Corcoran Management: Canterbury Towers
Background
Canterbury Towers, located in Worcester Massachusetts, is an eight-story, 156-unit affordable apartment community. Built in 1976 under the leadership of Reverend George W. Smith of the Worcester Episcopal Housing Corporation, Canterbury Towers offers quality living for elderly and disabled persons. To preserve its comfort and affordability updates to the lighting and HVAC systems, as well as the replacement of all windows, was deemed necessary. An energy-savings assessment based on the age of the building systems that are being replaced shows the potential for up to 30% savings per year.
The community has many features including a garden-style recreation room perfect for gaming activities, outdoor seating for enjoying a nice outdoor New England day, and on-site laundry facilities. Restaurants, historical attractions, and the popular events at the nearby DCU Center are all within short proximity of Canterbury Towers.
Solutions
Corcoran will be upgrading all exterior lighting and many common area interior fixtures to LEDs, upgrading boilers from hydrotherm low-efficiency to condensing high-efficiency boilers from HTP, and replacing windows. Bathroom faucets have 1.0gpm aerators, kitchen faucets have 1.5gpm aerators, and showerheads are 1.75gpm.
The property has a 500-gallon solar hot water system that was installed in 1986. It currently provides 7% of the buildings domestic hot water requirements. This amount is expected to increase to 12% once the low-flow fixtures and aerators specified in the current scope of work have been installed and there will be a retro-commissioning of the system.
Other Benefits
The maintenance staff has received training in sustainability via a five-hour training program developed by Corcoran Management. Also, Corcoran regularly engages in green outreach to residents, including contests. Corcoran had residents use social media to suggest “Green Living” tips and winners won prizes.
Image Gallery
Canterbury Towers - community room
