Skaneateles Village Hall
Adaptive Reuse

When the Village constructed a new fire station, the former fire station became an abandoned eyesore centered in the service core of the community. The Village offices, outdated and lacking accessibility, provided a profitable opportunity to offset the costs of relocation. Rather than tearing down the old fire hall, the trustees determined to reuse the building and introduction ton sustainable leadership.

Preserving the apparatus high-bays for future uses, the remaining building provides village staff and police offices and a multi-use public meeting room. The building orientation away from the angled street frontage was addressed with a small entrance canopy to clearly identify the building. The existing walkway canopy was renovated with planting screens; and bordered by a rain garden which also provided examples and explanations of permeable surface treatments (further described in the landscape project page).

The building achieved significant reductions in energy demand with geothermal heat pumps, solar photovoltaic rooftop system, energy recovery ventilation, and LED lighting supplemented by envelope improvements in windows, doors, roof and perimeter insulation. Over the most recent three-year period, following commissioning and corrective actions, on-site production provided 91% of the building’s energy needs.