miklos
-
Posts
26 -
Joined
-
Last visited
Content Type
Profiles
Forums
Gallery
Project Database
User Guide
Store
Events
Posts posted by miklos
-
-
Courant.com
Rules May Bar Green Building Power Plan
Tom Condon
December 21, 2008
If fuel cells are going to be the energy technology of the future, the state may have to jettison the regulatory mindset of the past. State energy regulators may stop the largest residential construction project in the state from using a Connecticut-made fuel cell to power the building.
The project in question is 360 State St., a 32-story, 500-unit apartment building under construction across from the State Street train station in New Haven. The building will contain retail space, including a fitness center and a grocery, and enclosed parking for 500 cars. At nearly 700,000 square feet, it may be the largest single residential building ever built in the state. Developer Bruce Becker also planned to make it the greenest.
Becker has included 20 energy-saving technologies � a green roof, double-glazed windows and other features � and hopes to power the building with a 400-kilowatt fuel cell made by UTC Power of South Windsor. He said if it all comes together, the skyscraper will be the first residential building in Connecticut to achieve Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Gold Certification from the U.S. Green Building Council.
The tricky part is the fuel cell. The project received a $900,000 grant from the Connecticut Clean Energy Fund to help pay for the power-generating device. The grant would cover slightly more than half the cost. To pay for the rest, and to maintain the fuel cell, Becker proposed a plan he used for a similarly sized building called "The Octagon" he built four years ago on Roosevelt Island in New York City.
Basically, he wants to generate electricity for the building from the fuel cell, and charge the tenants what they would pay if they were getting the juice from United Illuminating, the local utility.
The building would still have a relationship with UI, to whom it would sell excess generation or buy power if it was needed for summer peak periods. Becker, as landlord, would have one "master meter" for UI. He would install "sub meters" for all the tenants.
This seemingly sensible idea needed approval from the state Department of Public Utility Control. It went before a hearing in September. On Dec.11, the DPUC issued a draft decision turning down the proposal.
Master metering, as this arrangement is sometimes called, has been historically unpopular with regulators. Traditionally, landlords have simply split the cost of electricity in a building among the tenants. Thus, individual tenants were not rewarded for conserving electricity, so tended to use and pay more for power.
But Becker said new technology allows each tenant to be accurately billed for only the power that is used, and for a disinterested third party to monitor the billing. This, he said, is what is done in New York.
-
Brent, thanks for jarring my memory. Yes, I do recall an attempt at greening the parking deck. Perhaps James Center and Williams/Mullen will try again.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Miklos, can't wait to enjoy all the city pictures you've posted, including those of Richmond at http://www.picasaweb.google.com/miklospogonyi.
Meanwhile, check out (if you haven't already) Richmond in Pictures threads I, II and III. They are full of pix showing the city's downtown density.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1:00 PM.
Miklos, so far I've looked at Utica (because old theatres like The Stanley fascinate me) and your excellent 76-picture coverage of Richmond. As time allows, I'll go on to other locations. Two minor comments: The odd street name of Foushee does not have an "n" following the "u" and in Picture #20 of The Landmark Theatre, it is Virginia Commonwealth University which lies behind the theatre, not Va. State U. which is 20 miles south of Richmond.
This collection is a treasure. Many, many thanks for sharing.
Thanks for your generous comments, Burt, and also for the corrections which I will make. I still have trouble navigating this site and can't seem to find the Richmond in Pictures threads you cite; can you help? Do you live in Richmond? I'm in Philadelphia but Richmond is by far my favorite Southern city.
By the way, since you are interested in old theaters and their fate (I am too!) I have a"Theaters" tag at my pictures site that will bring up tons of theater pictures from numerous cities.
-
No density, no urban context, no soul; only hunks of concrete. I love Richmond, but these pictures (Carpenter Center excepted) put the great city in the worst possible light. Sorry.To see the best of Richmond, check out www.picasaweb.google.com/miklospogonyi
-
And I still like the renovation of the Marriott.
-
I was at Baltimore's nner harbor a little over a month ago. It is really very nice and a great place to visit. However, it is kind of like disneyland when compared to the rest of teh city which is really filthy and unwelcoming. I would not want Norfolk to be anything like Baltimore unless it was JUST referring to the inner harbor.
Charlotte is really pretty with its fountains and all, but it is still a small downtown. Obviously bigger than ours, but still very small compared to the northeastern downtowns.
I could not let your comment about Baltimore outside of the Inner Harbor being "filthy and unwelcoming" go by without comment. True, baltimore has some truly horrid abandoned, crime-infested parts, but it has also some of the most attractive and vibrant neighborhoods to be found anywhere in the Northeast. Have you ever walked around Bolton Hill, Mont Vernon, Little Italy, Federal Hill, Fells Point, just to name the best known? To me, they are all actually far more "welcoming" than the overly "touristy" Inner Harbor. Norfolk's Ghent is a great neighborhood and I love exploring it on foot, but much of the rest of Norfolk would benefit from looking more like the best of Baltimore neighborhoods.
-
How about the addition of some rail service besides the current? Just in North Carolina/South Carolina/ Virginia, there are some areas that don't have service. How about getting some of those re-instated.. Just a thought..
