As Water Reuse Expands, Proponents Battle the ‘Yuck’ Factor

Published 8:30 am Sunday, August 6, 2023

Woman washing hands in sink

Jim Robbins

August 4, 2023

When Janet Cruz lost an April election for a Tampa City Council seat, she became a political casualty of an increasingly high-stakes debate over recycled water.

During her time in the Florida Legislature, Cruz had supported a new law allowing the use of treated wastewater in local water systems. But many Tampa residents were staunchly opposed to a plan by their water utility to do just that, and Cruz was forced to backtrack, with her spokesperson asserting she had never favored the type of complete water reuse known as “toilet to tap.” She lost anyway, and the water plan has been canceled.

Tampa’s showdown may be a harbinger of things to come as climate change and drought cause water shortages in many parts of the country. With few alternatives for expanding supply, cities and states are rapidly adding recycled water to their portfolios and expanding the ways in which it can be used. Researchers say it’s safe — and that it’s essential to move past the 20th century notion that wastewater must stay flushed.

“There is no reason to only use water once,” said Peter Fiske, director of the National Alliance for Water Innovation at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. “We’ve got to be more clever with the water we’ve got.”

But proponents are still fighting an uphill battle to overcome the “yuck” factor. A recent study found that reused water is not only safe but that it’s actually cleaner than conventionally sourced water — yet acceptance is “hindered by perceptions of poor water quality and potential health threats.”

Several projects were canceled in California in the 1990s because of such worries. In San Gabriel, Miller Brewing Company opposed a water reclamation project when people started joking about “beer aged in porcelain.”

“You have to have a lot of education in a community to say why [recycled water] is needed” and what experts are doing to ensure the safety of the water, said Noelle George, the Texas managing director for the trade association WateReuse.

Many forms of water reuse have long been routine. Water from yard sprinklers, for example, soaks into the groundwater. Or, if it is processed in a treatment plant, it goes into a river or lake, where it’s used again. Municipalities and others often treat a form of wastewater known as gray water to use for irrigation.

But in the world of water reuse, the gold standard is known as direct potable reuse — cleaning wastewater, including sewage, to drinking water standards.

With DPR systems, the water from showers, sinks, and toilets first goes to a conventional treatment plant, where it is disinfected with chemicals and aeration. Then it gets a second scrubbing in a multistage process that first uses a bioreactor to break down nitrogen compounds, then employs microfiltration to clean out particles and reverse osmosis to remove viruses, bacteria, and salts. Finally, hydrogen peroxide is added and the water goes through an ultraviolet light processing, which is supposed to kill any contaminants that are left.

Experts say the water that emerges at the end of this process is so clean it has no taste, and that minerals must be added to give the water flavor. It’s also free of a little-known health hazard; chlorine, often used to disinfect conventional water, can react with organic material in the water to create chloroform, exposure to which can cause negative health effects.

Big Spring, Texas, is the only place in the country with a DPR municipal water system, in which all wastewater is treated and sent back to the tap. Another notable DPR system is the Changi Water Reclamation Plant in Singapore, which cleans 237 million gallons each day.

In Tampa, intense opposition focused on the high cost of the water treatment and the possible presence of pharmaceuticals, hormones, and so-called forever chemicals, known as PFAS.

“We have never thought that it was necessary to drink wastewater,” said Gary Gibbons, the vice chair of the Tampa Bay Sierra Club, in September 2022. He said the project, which the city referred to by the acronym PURE, would result in contaminants in the drinking water and the groundwater aquifer.

Experts reject these concerns as uninformed and say properly treated wastewater is safer than a lot of conventional drinking water sources.

“I would almost rather have an advanced treatment plant of the type used for potable water recycling than water that comes from a river that has several cities and farms and industries upstream that are discharging into it,” said David L. Sedlak, an expert on potable reuse at the University of California-Berkeley.

With higher temperatures and long-term pressure on water sources including aquifers and mountain snowpacks, a lot more water reuse is coming.

In Texas, the state permits DPR plants on a case-by-case basis, and the city of El Paso is building one that’s slated to be online by 2026. Colorado last year began allowing DPR. In California, regulations spelling out the approach to DPR should be ready by the end of this year, with some cities setting goals of recycling all water by 2035. Florida and Arizona are also moving to expand direct potable reuse.

