1234 Market Street (SEPTA Headquarters)
1234 Market Street
Philadelphia, PA 19107
Map It!
SEPTA's
Headquarters at 1234 Market Street in Center City Philadelphia is
a 20-story commercial office building with administrative
workspaces, corporate offices, data management centers, and retail
concessionaires. The building, a 1972 vintage purchased by SEPTA
in 1993, has represented an ongoing energy challenge for facility
managers confronting the daily realities of a building constructed
in an era of cheap energy prices and little regard for
energy-efficient design. Now with an ENERGY STAR certification, it
is clear that this daily challenge is one that building managers
have embraced and are overcoming.
SEPTA initiated
an aggressive schedule of energy efficiency retrofits almost
immediately upon purchase of the building in 1993. Some
investments were fundamental: three energy-efficient chillers,
electronic controls, and a wholesale switch-out of T12 40W to T8
26W ballast lights brought the building up to the day's energy
efficiency standards. Additional investments were made in covering
single-pane windows with window film on the building's southern
exposure, where solar gain challenges interior climate control.
SEPTA also invested in a
variable
air
volume (VAV)
system to
complement a constant velocity system and improve the efficiency
of climate control on the building's outer edges.
Modifications
continued upon SEPTA's occupancy in 1994. In 1998, SEPTA replaced
its old control, energy-hogging elevators with new intelligent
control, solid-state motors that improved service quality and
saved over $100,000 per year in energy costs. In 2002, SEPTA
instituted a new policy to run its energy-intensive escalators
only on-demand. During this time, SEPTA also embarked on a 10-year
program to replace all of the building's bathrooms with new
energy- and water-efficient fixtures. Renovations were completed
in 2008.
In 2005, SEPTA
upgraded the original window films with the latest technology,
which allows 20 percent less heat into the building from its
southern exposure. That year, SEPTA also made two significant
investments to the energy efficiency of the building's
infrastructure: first, a new steam generator was purchased to
provide the building with electric co-generation capacity when
steam demand is high in the cold winter months; and second, white
rubberized material was installed to cover the building's 31,360
square feet of black tar roof with a insulating reflective material.
More recently,
SEPTA has begun to retrofit open and temporarily occupied office
areas, including conference rooms, elevator lobbies, storage
closets, and bathrooms with lighting occupancy sensors, and plans
to extend the program to all public and private office areas in
the coming years. SEPTA has also embarked in a pilot program to
change out the now-aging T8 26W ballast lights with emerging LED
technology.
Moving forward,
maintaining 1234 Market Street's ENERGY STAR score will require
continued investment. A number of inescapable energy
challenges--namely, the operation of four 24-hour data centers and
an inefficient two-pipe HVAC system--demand a proactive approach
to energy innovation. SEPTA's building managers are up to the
challenge, with a full slate of improvements that will improve
energy performance and save money. Among conceptual plans are
investments in solar and wind power technology to satisfy building
demand with on-site renewable energy. SEPTA also plans to closely
monitor its LED pilot project to evaluate the possibility of more
widespread implementation.
Communications:
Unavailable
Testimonial:
Unavailable
Please note: Narrative information in this profile has been provided by Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority or a representative of this facility. Other building information was verified and submitted to EPA at the time of application. Building energy performance, operating characteristics, and ownership/management may be subject to change over time.
Building Owner:*
Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority
Property Manager:*
The Flynn Company
Year(s) Labeled (Rating):
2010 (90)
2012 (92)
2013 (95)
2015 (75)
Facility Type: Office
Total Floorspace: 714190 sf
Year Constructed: 1973
Contract Type: None
Technologies Used:
Unavailable