New York State’s Climate Action legislation, the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act, has gotten a lot of attention in recent months from NYS facility owners. The 22-member Council released a DRAFT Scoping Plan on December 31, 2021, that outlines several technical areas in which New Yorkers can contribute to reducing Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Emissions. Most facility and vehicle fleet operators are not aware of the legislation and not sure what feasible options exist to become compliant with the policy’s objectives.

State Agencies, Transit Agencies, and Colleges and Universities have become early adopters of Clean Energy alternatives, to reduce carbon emissions. Wendel has been assisting several facility owners with technical services to evaluate feasible options, design upgrades, and implement new technologies. This experience can be leveraged to assist you with your individual Climate Action Plan. Wendel has completed and is currently working on several Clean Energy Master Plans for a variety of facility and fleet owners. These studies often include a variety of technology evaluations, such as: building energy benchmarking, energy efficiency analysis, building electrification, heat pump and heat recovery chiller applications, electric demand management and resiliency, energy submetering, light, heavy duty and transit fleets, and renewable energy technologies.

In New York State, our CEMP projects are being funded by a 50% cost-shared grant from the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority. Our multi-year term contract with NYSERDA allows our client to receive this 50% grant right at project initiation, without the need for cost reimbursement.

If you need technical assistance with your Climate Action Plan, or are wondering what technologies and options are feasible in your facilities, please contact Keith Krug, CEM at kkrug@wendelcompanies.com or call 877-293-6335. We can develop a custom Clean Energy Master Plan Study scope for you, to assist you with a roadmap to GHG reductions in compliance with CLCPA goals.

In 2019, the Village of Lancaster received Smart Growth Community Funding through New York State’s Downtown Revitalization Initiative (DRI). The Village envisioned their Central Business District (CBD) as a vibrant, mixed-use destination providing opportunities for a “Live, Work, Play” experience for both residents and visitors. Reestablishing the historic street grid enabled new economic development opportunities for infill and mixed-use buildings to recreate the urban fabric of the Village.

This project began with Wendel’s innovative Immersion™ process. Over two days, the Wendel team met with key players to capture ideas from the Village, public, and merchants, as well as the landowner/developer of properties on both sides of West Main St. This process led to creative design solutions such as retaining walls and utility improvements both designed to accommodate the road extension as well as future buildings, and also a mini-roundabout at the newly created intersection of West Main and North Aurora St. Considering both the public and private impacts, the collaborative solution for the new retaining walls led to significant cost savings that allowed a typically challenging urban development project, with slim financial margins, to be feasibly constructed.

Due to this project’s success, the Village also pursued and received grant funding for an additional Complete Streets project adjacent to West Main St., which will construct two roundabouts and incorporate a road diet on a parallel street to West Main. The developer has also been able to obtain lease commitments for three phases of the future development along the West Main St corridor.

“Property values in the Village are going up because people want to be here. Retail demand within ten miles of West Main St is very low, but the Village now has a waiting list due to the economic ecosystem that was generated by this plan.” – Tommy Sweeney, Glassco Management LLC

Based on our work on the West Main Street project, Glassco Management decided to also bring Wendel into the Lancaster Village Center project, which is currently ongoing and has been broken down into three phases. This project site is approximately five acres, and will include new buildings, enhanced site amenities including parking, sidewalks, lighting, landscaping, and more. The new buildings will include approximately 22,000 square feet of commercial space, and 44,000 square feet of residential space. To honor the original character of the Central Avenue Historic District, which is on the National Register of Historic Places, buildings will be no more than 4 stories tall.

Lancaster Village Center

West Main St