Description: Prior to the Great Recession, this project was projected to be the first Green hotel in NYC, and as such was featured in numerous publications. Each hotel room has its own private balcony and bathroom. The owners are applied for the NYSERDA program for energy conservation incentives from NY State. The design targeted LEED Gold certification for design and LEED Gold certification for final construction.
Greenhouse 26
132 West 26th Street, New York, NY 10001
Floors: 19, + Cellar and Subcellar
Use: Boutique Hotel
Units: 27 Hotel Rooms
Total SF: 20,000 SF
Estimated Completion Date: October-November 2009
Developer’s Name: Flatiron Real Estate Advisors, LLC
119 W 23 Street, Suite 903
New York, NY 10003
(212) 675-3699
Mr. Steven Ancona
Architect: Arpad Baksa Architect, P.C.
99 Wall Street, Suite 1600
New York, NY 10005-4301
212-768-4191
Mr. Arpad Baksa, R.A., A.I.A.
Structural Engineer: Dubinsky Consulting Engineers, PC
45 West 34th St.
New York, NY 10001
(212) 594-1153
Mr. Eli Dubinsky
Mechanical Engineer: DNV Associates
74 Trinity Place, Suite 1200
New York, NY 10006
212-233-2434
Mr. Valentin Antohi
The hotel marketing and operating parties also pursued LEED green building status under the LEED Existing Building program, which involved green products and methods for ongoing building maintenance and operation, including the use of recycled materials for hotel sundries, hygiene product dispensers within the rooms, environmentally friendly household chemicals and housekeeping, and a building-wide water conservation program.
Green systems and design items also included:
- Variable frequency drives for air handling units and pumps
- Low-E or improved glazing on windows, possible use of fiberglass frames
- Heat recovery via heat exchanger from exhaust to fresh air intake
- Occupancy sensors for lighting in hotel rooms
- Bi-level lighting in common egress corridors and stairways
- CFL’s (Compact Fluorescent Lights) throughout
- Premium efficiency motors
- Occupancy system for remote control of individual rooms
- Direct drive elevator with regenerative breaking
- Green roof
- Geothermal ground source heating and cooling
- Thermal break in structural concrete for balconies
- High efficiency heat pumps
- Peak Demand Reduction via the required emergency generator
- Use of Green materials for interior finishes throughout the hotel
- Alternative transportation promotions, offering a metro card purchasing service and subway/bus system maps, offering a low-emitting/hybrid car service for guests who need it through OZOcar or the like, offering promotions through the adjacent bicycle shop and pedi-cab services
- Green Energy supplied through local utilities from sustainable sources
Arpad Baksa
Arpad Baksa was born in Hungary and immigrated to the United States in 1964. He graduated from Pratt Institute’s School of Architecture, and in 1984 opened Arpad Baksa Architect, P.C. Baksa’s philosophy stems from his strong European background and is evident in his style, knowledge and affinity for contextual design. In over 34 years the firm has completed over 1,800 projects for noteworthy clients, including commercial and residential work, and is known for transforming landmark buildings into modern uses and residences without compromising the buildings’ historic integrity. His projects include converting legendary recording studio The Hit Factory into a condominium; the adaptive re-use and restoration of The Merchant’s House—a light-manufacturing building destroyed by fire—into a residential building now listed in the National Register for Historic Places as an individual national landmark; 8 Union Square South, a new-construction luxury 15-story residential building; a trio of groundbreaking green projects: The Modern, in Manhattan’s Meatpacking District—a sleek residential building; Greenhouse 26 – under construction to be the first green boutique hotel located in Chelsea; and the Borough Park Women’s Health Center—a 60,000 sf medical facility and birthing center with below-ground automated parking. Known for his extensive expertise in historical preservation projects, Arpad equally embraces New York City’s spirit of constant innovation and energetic creativity. He brings to each project a deep understanding of the connections between history and technology, and of how to negotiate the demands of preservation and the challenges of modernity through design. His work has been recognized by the SARA NY Design Awards, the PCI Design Awards, and the Society of Interior Designers, among others. He is a Director of the Society of American Registered Architects, a member of the American Institute of Architects and the U.S. Green Building Council, and a Fellow of the National Trust for Historic Preservation.
