The new 45,000-square-foot, three-story chilled water plant on upper campus near the Pitt Sports Dome had its official ribbon-cutting on Nov. 27.
The project was first approved by the Board of Trustees Property & Facilities committee in the summer of 2021, at a cost of $117 million.
The new plant was needed to support construction projects on upper campus and tie into the University’s existing chilled water network. It will provide existing and future campus buildings — like the rec center and sports arena buildings already under construction — with central cooling and electrical capacity.
The three industrial chillers housed in the building have a total capacity of 7,500 tons of chilled water. The facility is designed to accommodate up to three additional chiller systems and ultimately carry up to 15,000 tons if future expansion is needed.
A new electrical substation also was built as part of the project to support buildings throughout upper campus, with possibilities for future expansion.
The new plant also will capture stormwater on the upper campus and send it back to the new chilled water plant for reuse. Stormwater/gray water distribution piping was installed and it will direct water into a 250,000 gallon underground cistern adjacent to the plant to re-use. Capturing and reusing the stormwater will allow the University to consume less domestic/potable water by using the rainwater instead.
The plant also was part of Facilities Management’s diversity initiatives, with 39 percent of the project’s construction awarded to minority- and women-owned businesses.
— Susan Jones
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