Project Summary

Greening Main Street creates a super-efficient Passive House Retrofit demonstration of a c. 1920s brick building in the Village of Catskill by making certain energy, water and resource efficiency improvements to the building without sacrificing the historic character.  The purpose of this project is to show policy-makers, property owners and the general public how saving energy and improving the overall “greenness” of the building can be affordable and contribute to the vitality and quality of life of downtown and make the Village of Catskill and Greene County more sustainable.

Project Details

The building is a typical brick c. 1920’s mixed-use three-storey building located at 386-388 Main Street. The building has a unique character that contributes to the Town of Catskill East Side Historic District part of the National Register of Historic Places. Positioned alongside the Willard Alley (aka Mott Street Slide), which runs from Main Street to the Village Community Center, the building is in a high-traffic, highly visible place. It is sited in the Catskill Creek Watershed, a significant fish and wildlife habitat and part of the Hudson River Estuary. The property has been neglected for many years. The deteriorated and obsolete elements of the building are in marked need of improvement. The windows leak, the basement floods, it lacks insulation, ventilation is spotty, and drainage is poor at best.  

Greening Main Street uses a typical Passive House approach, a voluntary construction standard that results in a 70% reduction in overall energy usage by optimizing passive elements like insulation, air tightness, water conservation, solar energy, energy-saving landscaping, and green infrastructure. Implementing these concepts through a highly visible demonstration program, particularly at a neighborhood scale will provide invaluable experience to guide and facilitate future efforts.

Buildings consume 70% of the electricity load in the U.S. and account for 40% of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. So, increasing the energy efficiency of the area’s older buildings is the fastest, most cost-effective way to reduce society's energy consumption, and therefore radically reduce our carbon emissions. Furthermore, this project presents an opportunity for a wide range of stakeholders to become familiar with the concepts of Passive House elements and green infrastructure, as well as the real world issues associated with implementation.

Measures that will be taken to improve several areas of sustainability and building performance will be phased from four months to two years, and include the following:

Incorporating efficient heating and ventilation systems

Basic weatherization and insulation

Using efficient lighting and optimizing daylighting

Enhancing windows and doors

Reducing potable water usage

Using renewable energy

Installing green infrastructure – green roof, rain garden, roof gutters, etc. to control rain/snow runoff and prevent pollution

Applying passive solar and water conservation landscaping with native plants

Composting yard waste  

Using recycled and salvaged building and interior materials 

Making education and public outreach an integral part of the overall process

Historic masonry building retrofits offer unique opportunities and challenges. Greening Main Street will demonstrate the best strategies and especially help to address the logistical challenges associated with historic buildings, implementation, maintenance, and public perception, as well as provide a real world indication of realized benefits. It will also provide real information on local costs and benefits, perspectives on the logistics of implementation, education of stakeholders, and support for future efforts.

Benefits

The project brings significant environmental, social, economic, and educational benefits to the local community. Environmental benefits comprise air quality, carbon sequestration, saving energy, saving money, cooling downtown, and increasing habitat for pollinators and other wildlife.

Greening Main Street raises the environmental awareness image of Catskill. The project not only illustrates the region’s efforts to improve water quality and energy conservation, but may also encourage implementation of green infrastructure by the public on their own properties. Social advantages include civic pride, downtown regeneration, improved quality of life, health and wellbeing, and aesthetic rewards. 

Economic benefits provide opportunities for green jobs and workforce development and stimulating development of green buildings. With strong growth, there is potential for the green building industry to gain a strong foothold in Catskill. Project visibility and sustainable building elements will effectively communicate and act as a catalyst to attract environmentally conscious sectors of the public visit and reside in the Village of Catskill area.

Education & Public Outreach

Projects like this are inspirational as it shows that renovating cannot only be a way to save on utility bills but contributes to the environment and community. A primary goal of the project will be the educational process that takes place through active community engagement and collaboration.

A sign illustrating the sustainable practices applied and highlighting the benefits will be designed and placed on the property along the Mott Street Slide public walk way. The project’s visibility on Main Street in the center of downtown will create a more environmentally aware community and offers numerous opportunities for public outreach. At a basic level, the general public can view examples of source controls, understand how they work, and see what they look like.

Greening Main Street will continue to contribute to a more sustainable village and region as it educates private property owners, municipal officials, youth and the general public about green infrastructure practices. What is more, the project provides countless opportunities for public education among elementary, middle and high school students. Teachers may take their students to the Mott Street Slide for them to view the green building elements or they can download illustrations of the Passive House development from the project website to open discussion on climate change, resource conservation issues, native plant habitats and human impacts on ecosystems.

Passive House Retrofits and Green Infrastructure are becoming increasingly common in residential and commercial spaces. The Village of Catskill has an opportunity to embrace its possibilities and become a leading example for environmental action. Greening Main Street has the power of multiplying that effort to conserve energy and water by a lot of individual efforts, all working together to be good community stewards. Ultimately, with careful consideration of building aesthetics, renovating the historic building to Passive House standards will be a win-win proposition — for the occupants, for the Village, and for the climate — with preservation and energy efficiency working together.