There’s also a lot of activity around what’s known as indirect potable reuse. Orange County, California, has the world’s largest IPR facility, which cleans 130 million gallons of water a day to irrigation standards, passes it through advanced purification, and finally injects it into groundwater, which serves as an environmental buffer. The water is then piped to all municipal users.

San Francisco is pioneering another approach. Since 2015, the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission, which operates the dams, reservoirs, and aqueducts that deliver water from the Sierra Nevada to the city, has required all buildings over 100,000 square feet be equipped for recycling gray water. The downtown Salesforce Tower has its own recycling plant: Sinks, laundry machines, and showers drain into the basement recycling system, and the water is then reused for flushing toilets and irrigation, saving about 30,000 gallons a day.

“We don’t need to flush toilets with drinking water,” said Fiske, noting that toilets make up about 30% of all water use.

San Francisco water officials are studying the feasibility and safety of cleaning all wastewater to potable standards at the building level. The headquarters of the water utility has a blackwater system called the Living Machine that uses engineered wetlands in the sidewalks around the building to treat wastewater, cutting water use by two-thirds. (Blackwater systems recycle water from toilets; gray water systems reuse water from all other drains.)

Some experts see a day when buildings will not have to be hooked up to external sewer and water systems at all, with advanced recycling systems augmented by rainwater. For the moment, though, educational campaigns are still needed to bring recycled water into the mainstream.

Epic Cleantec, which created a recycling system for a new San Francisco apartment tower, thought beer might help. The company last year teamed up with a local brewery to produce beer from recycled water. The Epic OneWater Brew by Devil’s Canyon Brewing isn’t sold; rather, it’s a demonstration product, given away and served at events.

While people might not want to drink recycled water, they will usually try the beer.

“We made beer out of recycled water, because we’re trying to change the conversation,” said Aaron Tartakovsky, CEO of Epic Cleantec. “We’re fundamentally trying to help people rethink how our communities handle water.”

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When we talk about office flight-to-quality, where occupants are increasingly focused on renting office space in high-end, modern buildings to better lure employees back to face-to-face work, the conversation usually revolves around a laundry list of amenities . It’s easy to forget that the flight to quality is primarily being driven by the growing emphasis on sustainability in the workplace and current market fundamentals are pushing energy efficient systems even further up the list of flight to quality must-haves.

Tenants are increasingly considering sustainability and climate resilience when choosing office space, and net-zero targets are paving the way for more energy-efficient buildings. Buildings designed to reduce energy consumption will become increasingly valuable as climate change approaches. Energy-saving features such as LED lighting, state-of-the-art HVAC systems and solar panels are being incorporated into Class A office buildings, but another sustainable feature that is gaining traction is on-site water reuse systems.

trickle-down economics

On-site water reuse systems in office buildings treat and recycle the building’s gray water (which is water from sources such as sinks, showers, and washing machines). The treated gray water can then be used for non-potable purposes like flushing toilets, irrigation, and even cooling data servers. This reduces the building’s fresh water requirements, which is particularly important in areas with water scarcity or drought. A prominent example of a wastewater reuse system in a Class A office building is the system installed in the Salesforce Tower in San Francisco. The building’s system collects gray water from sinks and showers, and then treats the water using a combination of physical and biological processes, including filtration, UV disinfection, and membrane bioreactors. The treated gray water is then used to flush toilets and irrigate the building’s roof garden.

If you’re reading this from one of the parched Southwest states, the rise of on-site water reuse systems in commercial buildings isn’t exactly new to you. Thanks to dwindling water supplies and population growth, California, Colorado, Florida and Texas have policies mandating the installation of water reuse systems that have either been passed or are on the legislature list. City council members in Sacramento and Austin made headlines for passing ordinances requiring new commercial buildings to install water reuse systems in their plumbing, both of which will go into effect later this year. Beginning in July 2023, new commercial developments in Sacramento that are 10,000 square feet or larger will require graywater systems for irrigation, while buildings larger than 50,000 square feet will need to install a dual plumbing system that would allow recycling of graywater throughout the building. Austin, on the other hand, will require new commercial and multi-family homes 250,000 square feet or larger to have on-site water reuse systems beginning in December 2023.

