One of the largest geothermal systems in the area is being installed at the old Hickey Freeman plant in northeast Rochester.
The building is being renovated to add 134 apartments, providing affordable housing for seniors. Heating and cooling those units will rely on 92 wells, which recently were dug on the property and will harness the consistent temperatures found underground.
“And that allows us to benefit from having lower-cost heating and cooling for basically ever,” said Bret Garwood, CEO of project developer Home Leasing.
Tailor Square, as the building will be called, is the company’s first geothermal project. But others could soon be in the pipeline, Garwood said, as Home Leasing looks to build more affordable and energy efficient housing in the area.
The legacy clothing manufacturing operation remains, albeit in a smaller space, and continues to rely on a boiler system that can provide the steam needed for production. Renovation of the manufacturing space is complete. The apartments should be ready for move-ins by this time next year.
The geothermal system added $1.9 million in expense to the $85 million project, Garwood said. But the expense is being offset by grants and tax credits from Rochester Gas & Electric and New York state, officials said.
RG&E touts it as one of the largest projects in its Clean Heat Program, which is providing it with more than $400,000 in incentives. Garwood sees Tailor Square as a potential model for reuse of old buildings for affordable housing that is also energy efficient.
“This site provides a pretty interesting opportunity,” Garwood said of the six acres on North Clinton Avenue, “because most urban sites don't have the amount of land that this property has. So it gave us a real opportunity to do a substantial system.”
For comparison, a new geothermal system on a vacant lot downtown numbers 27 wells at present. But developer Patrick Dutton, who is involved in several projects in that area, said it could grow to more than 100 as additional residential conversions of nearby buildings are planned.
The benefits are many.
“It helps us keep our rents low,” Garwood said. "It helps us borrow more money, so we can build the building. It also protects us from higher electric costs or ... (natural) gas costs in the future. “
And it clears away the clutter of all those air conditioning units.
“So we can basically cover the whole roof (of Tailor Square) with solar,” Garwood said. “And that solar will produce enough electric to power about a third of our residential need on that site, as well. So between those two systems (geothermal and solar), our use of electric from the grid will be pretty low.”
The residential portion of the building will be all electric, Garwood said.
