LEO Inc. Preschool

Project Overview

Lynn, MA – SES provided MEP commissioning services for the newly completed LEO Inc. Preschool, a 33,600 SF, three-story early education facility. The $18 million adaptive reuse project converted LEO’s former headquarters into a consolidated preschool campus, merging three existing sites into a single purpose-built center serving 270 children ages 3–5 through Head Start and Early Head Start programs. The facility features 15 classrooms, two outdoor playgrounds, a commercial kitchen, a gross motor room, and a multipurpose room for parent education, and is fully ADA accessible.Classroom and office spaces are served by fan-powered variable air volume (VAV) boxes with plenum returns, providing precise zone-level temperature control, a system configuration that required careful coordination during functional performance testing. A particularly notable challenge involved the lead-standby rooftop unit (RTU) system, which used an intricate packaged controls sequence. SES developed a practical and repeatable approach to test this sequence in the field, ensuring the system’s efficiency, safety, and reliability under real operating conditions.

During the commissioning process, SES identified discrepancies in both the airflow setpoints programmed into the building automation system (BAS), which were derived from an earlier version of design drawings and did not reflect the most current design intent, and the field airflow measurements taken at the VAVs due to the atypical plenum return VAV system. SES proactively gathered updated setpoints, organized them in a clear and readable format, and worked directly with the automatic temperature control (ATC) contractor and testing, adjusting, and balancing (TAB) contractor to correct the disparities, ensuring the system operated in compliance with the final design.

SES identified that designed fresh air requirements were not being delivered to classrooms and offices due to the gaps between the airflow setpoint programming and air balancing readings. SES compiled the correct setpoints, coordinated with ATC and TAB contractors, and confirmed compliance through retesting. The complex lead-standby RTU controls sequence, which lacked a straightforward test path, was resolved through a field-realistic protocol developed by SES. The construction team’s responsiveness allowed many issues to be closed during the testing period. SES also briefed the facility’s operations staff on the value of a 10-month warranty review, helping protect LEO Inc.’s long-term investment to maintain a healthy, efficient, and long lasting building.