New York City also introduced its Water Conservation and Reuse Grant Pilot Program, which offers grants of up to $250,000 to fund the installation of eligible systems. The program aims to reduce the demand for drinking water and promote sustainable water management practices in commercial buildings. Eligible projects may include the installation of gray water systems, rainwater harvesting, or other non-potable water reuse initiatives. By providing financial support to install water reuse systems, the program encourages buildings to adopt sustainable practices and meet regulatory requirements, while reducing operating costs and promoting resilience in the face of potential water shortages or supply disruptions.

Barring a growing regulatory framework, offices with water reuse systems are a more desirable asset. On-site water reuse systems are becoming increasingly popular in office buildings due to their potential to conserve water resources and reduce costs associated with water use. Not to mention that thermal energy can be recovered from wastewater to heat buildings, effectively reducing energy costs and greenhouse gas emissions associated with heating a building.

See also

splash management

Water reuse systems can vary in complexity and design, with different types of systems offering different opportunities for treatment and reuse. A common type of system uses a physical treatment process that uses filters and membranes to remove impurities and contaminants from gray water before it is reused for non-potable purposes. Another option is a chemical treatment process, which may include methods like ozonation or reverse osmosis to purify the water more. The specific type of system selected for an office building depends on a number of factors, including the building’s water needs, the space available for installation, and the project budget. Despite the differences between the systems, they all aim to reduce the environmental impact of water use and create a more sustainable building by reducing water use. Regardless of the methodology, installing a water reuse system would be undeniably helpful in differentiating a building as a trophy facility as companies look to set up their operations in the most sustainable buildings.

See also

On-site water reuse systems can support municipal water supplies by reducing the need for fresh water and relieving pressure on existing water sources. By using treated wastewater for nonpotable purposes such as toilet flushing, landscaping irrigation, or HVAC system cooling, buildings can offset some of their dependence on municipal water systems. This, in turn, can help cities and communities conserve their freshwater resources and better manage water scarcity during droughts or other water crises. Additionally, using treated wastewater for non-potable purposes reduces the amount of wastewater that needs to be treated and discharged into the environment, which can benefit local waterways and ecosystems. Overall, on-site water reuse systems can play a valuable role in promoting sustainable water management and ensuring long-term water security for communities. By establishing a hyper-local wastewater treatment loop and reducing reliance on municipal plumbing, water reuse systems also increase a building’s resilience to flooding. On-site reuse systems are less susceptible to extreme weather conditions, hydraulic capacity limitations, combined sewer overflows, and other infrastructure issues than main water systems.

Water reuse systems become part of the Flight to Quality equation because they help promote sustainability and wellbeing in the workplace, which are key to users and investors. After all, the current battle for quality is as much about helping residents with their environmental goals as it is about luring employees into the shiniest office around. Because on-site water reuse systems in office buildings represent an innovative way to reduce a building’s water needs and contribute to sustainable water use, using a system becomes a convenience for owners and occupants. Owners can achieve cost savings by implementing a water reuse system, and users have another way to promote their sustainability efforts to employees, investors, and the public.

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Empty downtown office buildings. Housing shortage in almost all important markets. Is there a way to address both issues simultaneously by converting historic but underutilized office buildings into downtown apartments and condos? An idea that has been discussed in recent years and implemented in some cities. But while the idea seems simple enough — repurposing existing office space for residential and mixed-use projects — there are some real challenges that limit the feasibility of converting large offices into apartments.

The commercial real estate market faces an uncertain future. While some companies have begun to require employees to return to the office, many continue to work under their hybrid or fully remote working models, which companies may commit to permanently. And while office occupancy has risen in some major cities in recent months (CBRE notes that both Austin and Houston had occupancy rates above 60% in January, up about 25% from 2022 levels), are the ongoing impact of COVID-19 and uncertainty in global financial markets is keeping many office buildings in the country’s major cities empty. Those returning-to-office tenants are focusing their office space searches on high-quality, sustainable spaces with plenty of amenities to encourage workers to return to the office. This flight to quality leaves behind some older and in many cases architecturally relevant office buildings. As a result, there are growing opportunities for the potential adaptive reuse of these existing underutilized structures.

