Older YMCA Building Gets New Life Thanks to Capital Equipment, Upgrades

“We expect to save at least $330,000 during the coming year because of the new, high-efficiency equipment we’ve installed – and possibly much more, especially if energy costs keep rising.”

— Helene Mogridge, director
White Plains Family YMCA

WHITE PLAINS – With the rising cost of fuel, the construction and building industry should see a significant increase in building and equipment improvement projects geared to bringing older properties up-to-date with the latest energy conservation equipment.

One recent example of such a trend is the recent $2.4 million capital improvement program undertaken by the White Plains Family YMCA. The new energy equipment installed at its flagship building at 250 Mamaroneck Ave. is expected to save the charity at least $330,000 a year in energy costs—or nearly $7 million over the next 20 years. The cumulative savings are projected to more than offset the millions the charity spent for the improvements.

The YMCA installed computer- controlled boilers, air-conditioning equipment and chillers that are much more efficient than its old equipment, leading to dramatic drops in energy consumption. The improvements resulted in more consistent air and water temperatures throughout the YMCA building in Downtown White Plains, as well as lower humidity, making the building more comfortable. Lighting also has been improved, with modern, high-efficiency lamps that provide more light at a fraction of the cost of traditional light bulbs, officials with the agency stated.

“We expect to save at least $330,000 during the coming year because of the new, highefficiency equipment we’ve installed – and possibly much more, especially if energy costs keep rising,” said Helene Mogridge, director of the White Plains Family YMCA. “Just as importantly, we’ve cut our carbon dioxide emissions by the equivalent of the pollution caused by 57 automobiles, which is important in an urban area like White Plains. We’ve been joking about how the YMCA has blue pools in a green building.”

The cost savings have been dramatic. The introduction of a modern, high-efficiency furnace using gas (which is less expensive than heating oil) has resulted in the biggest savings, cutting the YMCA’s heating and hot-water costs by nearly 90 percent to currently about $8,000 a month from $68,000 a month. Electricity bills were slashed more than 50 percent to $17,000 a month from $36,000.

“This is a tremendous savings that will help us keep membership fees affordable and let us continue providing valuable services to the community such as day care, after-school activities and affordable housing,” said Ms. Mogridge. “We started planning for these improvements several years ago, and in light of today’s soaring energy costs our decision to invest in the future appears timely and prudent.”

A creative financing and guarantee agreement involving the Westchester County Industrial Development Agency and Honeywell Building Solutions (the project’s main engineering and construction manager) made the investments a no-lose situation, she added.

The YMCA used a combination of government-issued loans and guarantees from Honeywell to create a $2.4-million financing plan ensuring that the improvements would “pay for themselves” in lower energy costs or rebates. While the Westchester County IDA provided favorable financing, Honeywell guaranteed that the YMCA’s energy costs would be reduced enough to offset the loan payments. Honeywell accepted the challenge, and early results indicate that the new systems have resulted in savings that vastly exceed the cost of the loan.

“It has worked out very well for the YMCA and Honeywell,” said Ms. Mogridge. “Using the loan was a prudent way to plan for the needs of the future while keeping our fees affordable for the nearly 4,000 people who use the YMCA and its programs. The equipment should be in use for well over 20 years, so the loan makes perfect sense. It is a ‘pay as you go’ approach.”

The YMCA, which operates facilities throughout Westchester and Camp Combe in Putnam Valley, also tries to be a responsible environmental steward, and Ms. Mogridge said the capital improvements to improve energy efficiency would reduce the amount of carbon dioxide produced by its flagship facility at 250 Mamaroneck Ave. by 1,292 tons a year.

“This is just a small step, but anything that helps reduce pollution today and lowers the risk of global warming in the future is worth considering,” said Ms. Mogridge. “We think it’s important for organizations like the YMCA to lead the way and demonstrate how we all can be responsible stewards of the environment.”

The year-long capital-improvement program also included a wide variety of improvements to the YMCA’s facilities and exercise equipment. The upgrades included:

• Converting the Y’s little-used “small gymnasium” into an exercise room with new, state-of-theart Strive Smart weight-training machinery and cardio equipment such as treadmills and elliptical machines. (The “large gym” and running track are still open.);
• Creating dedicated rooms for free weights and stretching equipment adjoining the main exercise room;
• Installing a cycling studio with more than a dozen cycles and open space for classes such as yoga and Pilates in the old weight room;
• Building a new, larger men’s locker room with better facilities and a location closer to the YMCA’s main pool.

The White Plains YMCA has two pools, including a “warm pool” (one of the few in the region outside a hospital) that is geared for rehabilitation exercises or “aquacise” classes for seniors. The main, 25-meter pool is heated to a lower level that is suitable for lap swimming and competitive meets. The YMCA also has three racquetball courts and one squash court and a dance/ exercise studio, giving it one of the most complete lineups of exercise facilities in the tristate area.

“The renovations we just completed gave us an opportunity to re-evaluate how space in our building was used,” said Ms. Mogridge, “and we were able to create much larger, more comfortable and better-equipped exercise facilities as a result. You could almost argue that the energy savings made possible by the new equipment let us upgrade our exercise facilities.”

Modernizing the White Plains YMCA’s heating and cooling equipment was a challenge because parts of the building date to the 1920s and 1930s and the organization’s normal operations (including providing housing for 167 men and day care and after-school activities for scores of children) could not be interrupted. This required an intricate ballet where equipment was dismantled, removed and quickly replaced with new machinery. The project’s success has drawn attention from other YMCA operators facing similar renovations and the AIA, the nation’s largest architectural trade group, is considering creating a continuing-education class using the renovations as a case study.

This is part of the July 1, 2008 online edition of Construction News.

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