NYS Department of Environmental Conservation Regional Headquarters

Project Size: 43,000-sf
Project Location: 232 Golf Course Road, Warrensburg, NY 12885
Project Team: NYS Department of Environmental Conservation
Construction Cost: $9 Million

Project Request:

To design the expansion of and renovation to the NYS DEC’s Region 3 Headquarters.

Project Solution:

This NYS DEC region covers a unique and diverse region including the city of Yonkers, one of the largest freshwater swamps in New York State, and over 200,000 acres of state forest with many rare plant and animal species. To keep up with the demand for the wide-ranging services provided by the headquarters, the New York State DEC had been planning an expansion project to almost double its size. Initially given to another architect, delays were such that the DEC was running out of time to have project funding approved. With earlier work on another regional headquarters successfully completed by HHA, DEC handed over the project to HHA confident that they could rescue the project. Working closely with DEC we were able to modify the program requirements and the design to bring the project in on schedule and within budget. The two-part project involved a 20,000-sf addition in Phase 1 and the gut renovation of the existing 23,000-sf headquarters in a second phase. The project was originally intended to receive basic LEED certification but during design, we were able to provide additional design features (increased energy efficiency, reduction in potable water use, increased indoor air quality, use of materials manufactured with recycled content, and recycling of all construction waste) to gain LEED Silver designation. Increased energy efficiency was achieved with the use of a geothermal heating system, insulation values of 33% above required codes, daylighting harvest systems, and energy produced from wind power.