Clarendon Group reduces energy consumption and costs at historic mixed-use Boston building

The customer

Located along the Freedom Trail in Boston’s Downtown Crossing district, 10-24 School Street has been an iconic landmark since 1925. Originally constructed for the former Boston Five Cent Savings Bank, the 8-floor, 112,000 square-foot building has welcomed a wide range of office and retail tenants over the years. Since 2012, Walgreens Pharmacy’s flagship store has been one of its largest occupants. 

Clarendon Group USA (Clarendon), the building’s owner, is a full-service real estate management firm. As part of Clarendon’s core mission, the company strives to cultivate safe, clean, and sustainable environments by promoting tenant satisfaction and retention, lowering operating expenses, and adapting to market trends to maintain a competitive edge. 

The challenge

Building on a 40-year history of utilizing district energy steam for heating and hot water, Clarendon sought additional strategies to optimize its energy usage at 10-24 School Street to save on energy consumption and reduce costs. 

The solution

Vicinity partnered with Clarendon to improve the building’s efficiency by upgrading the original heating infrastructure and developing a creative strategy to recycle the steam system’s condensate.

Upgrading infrastructure for maximum efficiency

Vicinity collaborated with Clarendon to upgrade the building’s original heating infrastructure, which included removing unnecessary piping from the old steam system and installing new pipes, valves, traps, and insulation. These enhancements resulted in immediate cost savings and energy efficiency. Despite significant upticks in heating degree days from 2023 to 2024, Clarendon has seen only a small increase in steam usage due to the efficiency upgrades.

Getting creative to conserve energy

Vicinity and Clarendon also partnered on another efficiency project to reuse the building’s waste heat in the form of steam condensate. Although this high temperature water is often cooled with city water and discarded as waste, Clarendon looked for another way to reuse this condensate, lower water usage, and cut costs. With Vicinity’s support, Clarendon installed a heat exchanger that uses condensate to preheat domestic hot water before it goes into an electric hot water heater. As a result of these efforts, the building not only saves on sewer charges and city water costs, but also conserves water.

As a LEED Gold certified building, 10-24 School Street stands out as a sustainable model that honors the building’s rich legacy, while meeting the demands of modern tenants. With Clarendon leading the charge to optimize the building’s efficiency, Vicinity continues to partner with the customer to collaboratively develop creative solutions and achieve a cleaner tomorrow.

Benefits