The Truro Farmers’ Market Building Retrofit Study will provide the Town of Truro with information needed to evaluate the future of the building at 15 Young Street. The study is intended to move beyond identifying possible energy upgrades by considering how improvements could affect the building’s condition, operating costs, accessibility, functionality, environmental performance, and long-term value to the community.
What Is a Deep Energy Retrofit?
A deep energy retrofit takes a whole-building approach. Rather than replacing one piece of equipment or completing an isolated renovation, it examines how the building envelope, heating and cooling systems, ventilation, lighting, controls, and day-to-day operations work together.
This approach can identify combinations of improvements that may reduce energy use and greenhouse gas emissions while also improving comfort, accessibility, resilience, and building performance. For an existing community building, the analysis must also consider how proposed changes can respect the building’s character and support its continued use.
What the Study Will Help Determine
The completed work is expected to help the Town better understand:
- The present condition and performance of the building.
- Potential energy-efficiency and greenhouse gas reduction measures.
- Improvements that could enhance accessibility and occupant comfort.
- Capital, operating, maintenance, and life-cycle costs.
- Opportunities to coordinate upgrades instead of completing them individually.
- Possible implementation stages and the order in which improvements could occur.
- Funding and financing considerations associated with future work.
- How the building could support current and potential future community uses.
The study will also help identify dependencies between different improvements. For example, changes to insulation, windows, ventilation, or the building envelope may affect the type and size of mechanical systems required.
From Study to Decision
Completion of the study will not automatically result in a construction project. It will provide technical and financial evidence that the Town can use when considering available options.
Further work may include reviewing the recommendations, confirming priorities, completing additional building-condition or design analysis, examining funding opportunities, consulting building users and community partners, and determining whether a proposed approach is affordable and practical.
Any future capital project would be subject to additional review, funding considerations, detailed design, applicable approvals, and a decision by the Town.
Keeping the Community Informed
As the work progresses and further decisions are made, project information will be updated through the Town’s Active Projects and Initiatives section. This will allow residents, Farmers’ Market users, community organizations, and other interested parties to follow the project as it moves through the assessment and decision-making process.
