EN-POWER GROUP was featured on Habitat Magazine’s Problem Solved! For Co-ops and Condos podcast for its engineering support in helping a Brooklyn condominium overcome persistent comfort, repair, and energy performance challenges by taking a holistic approach to capital planning and system upgrades.

Context: When Traditional Fixes Don’t Work

At 1 Grand Army Plaza, a sleek all-glass condo in Brooklyn, residents dealt with sweltering corridors, uneven ventilation, and rising repair bills. Initial attempts to address these problems with like-for-like system replacements — “replacing A with A” — proved ineffective because they didn’t tackle underlying performance issues.

EN-POWER GROUP’s Role

In the podcast, Amalia Cuadra, Senior Director of Engineering at EN-POWER GROUP, explained that the real issue was a fundamental design flaw in the building’s ventilation system. Rather than pursuing superficial fixes, EN-POWER GROUP helped the board design a phased capital project that rebalanced airflow and improved system integration.

The firm’s approach restored comfort throughout the building, reduced unnecessary operating costs, and provided a performance-based solution that delivered long-term value without excessive capital outlay.

Results: Performance, Savings, and Improved Energy Grade

The engineered solution not only addressed comfort and ventilation problems, but also cut overall energy use, which in turn contributed to an improved energy letter grade for the building — a key compliance and market positioning metric in today’s New York City regulatory environment.

Cuadra emphasized that boards should move beyond incremental replacement strategies and instead adopt holistic, forward-looking capital planning that addresses root causes rather than symptoms.

Why This Matters for Co-op and Condo Boards

This feature highlights a common theme in multifamily building operations: when systems are treated in isolation (“A with A”), persistent issues often remain. Thoughtful engineering that examines system relationships and operational drivers can yield better comfort, lower energy costs, improved compliance, and fewer future repairs.

Media Attribution

This episode was featured on Habitat Magazine’s podcast Problem Solved! For Co-ops and Condos in Season 3, Episode 19, titled “The Condo that Stopped Replacing ‘A with A’.”
[Listen to the full podcast episode →]

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