Scenic Hudson Brings Historic Factory Back to Life as a Multi-Use Net Zero Building
Scenic Hudson is well-known for its dedication to conserving land for parks and open spaces, but it has now also ventured into urban renewal with its Northside Hub renovation. In keeping with Scenic Hudson’s mission, the re-imagined building, which historically is known as the Standard Gage factory, is now a net-zero jewel of the community.
In addition to a gorgeous engineered timber solar canopy over the parking area and rooftop array, the project took every opportunity to make this building clean and green. Starting with removing tons of contaminated soil from its industrial past, the building was lovingly restored. It honors its past by maintaining its huge windows (which allow for a lot of natural light which reduces energy needs) and other architectural details, but it also looks to the future with a unique fresh-air heating and cooling system and a green roof and garden system to retain rainwater and reduce the impact of storms downstream.
Today, the solar canopy and rooftop generate more energy than is required for the building.
SunCommon President Mike McCarthy said, “The Northside Hub’s positive impact on our community and the environment aligns perfectly with SunCommon’s mission to accelerate the transition to solar power in the Hudson Valley. It’s been such a pleasure to work with Scenic Hudson on this innovative solar installation! We’re proud to see this beautiful solar canopy made from engineered timber producing power right here in our backyard with even more solar generation on the roof of the restored building across the street. SunCommon is so proud to support Scenic Hudson’s mission and values.”
This complex yet rewarding project required the collaboration of dozens of dedicated partners, led by the nonprofit architectural firm MASS Design Group and Consigli Construction.
SunCommon has another interesting partnership with Scenic Hudson- the organization is our partner on our annual day of service planting trees in the Hudson Valley.
