Bronx Capital Heating Projects Named Among Nation’s Best 

On March 26, NYCHA energy-efficient heating and hot water projects at two Bronx developments were recognized among the nation’s best for design and construction excellence.  

Engineering News-Record (ENR), a national construction industry publication, presented NYCHA with a “Best of the Best Project” award in the excellence in sustainability category for its geothermal domestic hot water and heating upgrade projects at Eastchester Gardens and Jackson Houses. The capital project was among 20 winners at ENR’s annual nationwide awards gala at Pier 60 at Chelsea Piers.  

NYCHA established a performance-based, design-build delivery program to replace existing heating systems at several of its developments, allowing design-build teams to come up with creative, sustainable, and efficient heating solutions. At Eastchester Gardens and Jackson Houses, the Authority selected the design-build team of CSA Group and Adam’s European Contracting Inc., who collaborated with Matrix New World Engineering and Buffalo Geothermal Heating to implement innovative heating and hot-water technologies and design strategies that support NYCHA’s efforts to reduce its carbon emissions footprint while providing reliable, consistent heating and hot water service at the two developments. 

As part of the projects, the developments’ gas-fired steam boilers in the central plants were replaced with new high-efficiency, gas-condensing boilers for heating. In addition, the domestic hot water heaters were de-coupled from the heating system to be served by a closed-loop geothermal heat pump system that will supply year-round hot water to 1,745 apartments across 17 multifamily buildings. 

“This recognition reflects NYCHA’s continued commitment to delivering resilient, energy-efficient infrastructure for our residents,” said Chirag Patel, Vice President of Program Teams in NYCHA’s Asset and Capital Management division. “The Eastchester and Jackson Houses geothermal project demonstrates how thoughtful planning, strong interagency coordination, and effective public-private partnership can advance sustainability goals while improving the reliability and quality of essential services. This initiative sets a meaningful precedent for the future of sustainable public housing in New York City.” 

According to ENR, the projects set a “new standard in sustainable residential infrastructure.” The Bronx projects were previously recognized by ENR’s New York region with a “Best Project” award in the residential/hospitality and excellence in sustainability categories. All regional award winners were automatically entered into the national “Best of the Best” competition, where projects were evaluated for teamwork, safety, overcoming challenges, innovation, and quality.  

The Eastchester/Jackson projects’ accolades don’t stop there. On April 18, the projects will receive the American Council of Engineering Companies of New York’s (ACEC NY) Engineering Excellence Award in the building/technology systems category, and in May, NYCHA will be presented with ACEC National’s Grand Award in Washington, D.C., where the project is also a finalist for the Grand Conceptor Award.