by
N
The Solaire bills itself as America's first environmentally advanced residential tower. It sits off of Chambers Street on River Terrace, overlooking the Hudson. The building's exterior is covered with photovoltaic cell panels that convert sunlight to electricity. The building's green roof absorbs rain, which is used to water the surrounding property. And the toilet water is recycled in a wastewater treatment system. As EPA regional Adminstrator toured the building, The Soliare's managers invited him to drink the recyled water. He politefully declined.
AX
(Laughter…) I believe you, but I'll take your word for it.
N
New York State officials say The Solaire is considered a model for future Green projects in New York City. The building won the Excellence in Design award from Environmental Design and Construction magazine. The construction company that built it is building a similar complex next door. But the Solaire's residents were not fully takebn with the building's Green policies it opened in 2003 says United States Regional Water Quality Program Coordinator, Jeffrey Potent.
AX
Probably a lot of people didn't come to this building because it was Green, they came because it was an exciting new building in New York. And I think that after they were here, they heard about the Green features and have begun to understand it not only from an intellectual perspective, but they have begun to experience it. And I know from my own experience of living I the building for two years it is hard to quantify, in fact that's one of the difficulties of this profession is quantifying health benefits of being in a building like this instead of a quote unquote conventional building.
N
Green living doesn't come cheaply. The Solaire has 293 units, from studios to three bedrooms, priced at $70 dollars a square foot. The building is 100 percent full, with 650 residents. The building's managers claim that at least 15 percent of the tenants earn moderate incomes. Potent says Green methods will eventually trickle down to lower income families.
AX
There are a lot of discussions and a lot of projects on the way to incorporate these criteria into public housing projects, so this is working for the entire economy. It has to. Everybody needs to benefit from this.
N
Later in the tour, the EPA's Alan Steinberg was so impressed with the Solaire's water filtration system- a massive web of pipes, barrels, and funnels in the buildings basement hat he ultimately caved in and took a taste for himself.
AX
EPA! Salud! (Laughter…) I have to tell you, this is really… this whole project, when you talk about energy efficiency, environmental protection and economic development, it doesn't get any better than this. And the water, I would not know that it came to this source if you hadn't told me.
N
Steinberg called The Solaire a perfect marriage of public and private interests, promising that Governor George Pataki and other officials would support more developments like it in New York.
Joseph Chaney reporting. Columbia Radio News