The River House (Mixed Use)

As part of a sweeping economic development initiative in the City of Schenectady, HEA designed the M/E/P systems for a new six-story, 295,000-sf mixed-use building featuring commercial and retail/restaurant spaces on the first floor and 206 apartments on the upper five floors. The project was associated with the highly anticipated Mohawk Harbor casino & resort development. 

The sheer size of the building presented many challenges, coupled with the fact that it is surrounded by patio areas and sits on top of an underground parking garage. Since opportunities to route exhaust and venting systems horizontally through the building envelope were limited due to the surrounding patios and pedestrian traffic, all exhaust had to be directed through the roof. Each of the 206 apartment units’ furnaces are also vented through the roof and connected to roof-mounted condensing units, and all make-up air and exhaust for first floor commercial tenants is located on the roof. All of this made locating rooftop HVAC equipment and associated vertical chases extremely challenging. Ducted return systems in each apartment are designed to minimize HVAC noise. Additionally, the M/E/P design had to account for exhausting and heating the underground parking garage.

HVAC for the common areas is provided by indoor air handling units due to the amount of residential and commercial tenant equipment located on the roof. HEA also coordinated all building utility services and designed all electrical systems (service entrance/metering arrangements, power distribution, lighting, fire alarms, etc.) and plumbing systems (water service and plumbing; domestic water heating; drainage, waste and venting; natural gas, etc.).

HEA also designed the M/E/P fit-up of several of the building’s commercial tenants, including a new 7,000-sf restaurant with a bar; commercial kitchen; restaurant seating area; brewery; food storage spaces; and various support spaces. A high-efficiency variable refrigerant flow (VRF) system was designed to condition the restaurant and bar areas for this commercial tenant.