Senior and Disabled Adult HUD Facility Going “Green”

Thanks to $1.2 million in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act Recovery Funds

March 25, 2011 - Cambrian Center, a senior and disabled adult HUD housing facility, broke ground today on a $1.2 million dollar clean energy and building efficiency retrofit engineered by San Jose-based Salas O’Brien Engineers, Inc. The funds were appropriated from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009, to improve the energy efficiency of federally funded facilities, help stimulate the economy by creating new jobs and saving existing ones, while investing in long-term economic growth. The initiative is part of a program to help federal buildings become more energy efficient, thus reducing operating costs and saving taxpayer’s money.

The groundbreaking will highlight the Cambrian Center’s clean energy, sustainability and energy efficiency improvements and mark the beginning of residents’ adopting more environmentally sustainable practices. This green building retrofit will contain four ClearEdge Power 5kW fuel cells, a re-engineered “cool roof,” energy efficient windows and sliding glass doors, and energy efficient refrigerators in twenty-four of the units. Salas O’Brien Managing Principal, John Salas said, “the Cambrian Center retrofit represents another opportunity for us to significantly improve an existing building with an aged infrastructure and make it both “green” and more comfortable for its residents.” {continued}