Manhattan Construction Co. to build Brady geothermal field
The Park on Brady will be new urban green space in Brady Arts District of downtown Tulsa.
TULSA, Okla. – Manhattan Construction Co. installed a drilling rig this week, taking the first step in the construction of the Brady geothermal field in downtown Tulsa. The rig will drill 120, 500-foot wells for a geothermal field that will provide heat to the Tulsa Paper Company building, also under construction by Manhattan, and the future Hardesty Arts Center.
The construction of the geothermal field is the next phase of the estimated $110.5 million investment in Brady Arts and Greenwood Districts. George Kaiser Family Foundation and related organizations are investing an estimated $53.1 million, with an estimated $57.4 million coming from other various projects.
“The goal of these investments is to create a family-friendly community gathering space with emphasis on the arts,” said Ken Levit, executive director of George Kaiser Family Foundation. “The inclusion of a geothermal field will provide environmentally-friendly energy to these buildings.”
The geothermal field is being developed with a $2.5 million American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) Energy Demand Reduction grant and a $200,000 Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality Brownfield Development grant. The drilling phase will last approximately 45 working days with excavation and core drills for outlets to take three to four months.
“In the summer, the geothermal system pulls heat from the building and discharges it into the earth. In the winter, it does the opposite, providing heat from the earth into the building,” said Bob Jack, area manager with Manhattan Construction. “This process uses the earth’s constant temperature, a renewable energy source to heat and cool the building in an efficient manner.”
Ground-source heat pumps will be utilized to tap the geothermal energy below The Park on Brady. These pumps take advantage of the constant year-round temperature of about 50 F that is just a few feet below the ground’s surface. Water will be pumped through pipes that are buried underground and re-circulated into the building.
The Park on Brady is scheduled for completion in July 2012.
About Manhattan Construction Company:
Manhattan Construction Co. is ranked among the nation’s Top Green Contractors by Engineering News-Record and Building Design + Construction magazine. Manhattan operates from offices in Dallas and Houston, Texas; Tulsa and Oklahoma City, Okla.; Washington, D.C.; Atlanta, Georgia; and Mexico City. The company builds throughout the Southwest and East regions of the United States, Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean. The firm’s services include Manhattan’s trademarked Builder-Driven Pre-Construction®, construction management, general building, and design/build. Visit the Manhattan website: www.manhattanconstruction.com
About George Kaiser Family Foundation
George Kaiser Family Foundation is a charitable organization dedicated to breaking the cycle of poverty through investments in early childhood education, community health, social services and civic enhancement. Based in Tulsa, Oklahoma, GKFF works primarily on initiatives developed in collaboration with Tulsa-based direct service organizations. For more information about George Kaiser Family Foundation, visit www.gkff.org.