YORK® Predator™ Rooftop Units Breathe New Life Into Renovated Office Space
7/1/2003

When the partners of Godfrey Advertising Inc., central Pennsylvania’s largest advertising agency, first toured what would later become their new home at 40 North Christian Street in Lancaster, Pa., they were attracted to the open space and the architectural features of the structure. Built around 1900, the three buildings the advertising agency occupies sat vacant for 50 years. “They were dirty and in disrepair,” recalled President Valerie Moul, “but the architectural elements shone through, as did the creative possibilities for all that open space.”


Those same architectural features caught the eye of contractor Stephen P. Mitrani, president of Devcon Services, Inc., but for different reasons. He, too, appreciated their aesthetic value. But he also recognized the challenges they posed as historical elements he would need to preserve as he helped breathe new life into the 27,000 square foot structure that houses Godfrey’s 60 employees.

That structure is, in fact, a combination of three of the five buildings Mitrani purchased with partners John T. Meeder, president of Meeder Development Corporation, and David L. Woolfenden, technical manager of Bearingpoint/KPMG Consulting. The buildings located at 39-49 North Queen Street and 38-48 North Christian Street comprise the $4.3 million Christian Street Court project that encompasses 58,000 square feet of renovated commercial/retail space and a new two-level parking garage.

The fact that these five buildings were constructed separately, at different times and on different levels, without the idea of ever being hooked together or interconnected presented the biggest challenge to us as the contractor,” recalled Mitrani. “We had to find a way to marry all these different buildings together into one state-of-the-art, code-compliant building, while preserving their architectural and historical integrity. That required cooperation and flexibility on the part of Godfrey and skill and ingenuity on the part of the HVAC contractor Brubaker Inc.”

To ensure flexibility, the owners adopted a design build approach to the project. “When you deal with existing construction,” explained Mitrani, “you can’t always plan ahead. Instead, you react to things as they are uncovered. With this project and the age of the original construction, we had to solve a number of issues that cropped up throughout the renovation process, and that’s where flexibility on the part of Godfrey and Brubaker was critical.”


During the planning phase, thought was given to the type of HVAC system that would service the building. The owners eventually decided to go with rooftop units for maximum flexibility. They provided an efficient way to zone the project, in effect, providing tenants with individual HVAC systems.

Brubaker installed 19 YORK® Predator™ and Sunline Ultra™ rooftop package heating and cooling units, ranging in cooling capacity from four to ten tons, atop Christian Street Court. “Because the equipment is on the roof of four-story buildings in the heart of downtown Lancaster, it will cost us a small fortune if we have to rent a crane and go up and switch out units,” said Mitrani. “We needed to know we were going to put equipment up there that we could rely on to operate for quite some time. That’s why we were quite comfortable installing YORK units. Their reliability was a big selling feature for us.”

Efficiency and ease of installation also played an important part in their selection. The Predator line of convertible, single package air-conditioning and gas/electric-heating rooftops units offer an efficiency rating that exceeds the industry standard. The standard efficiency Predator units offer a minimum Energy Efficiency Rating (EER) of 9.0, while the high efficiency units reach 11.5 EER. Gas/electric units like the ones installed at Christian Street Court are equipped with electronic spark ignition and power-vented combustion capable of delivering Steady State Efficiencies of 80 percent.

In addition, all Predator units have two compressors with independent refrigeration circuits that are charged with HCFC-22. If temperatures are mild and the air conditioning load is light, just one compressor turns on, providing 60 percent of the unit’s cooling capacity. The second compressor provides an additional 40 percent when warmer temperatures demand additional cooling. As a result, the cooling or heating that the system provides is balanced, and the balance is maintained without the constant running of a single, large, more-expensive-to-operate compressor.


Ease of installation was also important to the contractor as he coordinated delivery and installation of the units. All Predator units are self-contained in a cabinet sized to a common footprint, installed on a common-sized roof curb and assembled on a rigid full perimeter base rail allowing for three-way forklift access and overhead rigging. Brubaker was able to order one curb that fit every unit, regardless of unit capacity. As a result, there was no confusion matching units to curbs when the new rooftops were delivered and placed on the roof. And every unit is completely charged, wired, piped and tested at the factory to provide for a quick and easy installation.

Ten of the Predator units serve Godfrey, carrying conditioned air to the building through more than 1,000 feet of ductwork. Snaking that ductwork throughout the complex was the challenge for Brubaker’s Randy Zendt, HVAC sales representative, and Dave Rupp, HVAC installation mechanic.

“Our initial thought,” recalled Zendt, “was to use larger units, but without major redesign work, the roof wouldn’t hold them. So, Devcon had a structural engineer open up the ceiling and identify the strong points of the building that could support smaller units. Devcon reinforced those beams to provide additional support for the units.

“We were very diligent about how we laid out and designed the ductwork, making sure we got plenty of supplies and returns and looking at the spacing of the grills so we wouldn’t create drafts on people,” he continued. “The open atrium and the large windows challenged our ability to do that, as did historical and structural issues.”


Those challenges took the shape of large wooden window frames, tin ceilings, woodwork, staircases, an atrium and a fourth floor mezzanine that interrupted pathways for ductwork and limited the space where ductwork needed to be installed. “In one instance,” explained Rupp, “two windows look out onto a brick wall. Because the wall is almost against the windows, the windows will never be used as windows. But, the window frames have historical value, so our ductwork had to be offset around them and soffits built so that the windows could be preserved and exposed.”

Brubaker installed a variety of types of ductwork, including fiberglass, sheet metal and spiral ductwork throughout the building. According to Rupp, “Where ductwork could be concealed, we concealed it, making it disappear into soffits. Where it couldn’t be concealed, we created designs that were both functional and easy to look at. For example, across expanses of open ceiling, we suspended spiral ductwork from aircraft cable to help break up the plain ceiling and introduce an interesting design element into the space.”

Renovation of the Godfrey space began in March 2002 and was completed in time for Godfrey to move into their new home in November. The results are a comfortable building that reflects the creativity of the building’s occupants. A large, open lobby on the building’s second floor is just steps away from an atrium that opens to skylights in the fourth floor ceiling.

“We wanted a space that is as unique as the work we do; one that reflects the creativity and innovation of our employees and facilitates our workflow process,” noted Godfrey’s Moul. “Comfort was also important to us. Since we were putting in a brand new system, we wanted a building that was zoned for comfort. I know our desire to maintain the open design of the building tested the ingenuity of the contractor and the HVAC installer,” she continued. “But they appear to have passed the test, because we’re thrilled with our new home. It’s exciting to be back in downtown Lancaster, working in surroundings that are comfortable and inspire creativity.”

Known for 129 years of design, innovation and comfort, YORK UPG manufactures a complete line of heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems for the residential and light commercial market. For more information about the company, visit their Web site at www.yorkupg.com.

YORK UPG is a division of YORK International Corporation, the largest independent supplier of heating, ventilating, air conditioning and refrigeration products in the U.S., and a leading international supplier. The company sells products in more than 125 countries, and YORK has approximately 23,000 employees worldwide. For more information about YORK visit the company’s Web site at www.york.com.