Originally erected in 1972 as the world’s largest office building, 55 Water Street stands as a landmark of New York City’s financial district and a premier Class A commercial office space. Boasting over 3.5 million square feet, this massive structure even has its own zip code, solidifying its place as the largest privately-owned office building in New York City. Its prime location near the East River provides unparalleled panoramic views of the iconic New York City skyline and harbor from each of its 51 floors, complete with an elevated acre of public outdoor space.
For the owners and managers of 55 Water Street, modernization goes beyond just tenant comfort and updated amenities. It’s a deep commitment to enhancing infrastructural resilience and significantly decreasing the building’s carbon footprint. Recognizing that buildings contribute over 70 percent of New York City’s greenhouse gas emissions, 55 Water Street is actively engaged in decarbonizing its vast 3.5 million square footage.
Driven by a decade-long commitment to environmental responsibility, tenant well-being, and long-term value creation, 55 Water Street partnered with Trane® by Trane Technologies. This collaboration began with essential equipment upgrades and continues to advance building electrification technology, forging a path towards a more sustainable future for large-scale commercial buildings.
Building a Future-Proof Foundation
Between 2011 and 2014, 55 Water Street and Trane initiated a crucial chiller plant overhaul to bolster grid resilience and building redundancy. This upgrade included state-of-the-art thermal storage and advanced controls. The updated chiller plant now features two high-efficiency duplex centrifugal chillers and a dual-duty chiller. A key component is the thermal storage system, incorporating 143 ice storage tanks.
These thermal energy ice tanks act like massive HVAC batteries, storing cooling energy and deploying it strategically. The Trane chiller system chills fluid that circulates through the tanks, freezing the surrounding water. Taking advantage of off-peak energy, the dual-duty chiller charges the tanks (produces ice) at night when electricity rates are lower. During the day, especially when renewable energy sources are more available, the system discharges (melts the ice), reducing reliance on grid-supplied energy during peak demand.
Sophisticated controls seamlessly integrate these vital components, optimizing the entire cooling system for resilience, efficiency, cost-effective energy management, and a reduced carbon footprint.
Modernizing existing buildings in dense urban environments like Manhattan, where rooftop and utility space is limited, presents unique challenges. However, the collaborative team successfully navigated these hurdles, remaining focused on the shared objectives of minimizing environmental impact, enhancing resilience, and generating value for 55 Water Street’s tenants and the wider community.
These strategic improvements delivered remarkable results: annual energy savings of 2GWh, a 2.1 MW reduction in summer peak demand, and an offset of 36 million pounds of CO2e – equivalent to removing 3,280 gasoline-powered vehicles from the roads. The operational cost savings reached $2.5 million annually. These achievements were recognized with $942,000 in incentives from the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority and the 2017 Energy Project of the Year Award from the New York Association of Engineers.
Accelerating the Drive to Decarbonization
Building on these successes, 55 Water Street continued its decarbonization journey in 2015, partnering again with Trane to identify further energy reduction opportunities through intelligent services. From 2016 to 2019, the focus shifted to upgrading the four backup diesel generators with advanced clean emissions technology. This significantly reduced nitrous oxide emissions, and these generators play a crucial role in lessening demand on the local grid during periods of high stress. These resilience-focused upgrades further decreased summer peak demand by 5.0 MW and secured $4.25 million in incentives from the Con Edison Demand Management Program.
“We invested in these decarbonization technologies to meet our ongoing commitment to our tenants and the community to reduce the building’s impact on the environment, provide resiliency and create value,” stated Dan Palino, chief operating officer, New Water Street Corporation. “The performance of these infrastructure changes has exceeded our expectations in reducing our ongoing energy usage, and we have contributed to improving the reliability of the electricity grid locally.”
Today, 55 Water Street and Trane are collaborating to ensure compliance with evolving state and local regulations mandating further emissions reductions. Together, they are pioneering building electrification technology, fulfilling the owners’ commitment to tenants and the community, and setting a leading example for achieving a net-zero future in commercial real estate. 55 Water Street’s ongoing initiatives serve as a powerful model for large buildings in urban centers aiming to enhance sustainability and operational efficiency.
