality of life for our residents, and this project is just another step forward in that effort,” said JoAnne Page, President and CEO of The Fortune Society.
Find out what's happening in Tribeca-FiDifor free with the latest updates from Patch.
Castle III features will include a variable refrigerant flow (VRF) system, high-performance building enclosure, heat-pump water heater, and an 81 kilowatt rooftop solar array. This all-electric building with on-site renewable energy will rely less on the grid and foster long-term operational stability.
Bright Power and Curtis + Ginsberg Architects will partner with The Fortune Society to provide energy-efficient consulting throughout design and construction to reduce the carbon impact.
Find out what's happening in Tribeca-FiDifor free with the latest updates from Patch.
NYSERDA President and CEO Doreen M. Harris said, “The Castle III project will demonstrate that new construction can be designed and built with energy efficiency and electrification as standard practice while being affordable to residents. NYSERDA is pleased to support The Fortune Society with a Buildings of Excellence Round Three award and looks forward to the data that the team shares to help inform low- to zero-carbon building projects in the future.”
This residence will also provide comprehensive data on design, construction, and cost that can be analyzed and shared to increase the number of low- to zero-carbon buildings in New York State. For a complete list of the winning projects statewide, please visit NYSERDA’s Buildings of Excellence website at https://www.nyserda.ny.gov/all-programs/programs/multifamily-buildings-of-excellence.
ABOUT THE BUILDING OF EXCELLENCE OF COMPETITION: The Buildings of Excellence Competition, launched in March 2019, is a $48 million initiative that has awarded 63 projects to date - 56 exemplary new construction demonstration projects and seven early stage design projects. It is the only competition of its kind, with the awarded projects becoming part of a comprehensive data collection effort that will help determine how to cost-effectively deliver superior performing buildings that will serve as an essential building block of a carbon-neutral future and advance the design and construction of multi-family buildings. For a complete list of the winning projects statewide, please visit NYSERDA’s Buildings of Excellence website at: www.nyserda.ny.gov/boe
ABOUT THE FORTUNE SOCIETY: Founded in 1967, The Fortune Society has advocated on criminal justice issues for over five decades and is nationally recognized for developing model programs that help people with criminal justice histories to be assets to their communities. Fortune offers a holistic and integrated “one-stop-shopping” model of service provision. Among the services offered are discharge planning, licensed outpatient substance abuse and mental health treatment, alternatives to incarceration, HIV/AIDS services, career development and job retention, education, family services, drop in services and supportive housing as well as lifetime access to aftercare. For more information, visit www.fortunesociety.org.
###