Bear Mountain State Park

The New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation (NYS OPRHP) chose Erdman Anthony to investigate existing electrical and HVAC systems at two properties at Bear Mountain State Park: Bear Mountain Inn and an administration building. Our firm then provided design alternatives for those systems to help advance NYS OPRHP’s overall effort to reduce or eliminate fossil fuel-burning equipment at state-owned facilities.

Located on the Hudson River’s west bank, Bear Mountain State Park features over 50 miles of hiking trails, multiple museums, and various other attractions, including the inn, which was built in 1915 and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and the New York State Register of Historic Places.

After documenting existing conditions and performing load and energy calculations, we recommended building a mechanical room onto the inn to house new equipment, adding high-efficiency water-to-water heat pumps to the property, and installing a geothermal borefield in the inn’s parking lot.

The ground source geothermal system would integrate into the inn’s water source heat pump system, and the geothermal pumps would heat the inn’s domestic water. The borefield would be able to accommodate the loads of the administration building and the inn.

Energy-conserving improvements at the properties will help the state move closer to realizing its sustainability goals.