Repurposing existing structures removes or reduces some of the hurdles that new construction projects typically face. While the interiors of these buildings need to be modernized to meet residential standards, the foundation, core and shell of the building are already in place, eliminating the need to build the vertical components of the project from scratch. Depending on the size, age, and layout of the original structure, the remodeling project may utilize existing HVAC, electrical, plumbing, and elevator systems. These benefits can significantly reduce the time and expense required to bring new housing units to market.

However, adaptive office-to-home reuse also comes with some unique and extensive costs that may make the model unaffordable for specific projects or specific markets. While project developers can save money by using the core and skin of the existing building, they will still incur significant upfront acquisition costs. The interior work itself will also come at a high price, which in turn will require developers to seek deeply discounted offers from motivated sellers looking to sell an otherwise difficult or vacant asset. And while the existing core and shell are present in these buildings, office and residential floor panels inherently differ in ways that cannot always be reconciled. Office buildings have deep floor slabs that make it difficult for natural light to reach the interior, and utilities tend to be centralized, meaning existing HVAC, electrical, and plumbing installations may need a major upgrade to accommodate shifts of use from offices housing into account.

Zoning and planning approval processes, building codes and tenant protection regulations are other issues. Cities like New York and San Francisco have strict tenant protection measures such as rent controls and relocation requirements, further increasing operating costs not typically incurred by office buildings. And residential uses are not always permitted by law in central business districts, meaning conversion projects may be subject to additional (often voluntary) review and permit requirements from local governments beyond what would be required for a traditional office development.

Houston: Realizing the potential for converting large offices into residential buildings
Houston, a city known for leading innovations in energy and medicine, has embraced the concept of adaptive reuse, with two iconic mid-century office towers already converted into residential buildings. 800 Bell, an iconic 1960s building that served as ExxonMobil’s former headquarters, was recently sold to New York-based developers who intend to convert the 45-story office building into residential units. Across from downtown, 1801 Smith, another 1960’s office building, is currently being converted into a 372-unit luxury complex, with completion expected later this year. 1801 Smith is a terminus for a portion of the sprawling corridor system connecting 95 city blocks of downtown Houston, which will allow future residents easy access to the downtown community’s restaurants and retail outlets. These projects underscore the benefit of bringing residents to central business districts and promote sustainability by keeping people close to their jobs, within easy reach of public transportation systems and vibrant downtown amenities.

Houston’s Downtown Redevelopment Authority (DRA) is seeking to fund a new adaptive reuse incentive program aimed at redeveloping and repurposing underutilized downtown office space. The DRA recently received funding to conduct a feasibility study in the area to identify potential building candidates and measure owner interest in a full office conversion program. The feasibility study is designed to assess the economic challenges associated with adaptive reuse in Houston, as well as the legal, regulatory and permitting concerns associated with conversion projects.

Government involvement likely needed to facilitate conversion projects
Realistically, given the financial hurdles, government support and funding may be required to make widespread office conversion a reality. The DRA recognizes that one of the critical limiting factors in a full office to apartment conversion is the upfront cost, and notes that the Houston local government must be willing to provide financial support and encourage developers for the office conversion program to be effective tax incentives. Houston has a history of such government support for inner city development initiatives; Between 2012 and 2016, Houston implemented a program designed to incentivize the construction of medium- and high-rise residential buildings in downtown Houston. The Downtown Living Initiative has been very successful as the more than 15,000 units built since the initiative began represent nearly two-thirds of all housing in downtown Houston. Time will tell if other cities make similar efforts to support office tower conversions into apartments, and if such actions significantly change the feasibility of future conversion projects.

Federal politicians have also considered supporting conversion projects. Michigan Sen. Debbie Stabenow and California Representative Jimmy Gomez introduced the Revitalizing Downtowns Act in 2021, expanding existing investment tax credits to add a qualifying office remodeling credit. The credit would be 20% of the conversion project costs incurred in converting a building that (1) prior to conversion was a non-residential building offered for rent to office tenants, (2) essentially from an office use to a residential and commercial use converted for retail use or otherwise used for commercial purposes; and (3) not used for residential purposes for at least 25 years prior to conversion. To qualify, a project would have to include affordable housing – 20% of the units must be available to people whose income is 80% or less of the area’s median gross income, unless the building is subject to a written state or local affordable housing restriction Living room . It’s unclear if the legislation will be reintroduced in the new Congress, but the bill shows the will of policymakers at the national level to support the efficient use of city real estate.

