Case Study: CONVIVIUM sets a new high standard for luxury rentals in NYC

Adria Campbell
Proposal Status
Ready for Committee Review
Username
Adria Campbell
Proposer First Name
Ben
Proposer Email
adewittcampbell@chacompanies.com
Proposer Last Name
Igoe
Proposer Phone
(315) 228-0924
Proposer Job Title
National Commercial Market Director
Proposer Additional Info
Ben Igoe, National Commercial Market Director, is responsible for client relationships within the Commercial Market. With two decades of experience in real estate development as a builder, project manager, and principal developer, he is passionate about energy-efficient design and has played an active role in developing energy-efficient projects in New York City and beyond. Ben developed one of the first multi-family residential projects to the Passive House standards in Brooklyn in 2010 and has since completed or is currently building over 300 units in three certified projects.
Proposed Session Description
New York City’s low carbon future is beautiful, livable, and 100% possible. In the Upper East Side’s Yorkville neighborhood, the ground-up Convivium multi-family development located at 515 East 86th Street is the first of its kind designed to the Passive House standard in the community. The 140-unit 22-story building boasts an eye-catching design while using 40-60% less energy than the average residential building in the area, allowing its residents to enjoy lower energy costs and higher thermal retention. As the Project Manager, Ben Igoe will showcase techniques used in design and construction to meet the project’s environmental conservation mission. The Convivium development was awarded $500,000 in the first round of the Buildings of Excellence competition in October 2019, recognizing the design, construction, and operation of very low or zero carbon emitting multifamily buildings. Convivium also includes 25 percent affordable housing units (35 in total). Additionally, five units in the building will be affordable permanently, a rarity for this wealthy neighborhood of Manhattan. The grand opening Convivium was held on March 5, 2021.
Why is this session important?
This session will explore an ongoing question; how to bridge the gap with the owner’s rep and the client between a code-compliant project and a high-performance project. Using Convivium as a project success story, Ben will demonstrate how to navigate the regulatory and financial complexities associated with low-energy projects. In addition, he will show the cost savings passed on to the tenants, while the developer benefits from higher construction standards with a more durable building and will have lower operating costs and happier tenants. Attendees will leave with a deeper understanding of the long-term benefits of low energy residential buildings, including increased interior environmental comfort, acoustic comfort, and improved resident productivity and health.

Comments

Michaela Boren… Wed, 04/07/2021 - 3:28 am

Round 1: Maybe
• Description, WHY, and learning objectives are strong but it mainly only showcases the project itself – being code-compliant project and  high-performance, techniques used in design and construction. It doesn’t really touch on collaboration and other topics of keen interest.

Sara Bayer Wed, 04/07/2021 - 7:14 am

Yes/Maybe:  If we are low on good case studies, this one seems great:  many are interested in high perforamnce mulitfamily, and the project somewhat addresses equity by containing affordable housing.  It would be good if the session had one more voice and not just the designer.  That being said, the designer will be able to present various perspectives (in their words) because they had to concider them...

Susan Farber Mon, 04/12/2021 - 8:21 pm

ROUND 1 DISCUSSION: Great to have a case study, but only 1%. Don't know if occupied yet. Only showcasing project itself or collaboration. If they could add another speaker from another perspective of the same project. Do we have another passive house case study?

Tristan Grant Wed, 05/19/2021 - 7:52 am

The presentation will focus on case study of MF luxury Passive House building on upper east side. Discusssed w/ presenter how they could bringin themes of collaboration and they spoke about their approach to gaining buy in from all parties from the outset. Project team gets the CM certified with Passive house, and the lead super/foreman for each trade takes the PHIUS tradesperson course so that one memberr from every subcontractor /trade is educated on PHIUS approach. Every person who steps onto the site gets  a passive house introduction training talking about what is going on w/ passive goals similar to tool tip safety meetings on site. Project team does full sized mockups of unique conditons on building, include doors, roof, penetrations, air sealing details etc. to ensure materials and appraoch are understood. Project team plans for O&M handover from day 1 of design, thinking about selection of equipment, maintenance and servicing needs and access. Monitoring is installed up front to allow tracking of utility costs, both in free-market and affordable mixed units, reprsentative throughout building, with goal of ownership exploring things like covering utilities on future projects as Passive house drives down total utility cost for heating/cooling etc. Regulatory complexity that is mentioned in the proposal is mostly to do w/ navigating including mixed income units, financial pros/cons of working that into the project. Says they can get the owner or developer, potential arch/contractor to come in on the presentation as well. The speaker knows a lot about this stuff, has given similar presentations on this or similar projects in the past, including building tours. I think this would be great, but we have a lot of great proposals. I'm not sure this brings in too much NEW information. i do like the focus and material on trades training around passive goals, but it would be stronger if we were getting more of that directly from the GC or foremen / trades people who have worked on it and can give more first hand specifics about that process. Given this and the other case study proposal i reviewed in round 2, i think i like the other more (climate resilient design for passive house). i think that one draws in more unique case studies and themes and has the potential to bring mor new material to the audience. 

Susan Farber Mon, 05/24/2021 - 12:05 pm

ROUND 2 DISCUSSION: Converation with proposers: themes of collabortion and could bring in people on operational side and other stake holders, which is good; however, leaning towards no. Is this just another multifamily passive house? We have other case studies that are more interesting. For example, the Rockaway case study seems to have more data and a more operational lense. They did bring in interesting aspects about training. Also luxury passive house leaves a bit of a bad taste.

Diversity and Inclusiveness
Convivium includes 25 percent affordable housing units (35 in total). Additionally, five units in the building will be affordable permanently, a rarity for this wealthy neighborhood of Manhattan.
Learning Objectives
Discuss with their clients the benefits of taking the extra step to go from “good enough” to “best in class” with their development projects.
Navigate the regulatory and financial complexities associated with low-energy projects.
Identify the qualitative and quantitative benefits of low-energy residential buildings for both the owner and the occupant.
Understand the benefits of monitoring energy use in buildings, leading to innovative pricing strategies and maximizing value in a development project.
Has this session been presented before?
No
Additional Comments
Ben is presenting a similar case study during the Building Energy Boston conference, using a different project.

NYC 2021 Areas of Focus

Target Audiences Level of Expertise
Level 2 - Some prior knowledge helpful.
Session Format
Interview or structured conversation among panelists
Debate between opposing viewpoints
Recommended Length
60-minute session

Strongest Content Connection - NYC 2021

Reviewer 1
Boren, Michaela
Reviewer 2
Grant, Tristan
Proposal #
111
Committee Decision
Being Considered