North Carolina DOT's Rail Division has long had plans for passenger train service from Salisbury to Asheville and from Raleigh to Wilmington, but could never get the needed funding to upgrade the tracks. Hopefully that will change now. For further details check their website.
As for Virginia, that state has just agreed to pay Amtrak some 18M to run 2 additional trains, starting later this year; one from DC to Lynchburg (later to be extended to Roanoke) and an additional DC to Richmond run. Virginia has also long discussed a so-called "TransDominion Express" which would connect Richmond (Main Street Station) with Roanoke and Bristol. This plan, too, has languished for lack of funds.
I am not aware of Sout Carolina having any passenger rail plans. Not a progressive state when it comes to transit, I am afraid.
For more info on Virginia and North Carolina rail plans and happenings, check out the following:
Virginia Association of Railway Patrons (www.varprail.org) and Carolinas Association for Passenger Trains (www.captrail.org)
-
Here are some pictures I found of Downtown Augusta
Looks like a suburban office park.
-
Here are some recent photos taken from near the top of River House by my friend Megan, who I'm trying to talk into jumping off the building in September!
-
If the parking deck is demolished in the future to allow a new building on the site, where would Catalyst/Twelve/440 S. Church people park? And don't forget, Picasso's and other street level businesses would be forced out too......
Forget these accursed, city-killing parking facilities. Let people rediscover what their feet are for and get healthy - and give mother earth a break in the bargain.
-
With so much of downtown Greenboro devoted to parking already, adding still more will make it indistinguishable from a suburban office park. When I get off the train on Washington Street, I see i front of me a sea of surface lots. There is much to like about Greensboro, but it will never become a real city until it gets beyond its obsession with cars.
-
W
Grand Rapids, what a city. I hear many people say it's one of Michigan's best cities... although not ruling out Lansing. I also like its somewhat conservative.Welcome Coolbreeze!
Somehow my aol email told me that you replied to my message, but I don't know what they are talking about. Anyhow, since you like Grand Rapids, I wanted to steer you to my pictures of that and many other US cities. Visit www.picasaweb.google.com/miklospogonyi
I have not been to Lansing, but what I've heard and pics I've seen it's not great. I have seen Kalamazzo and like it a lot.
-
I really liked the way a lot of my pictures from Sunday night turned out so I'm posting more.
I love your new pictures of Grand Rapids. It's been about 4 years since my last visit and I'm looking forward to my next one. From the looks of things, I will find much that is new and/or improved.
Thanks for sharing the GREAT pics!
-
Wow! Fantastic! I've been wanting to see a view like this. Is that GVSU Allendale and then Lake Michigan beyond? Thanks. Any more pics?
I have a photo tour of downtown Grand Rapids you may enjoy seeing. (Also many other downtowns). Go to www.picasaweb.google.com/miklospogonyi
-
Thanks for sharing miklos. You have quite a collection there! Now that I have a nice camera I hope to be able to show off Richmond a bit more as well as do more traveling to other cities.
I can't disagree with you more on the interstate overpass though. That's one of my favorite parts of downtown. It gives it a very distinct urban feel and I love hearing the trains and traffic passing overhead. You'll be happy to know that the National is now open and several buildings in the area are being converted (Miller and Rhodes to Hilton Garden Inn) or refurbished (Carpenter Center overhaul with new additions). The once blighted Broad Street is seeing life come back to it. There are still several blocks of "ghetto" in the center but these will slowly be taken over as natural infill takes place between our new collections of galleries and restaurants to the West, refurbished homes and new restaurants in the neighborhood to the North, and entertainment venues/hotels to the East. Hope you visit again when all this work is complete. So where do you hail from?
Thanks for your kind words, Whistle-Stop, I live in Philadelphia and my passion is visiting and photographing US cities. As you can perhaps tell, I have a special interest in such topics as trains and train stations, historic preservation, "new urbanist" development, and just generally celebrating and documenting the rebirth of the Amercan city.Richmond is one of my favorite cities and I greatly look forward to my next planned visit this fall. There is so much good happenng there and I agree with you that foremost among them is the revitalization of Broad Street. It's amazing what a magnificent urban space that is. I also love Shockoe Bottom, Church Hill, Carytown, Jackson Ward and more. Are you from Richmond?
-
Raleigh is over-hyped. It's a cool town but the downtown is fairly small and a lot less dense than Richmonds. How they get the attention I'm not sure but Richmond sorely needs better marketing. We have the goods but not enough people know it.
Check out my recent pics from both Richmond and Raleigh at www.picasaweb.google.com/miklospogonyi
-
Raleigh is over-hyped. It's a cool town but the downtown is fairly small and a lot less dense than Richmonds. How they get the attention I'm not sure but Richmond sorely needs better marketing. We have the goods but not enough people know it.
Check out my recent pics from both Richmond and Raleigh at www.picasaweb.google.com/miklospogonyi
IN PROGRESS: 360 State Street
in Greater New Haven
Posted
I hate to be negative, but I see several problems with this building. One, it seems not to reach anywhere near the Chapel Street sidewalk. Second, it always infuriates me when I read a development tauting itself as "green" yet incorporating parking. in this case for 500 cars! This despite being across the street from the train station. Mind boggling. And the parking is not even underground.