These projects can be expensive, but serve as a tool to address both the problems of much-needed housing and persistent vacancy in business parks. Local efforts such as those proposed by Houston’s DRA, along with similar programs at the local, state, and federal levels, provide opportunities for owners and developers to access otherwise economically unviable or unaffordable projects while meeting the larger social need for more housing opportunities in these large urban areas .

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San Francisco-based water reuse technology company Epic Cleantec announced that Fifteen Fifty – the luxury residential building in San Francisco by Related California, hosts the city’s first approved and operational greywater reuse system. Approved and operated by Epic, the system can recycle up to 7,500 gallons of gray water per day, or 2.5 million gallons per year.

According to Greywater Action, gray water is gently used water from sinks, showers, bathtubs and washing machines.

Epic Cleantec’s on-site water reuse approach captures and treats a building’s wastewater to purify it for reuse in nonpotable applications such as irrigation, cooling towers, toilet flushing, laundry and more. Epic’s approach can help reuse up to 95% of a building’s water, deliver significant savings on water and wastewater bills, and help cities conserve valuable regional water supplies, the company says. The Fifteen Fifty installation captures, filters and disinfects gray water from showers and laundry, as well as rainwater from the roof, and uses the ultra-pure water to flush toilets. That achievement comes as California grapples with a widespread mega-drought — the driest period in at least 1,200 years.

According to CNBC, U.S. water and sanitation rates “have outpaced inflation by nearly 300% over the past two decades, while growing urban populations strain aging municipal water infrastructure.” California is expected to spend approximately $4.3 billion on new treatment facilities, upgrades and expansions of existing reuse treatment facilities, and additional networks to distribute treated water to end users.

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Design dealer Blu Dot recently completed a large new showroom at the base of Potrero Hill in San Francisco. The new, neighborhood-friendly accommodation, created through the redesign and remodeling of two vacant buildings, provides a simplified, softly contemporary backdrop for the Minneapolis-based contemporary furniture maker and designer.

Following the 2013 award-winning design of a previous San Francisco retail location at 560 Valencia Street, Blu Dot Design Director Maurice Blanks and his visual merchandising team worked with the office of Charles F. Bloszies FAIA to create the new Blu Dot San Francisco design.

For its new location, Blu Dot selected a location at 99 Missouri that included the former home of Arch, a popular graphics supply company. The architecture and engineering team at Bloszies combined the footprint of this space with a former body shop next door, transforming the original concrete structures into a new shell for Blu Dot’s store planners and interior designers.

Bloszies and Blu Dot organized the removal of redundant bracing and interior panels to open up the interior and eliminated a partially completed false facade at the corner. The team enlarged the window openings to create an organized outdoor rhythm and let in more sunlight. Bloszies designed a concrete slab parapet extension to provide a unified horizontal cap and create a simplified modern profile.

“We also designed steel window frames that protrude from the facade like oversized Tiffany windows, designed to reflect the size of industrial window openings found in nearby buildings,” explains Bloszies.

The building also features a 1,200-square-foot patio and something every San Francisco dreams of—a parking lot. Inside, it was designed “light, light and airy”.

The interior design, conceived with the minimal sensibility of an art gallery, serves as a framework for showcasing Blu Dot’s product line. Floors are terraced to be flush with the exterior qualities at various levels and are finished with unfinished timber floors or polished concrete. The interior design is integrated with structural elements, resulting in a simple, clean interior design, with the walls painted white, serving as a backdrop for the pieces on display. Plinths installed on the inside of the hinged windows enable product presentations at eye level for passers-by on the street.

“Since we opened a store in San Francisco in 2013, the city has been a key market for us. When our lease expired at the Mission, it only made sense for us to go bigger and better in San Francisco,” said Maurice Blanks, co-founder of Blu Dot. “Working again with Chuck and his team on the new business has been seamless and the end result is great. We’re excited to see long-standing, loyal customers in the new spaces, and excited to meet new friends and neighbors, all with the aim of fulfilling our mission of inspiring more creative ways of life through good design.”

