Amethyst Brook Apartments

Project Overview

Pelham, MA – SES was retained by Home City Development as the Commissioning Authority (CxA) for Amethyst Brook Apartments, Building 20, a newly constructed affordable multifamily residential development in Pelham. The site comprises two newly constructed buildings: a six-unit, two-story walkup modeled after a demolished historic farmhouse, and a four-story, 28-unit building set against the adjacent Amethyst Brook. Designed to serve families, couples, and individuals earning up to 60% of the area median income, the development officially opened in June 2024. SES’ commissioning scope includes the six-unit building and is focused on optimizing building performance with an emphasis on energy savings and efficient operation.

Mechanical systems include two energy recovery ventilators (ERVs) with electric duct heaters, heat pump VRF zones (25% sampling), electric wall heaters, electric baseboard units, and an electric unit heater. Plumbing commissioning addressed the domestic hot water heating system, while electrical testing verified the performance of both the interior lighting control system and the site lighting control system.

SES also performed exterior light level testing across the entire property, a unique scope item requiring the procurement of specialized light meters to verify that site lighting did not produce light pollution impacting the adjacent Amethyst Brook conservation area or neighboring residences. The exterior lighting verification presented a distinctive challenge outside of our typical commissioning workflow. Coordinating nighttime field testing, SES worked alongside multiple members of the project team and a professor from nearby Smith College to confirm that lighting levels met the project’s environmental commitments. Delays in power service delivery required careful schedule management to keep the commissioning process on track. Despite these challenges, functional testing proceeded smoothly with issues identified and promptly resolved by the contractor, delivering building systems that are functional, efficient, and ready to serve the community.