NEW YORK — Governor George Pataki of New York joined with members of the Albanese Organization, the Hugh L. Carey Battery Park City Authority, Northwestern Mutual, and leaders of the architectural and building industries in New York City to inaugurate what they called the country's first green residential high-rise building. The Solaire, located at 20 River Terrace in New York's Battery Park City neighborhood, is also the first new residential construction to be completed in downtown Manhattan since Sept. 11, 2001.

The governor unveiled the building's cornerstone in a ceremony at The Solaire's front entrance, beneath its signature photovoltaic panels. He stated, "The Solaire is a model for future residential development in New York City and across the nation. The technologies employed in constructing this wonderful building are all tried and tested. Albanese Organization has done a wonderful job integrating them to create this residence; these technologies can be duplicated and the advantages realized by any like-minded developer."

Russell C. Albanese, president of the Albanese Organization, said, "Our challenge was not only to engineer a building that would be responsible in its use of the earth's resources, but also provide a healthy living environment for its tenants.

"I want to commend Governor Pataki for his foresight in promoting green development and passing the first green building tax credit in the country, well before issues like mold, energy capacity, and water quality became everyday news topics."

According to the Albanese Organization, the Solaire was designed to meet the requirements for environmental sustainability and resource conservation and management throughout the building infrastructure. The 293-unit, 27-story tower has been engineered to consume 35 percent less energy, reduce summer peak demand for electricity by over 65 percent, utilize one-third less potable water, provide healthier indoor air quality, and offer substantially more natural light than typical residential buildings, says the company. Features of the building include:

Photovoltaic cells, integrated within the exterior walls, capable of generating 5 percent of the building's base electric load.

Fresh air supply to each residence, filtered to remove 85 percent of particulate matter.

An air conditioning system fueled by natural gas and free of ozone-depleting refrigerant.

On-site black water re-use system for the building's flush system and to supply the HVAC cooling tower.

A building management and monitoring system to control and monitor air quality and energy performance.

The use of building materials with high recycled content, or manufactured with renewable or rapidly renewable resources, free of added urea formaldehyde and containing low or no volatile organic compounds (VOCs).

For more information, visit www.thesolaire.com.

Publication date: 09/08/2003