HCAR - Hershey Center for Applied Research. South Centrals Pennsylvania's Premier Research Park Located Adjacent to Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center and College of Medicine.

Green Attributes

The research park has been and will continue to be designed and constructed to minimize its negative impact on the natural environment. Sound planning, design, engineering, and construction techniques are being used to create a sense of place while protecting natural resources.

Building One green attributes include:

• The use of regional recycled steel for the building structure, which reduces the consumption of virgin materials, reduces negative impacts associated with material extraction, diverts waste through material reuse and costs less.
• The highly efficient/reflective white ThermoPlastic Olefin (TPO) roof system reduces the building's heat islands (thermal gradient differences between developed and undeveloped areas) minimizing microclimate change impacts and reducing energy costs/emissions associated with heating, ventilating, and air conditioning (HVAC).
• The development site uses innovative storm water management systems through a series of rain gardens to limit disruption of natural hydrology and storm water flow, in addition to reusing stone and other natural elements from the site for aesthetic accents.
• The building reduces its tenants' electricity costs associated with artificial lighting and creates an environment proven to increase worker productivity by providing significant window glazing to provide occupants maximum daylight views.

In addition to the above green building attributes, HCAR manages a substantial amount of runoff from large roof areas and expansive parking lots. Instead of installing a costly, conventional storm water system, HCAR has installed multiple rain gardens that capture runoff and prevent it from leaving the site. Runoff from the roof and parking lot is directed to strategically placed rain gardens that are designed to detain, infiltrate, and filter contaminated drainage. This project illustrates effective storm water management through the use of Best Management Practices (BMP) that minimize impacts to local streams, while at the same time, provide environmentally beneficial functions.

HCAR also restored an underground stream that was being diverted to flow into a large pipe. To restore the stream, a channel was excavated and a layer of various sized rocks were placed along the bottom. Rock waterfalls and deflectors in the channel create pools and riffles, features that promote a natural aquatic habitat. Stream banks are lined with matting, and planted with natural meadow grasses, shrubs and trees, whose roots hold the stream bank soil in place and help prevent erosion. Many of these green initiatives were supported in part by a $5 million grant and loan from the PA Department of Community and Economic Development's Business in our Sites program.

Wexford Science + Technology, the research center developer, has committed to developing the next building in the park to achieve the Silver level of Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED®) certification. In addition, the land on which the Hershey Center for Applied Research is located is owned by the Hershey Trust Company which has a strong commitment to environmentally sound development. HCAR together with its partners is committed to creating a more efficient environment, reducing operating expenses, providing innovative real estate solutions for our tenants, and being a leader in green building design in South Central PA.

Click here to download our Development Guidelines.