Project Brief

The City of Hackensack moved its Building Department into part of an existing warehouse at 216 Union Street, closer to the municipal complex. The 20,802 SF heavy timber building was converted to business use under the New Jersey Rehabilitation Subcode, with the office floor gutted and rebuilt for the building, zoning and inspection staff and their conference rooms. KeRi was the MEP and fire alarm engineer to DMR Architects.

The offices are cooled by a new 5,745 CFM air handling unit in a first floor mechanical room, served by a 15.4-ton rooftop condensing unit, with an economizer mixing module and variable speed fan control, while the existing split units stay in place as backup. A ductless split system cools the basement IT room, the existing radiators and baseboard heaters continue to heat the space, and an add alternate replaces the boiler's oil burner with a natural gas burner.

The building is not fully sprinklered, so KeRi designed a new addressable fire alarm system with smoke detection throughout, supervision of the existing sprinklers, elevator recall, a remote annunciator in the lobby and a second annunciator in the round-the-clock dispatch center at fire headquarters. Electrical work covered new power and lighting with conduit and back boxes for security cameras and data, and plumbing covered the fixture and natural gas piping work.

MEP Engineering Scope

What We Engineered

MEP and fire alarm systems for the new offices:

• New 5,745 CFM air handling unit with a 15.4-ton rooftop condensing unit and economizer
• Ductless split system for the basement IT room
• Add alternate natural gas burner for the existing boiler
• New addressable fire alarm system with annunciators in the lobby and at fire headquarters dispatch
• New power, lighting and low voltage raceways for cameras and data
• Plumbing and natural gas piping

The Challenge

Turning part of a heavy timber warehouse into public offices meant cooling a gutted floor, keeping the old heating plant in service, and protecting a building that is not fully sprinklered.

Our Solution

KeRi added a new air handling unit and rooftop condensing unit alongside the existing heating, and designed an addressable fire alarm system reporting to both the lobby and the fire department's dispatch center.