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COMPLETED PROJECT

251 Mercer Street Plaza - Cogeneration Plant

New York University has replaced and expanded its Cogeneration Plant which is housed under 251 Mercer Street. This has improved energy efficiency, reduced carbon emissions and improved reliability.
The project began in the spring of 2007 and is now complete. The plant is in operation and the new plaza is open to the public.

The project began in the spring of 2007 and is scheduled to be completed by the fall of 2010.

rendering: Mercer Street Plaza

An Architectural Rendering of the Re-landscaped Mercer Street Plaza

The UniversityÕs new combined heat and power (CHP) plant provides high temperature hot water to 40 NYU buildings and also provides electrical power to an additional 18 to 20 NYU buildings.

The new CHP Electrical plant is located under the plaza along the west side of Mercer Street between West 3rd Street and West 4th Street, adjacent to Warren Weaver Hall. The plaza has been re-landscaped with a green, more inviting, usable, and visibly pleasing space. NYU convened a Community Advisory Committee comprised of local residents, elected officials, businesses, and Community Board members to collaborate on the design of an improved plaza above the underground Cogeneration facility.

The proposal was approved unanimously by Community Board #2 and was hailed as a model of a community engaged process. Details of the process are available here.

Main Phases
The Cogen Project has several major phases:

  • Phase one included demolition of the plaza, which included the existing greenery.
  • The primary work included in phase two is the excavation of the site and the build out of the concrete vault.
  • Phase three of the project is the construction of the generator, which will occur underground.
  • During the final phase, the plaza will be re-landscaped and the plant will run through a series of tests before it goes into full operation.

All phases of the project are now complete.