Herkimer Housing Authority
Green Assessment Services
The Herkimer Housing Authority consists of three properties, Eastern Gardens Apartments, Creekside Court Apartments and Midtown Apartments, which together include 100 garden-style apartments in thirteen multi-unit buildings and a four-story elevator building which houses 44 efficiency and 31 one bedroom apartments.
In 2011, Susan Dee Associates was commissioned to provide a thorough, on-site evaluation of systems at its three properties to determine if “green” building practices can be recommended, as the result of the Herkimer Housing Authority receiving a HUD American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) Competitive Grant for Green Operations. This assessment and corresponding report served to identify feasible replacements or upgrades to building components with more environmentally preferable options through normal remodeling activities. 
The scope of the project included:
- Green Assessment and Report
- Site walkthrough and preliminary assessment
- Identification of potential “green” measures and corresponding analysis
- Green Assessment Report
- Green Operations and Maintenance Manual
- Resident Education Package
- Green Procurement Policy
- Green Training – on site day long workshop
- Assessment
- O&M Manual
- Procurement Policies
The purpose of the green assessment is to provide an examination of energy efficient and site sustainable measures specific to HHA with the intent of improvement when feasible.We were guided by HUD, at a minimum, to examine the following topics:
- Site Improvements
- Roofing
- Water Conservation
- Energy Efficiency
- Indoor Air Quality
- Materials and Construction
Because this assessment was to be part of a larger study, we expanded the list of topics to include other common “green” categories such as:
- Recycling and Waste Disposal
- Alternative Energy
- Integrated Pest Management
Since sustainable practices start at design and construction, the application to a property already constructed and in operation for as many years as HHA’s building have been requires a different perspective than one being designed today.
The Housing Authority was not going to redesign the properties, therefore the “green” practices we focused on extended to operations and maintenance, product procurement – building or cleaning, waste reduction, and improved building performance, i.e., energy efficiency.
As a result, most of the recommendations we made were changes to practices, which do not necessarily incur a capital cost.