(Photos/Images: Mariko Reed / Courtesy of Blu Dot and the Office of Charles F. Bloszies FAIA)

“The goal of this transformation is to give Blu Dot an architectural expression that is consistent with its furniture design ethos, while ensuring it fits the long-established industrial character of this part of the Potrero Hill neighborhood,” adds Bloszies. “In this way, Blu Dot ingratiates itself with its neighbors while creating a memorable, distinctive home for the Blu Dot brand.”

In addition to its online store, Blu Dot has retail stores in the United States, Mexico, and Australia, with new locations planned to open by Spring 2023.

Click here for more facility management news about construction, retrofitting and renovation.

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DDesign retailer Blu Dot recently completed a major new showroom store at the foot of Potrero Hill in San Francisco. Created by reimagining and reshaping a pair of vacant buildings, the new, neighborhood-friendly adaptation offers a simplified, soft-modern backdrop for the Minneapolis-based manufacturer and designer of modern furniture.

Following its 2013 award winning design of a previous San Francisco retail location at 560 Valencia Street, Blu Dot design director Maurice Blanks and his visual merchandising team worked with the Office of Charles F. Bloszies FAIA to create the new Blu Dot San Francisco.

For its new location, Blu Dot selected a site at 99 Missouri which included the former home of Arch, a beloved graphics supply company. The Bloszies architecture-and-engineering team combined that space’s footprint with a former auto body shop next door, transforming the original concrete structures into a new envelope for Blu Dot’s store planners and interior designers.

Bloszies and Blu Dot organized the removal of superfluous bracing and internal walls to open up the interior, and eliminated a partially finished false façade at the corner. The team enlarged window openings to create an organized exterior rhythm and allow in more sunlight. Bloszies designed a board-formed concrete parapet extension to provide a uniform horizontal cap, creating a simplified modern profile.

“We also designed steel window frames popping out of the façade like oversized Tiffany windows, fashioned to echo the scale of industrial window openings found on nearby buildings,” explains Bloszies.

The building also boasts a 1,200-square-foot patio and something every San Franciscan dreams of — a parking lot. Inside, it was conceived to be “light, bright and airy.”

The interior design, conceived with a minimal sensibility of an art gallery, serves as an armature in which to display Blu Dot’s product line. Floors are terraced to be flush with exterior grades at different levels, finished with unvariegated wood flooring or polished concrete. Interior fixtures are integrated with structural elements resulting in a simple, crisp interior setting, with walls painted white to function as background for the pieces on display. Plinths built on the interior side of the pop-out windows allow product displays at eye level for street side passersby.

“Ever since we opened a store in San Francisco in 2013, the city has been a key market for us. When our lease was up in the Mission, it only made sense for us to go bigger and better in San Francisco,” says Maurice Blanks, Blu Dot cofounder. “Working again with Chuck and his team on the new store was seamless and the end result is gorgeous. We love seeing longstanding, loyal clients in the new space and are enjoying meeting new friends and neighbors, all with the goal to fulfill our mission to inspire more creative ways of living through good design.”

(Photos/Images: Mariko Reed / Courtesy of Blu Dot and the Office of Charles F. Bloszies FAIA)

“The goal of this transformation is to provide Blu Dot with an architectural expression consistent with its furniture design ethos, while at the same time ensuring that it suits the long-established industrial character of this part of the Potrero Hill district,” adds Bloszies. “In this way, Blu Dot ingratiates itself with its neighbors while creating a memorable, unmistakable home for the Blu Dot brand.”

In addition to its online shop, Blu Dot has retail stores in the US, Mexico, and Australia, with new locations slated to open by Spring of 2023.

Click here for more facility management news related to construction, retrofits and renovations.

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Most non-residential projects are delivered late. And then there’s 1095 Market Street in San Francisco, an office-building-to-hotel conversion that was supposed to take 18 months but for a number of reasons – some related to COVID, some for architectural reasons – last spring, five years ago, it was finally completed after the project started.

