A leader in local affordable housing is making a significant investment to
improve energy efficiency at one of its Oswego County properties, establishing a model for other buildings
to follow statewide to bring energy efficiency, comfort, and health benefits to residents. This summer, Rock
Property Management Company’s Christopher Court will become one of the first properties to introduce
a new, locally assembled heat pump system. The project will also be the first upstate affordable housing
project participating in NYSERDA’s Retrofit NY Program.
Christopher Court, located in Phoenix, is the first affordable housing community to be retrofit with the
newly-designed HydroPod, a pre-fabricated heat pump system. Assembled locally by TK Fabricate, the
HydroPod will incorporate a high efficiency heating, cooling, and hot water system, and add continuous
ventilation to the apartments that will improve indoor air quality throughout the buildings. It will also
allow the property management company to identify and mitigate potential issues much faster – in some
cases before residents even notice issues and call them in.
Construction on the project began two weeks ago. In addition to the first use of the HydroPod, the project
includes new triple pane windows, new roofs, and other upgrades to enhance the exterior of the buildings,
which is referred to as the “building envelope” in industry terms. All of these investments will help to
modernize the buildings, ensure accessibility for current and future residents, improve energy efficiency,
and help meet the state’s electrification goals, while providing tenant comfort year-round.
“This project is about more than energy efficiency. Our priority is to create healthier, happier, more
comfortable living spacesfor individuals and families. This improves the air quality, and their overall quality
of life,” said Patrick Rock, owner of Rock Property Management Company, a family-owned, locally operated
company. “All of our investments are focused on long-term operations. TK Fabricate’s HydroPod proposes
long-term solutionsto solve common problems that pop up as buildings age. This retrofit project preserves
existing affordable housing buildings – and homes for families – by employing pre-fabrication to save
energy, time, and resources. It allows us to enhance existing buildings instead of tearing things down for
more expensive, more time consuming and more energy consuming new builds.”
The 40-unit complex at 22 Maplehurst Drive is home to 60 people. There’s a mix of families and individual
residents, a handful of whom have lived there for more than 20 years. This type ofretrofit allows affordable
housing to be maintained for decades with minimal disruption to residents.
Tom King, owner of TK Fabricate (TKF), created the HydroPod concept in 2019. This innovative technology
is being supported by federal and state initiatives, including the Advanced Building Construction
Collaborative and NYSERDA’s Advanced Buildings Program. The product is launching in a series of pilot
projects this summer at Christopher Court in Phoenix, and at other residential properties in Syracuse. A
prototype has been tested at the Syracuse University Center of Excellence Building.
“I created this to improve air quality and comfort for residential tenants, as well as to ease the installation
and maintenance processes for building owners,” said Tom King. “Our hope is that the successful pilot
project stirs new interest in the product, which has the potential to make a significant impact across New
York State. We’d love to see the number of projects that use the HydroPod double next year in 2025.”
Rock Property Management prioritizes working with local and regional businesses for as many projects as
possible. In addition to TK Fabricate, other partners for this project include Syracuse-based King + King
Architects, Ithaca-based Taitem Engineering – which assisted Rock Property Management in receiving
NYSERDA funding – and Watertown-based Purcell Construction, bringing it all together by implementing
the retrofit. All these partners have been involved in bringing this initiative to fruition since the original
conversation began – this project has been in the works for five years, throughout state and federal
administration changes and a global pandemic!
The $4 million project is being completed in partnership with NYSERDA’s RetrofitNY Program and the U.S.
Department of Agriculture. The project received additional supporting loan funds from the New York City
Energy Efficiency Corporation (NYCEEC) and was highlighted in a recent NYCEEC newsletter, available on
NYCEEC’s website.
Susanne DesRoches, Vice President of Clean Resilient Buildings at NYSERDA said, “It is exciting to see this
innovative project move from concept to application as New York continues to prioritize the creation and
adoption of scalable and standardized solutions for the housing industry statewide. NYSERDA looks
forward to seeing the pilot launch of the HydroPod at Christopher Court this summer and how it will
enhance air quality and improve energy efficiency for tenants while moving us even closer to meeting New
York’s ambitious climate and clean energy goals.”
RetrofitNY first began after NYSERDA commissioned one of the current project partners, Taitem
Engineering, to study a similar program, Energiesprong, in the Netherlands to see if its industrialized
approach to net zero energy solutions would be applicable to New York’s multifamily housing. This inspired
Tom and Taitem Engineering team lead Evan Hallas to design the first HydroPod, the mature version of
which is now being deployed at Christopher Court.
While individual units are commonly updated and modernized as tenants move out, this project
represents the most significant upgrade that Christopher Court has undergone since the late 1990s. There
will be minimal disruptions to residents. Most people will be able to stay in their apartments throughout
the construction process, and Rock PMC will coordinate with residents should maintenance and
construction crews need access to units. A grand opening celebration will be planned when the project is
complete.