“It would take me three hours to explain why,” laughed Todd Pesavento, project manager at Skanska USA Building, the general contractor for the project, who also provided the design and construction of mechanical, electrical, fire safety and historical elements. BD + C interviewed Pesavento last week with Jason Wright, Associate Designer and Conservation and Preservation Specialist at Page & Turnbull, who did the majority of the historic restoration of this 115-year-old building.

Pesavento explained that the building, also known as the Grant Building, had “numerous” structural and foundation problems that took a year to install to redesign and relocate. An outer wooden pillar was so worn that it had to be replaced from the 8th floor to the roof six floors above. This replacement also required the removal and replacement of historical bricks. There was also more lead paint in the building than expected that needed refurbishment.

BAR Architects, the architect of the project, had to remodel the storefront on the building’s ground floor and recreate the building’s wooden window system, which is now soundproof and weatherproof.

The building’s lavish brick facade had to be cleaned, repaired and, in some cases, replaced.

Pesavento noted that four of the building’s original terracotta pilasters were covered in multiple layers of paint that were removed. These pilasters were used as models to recreate nine additional pilasters made of glass fiber reinforced concrete (GFRC), each with seven components.

Wright added that the bricks and terracotta in the center of the building of many different shapes needed to be cleaned and, if necessary, repaired or replaced, which meant tedious color matching.

REPLACING THE BUILDING’S DECORATIVE FLOWER

One of the largest parts of this historic restoration was the reconstruction of missing cornices, which Wright said had been cut off from the building in the 1950s. Page & Turnbull never found the original drawings, but found high-resolution images of the building (with its cornices) in local and state libraries. To recreate the cornices, Skanska and his subs had to work with 3D printed models.

The hotel has several common areas for social and professional purposes.

The finished product is now a Yotel microhotel with 203 keys, the brand’s first micro in the western United States. Features such as self-check-in machines, loft-style sleeping arrangements, smart TVs, and public coworking and meeting rooms are popular with millennial travelers and professionals in the up-and-coming neighborhood. A rooftop bar and a restaurant and bar on the ground floor are open to the public.

Pesavento said the Synapse Development Group, the developer of this project, was “very hands-on and dedicated” during the design phase. The biggest challenge with this adaptive reuse was the mechanical system as the bathrooms in most office buildings are in the middle of the building. All lines had to be laid for the hotel. Pesavento added that the hotel was designed to avoid the existing interior structures (e.g. pillars) so the execution “required a lot of on-site coordination”.

The converted building, which actually lacked the floor and the crown, was “now timeless,” said Pesavento.

The conversion of a former office building into a hotel required extensive installation and electrical work.

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SAN JOSE (CBS SF) – It’s been years since the Bay Area faced drought conditions. While some counties are trying to introduce water use restrictions, some communities are looking for creative ways to recycle water.

When Ashley Shannon does a load of laundry, her garden and fruit trees get super soaked.

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“I like the fact that I use it once to wash my clothes and then a second time so I essentially make more life out of it,” she said.

Shannon is a Santa Clara Valley Water District employee who recently installed a gray water system in her washing machine. Outlet pipes that would normally take wash water into the sewers have been rerouted to lead outside and around their garden. Valves installed in the ground let the water seep out to irrigate your plants and trees.

It’s a simple but effective system. According to Shannon, there are many benefits including saving water and saving money over time while keeping her landscape getting the water it needs.

“I use soap that is biodegradable. I use no fragrance soap, not a lot of salts. The soap I use is gray water system grade and easy to find, ”said Shannon.

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Their system only cost $ 750 to be installed by a contractor and did not require approval from the City of San Jose.

There are many home improvement plans and videos available online. Other systems that also plug into sinks and showers can cost up to $ 5,000 and require approval because they modify the home’s plumbing.

“It’s a matter of people choosing it because it just makes sense,” said Alan Hackler, a landscaping contractor who installed Shannon’s system.

According to Hackler, the return on investment is better when more people live under one roof.

“Some houses have multi-generation families, they have grandparents and children who live there. These are perfect scenarios because they generate tons of gray water,” Hackler said.

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Currently, the Santa Clara Valley Water District has incentives, including a $ 400 discount on laundry for scenic gray water systems.

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