Projects

Horton Plaza Redevelopment

Horton Plaza Redevelopment

San Diego, California
United States
Horton-CanyonPalazzo

Introba is providing mechanical, electrical, plumbing, technology, and design analytics services for Horton Plaza Redevelopment in San Diego, CA, United States.

Originally built in 1985, the Horton Plaza Redevelopment spans over six blocks and is being reimagined to become a creative office campus. The redevelopment encompasses 840,000 gross ft² of renovation, repurposing, and additions. 

The team is designing the office areas to meet a zero-carbon goal. A new central plant will cool the campus, and water-source heat pumps draw heat out of the chilled water return piping to provide heating offices. Thermodynamic zoning of the air handling units eliminates the need for hot water piping and reheating within the space. A 300,000 ft² life science tower will rise ten stories within the campus. Designed as warm-shell, speculative laboratory space, the all-electric systems are convertible to accommodate either life science or office tenants to meet market demands. Heat recovery coils in the lab exhaust reduce the energy needed to heat the 100% outdoor air lab systems and save on heating equipment installation costs. 

The life science tower will be served by San Diego’s first onsite commercial blackwater treatment system, harvesting wastewater from the core restrooms and treating it for reuse in the cooling towers and flushing. This system saves 55% of the campus’s potable water use. 

In addition to providing MEP and technology design services for the zero-carbon campus, Introba (formerly Integral Group)’s Advanced Energy Services team is also acting as the project’s advisor for the optimization and procurement of the campus’s 5 MW photovoltaic and battery storage systems to cut energy costs, risks, and carbon. 

Providing Stockdale Capital Partners with investment-grade advisory services in its effort to deploy one of the largest commercial-scale microgrids in California, Introba is leveraging both technical and financial expertise. Using parametric modeling of over 70,000 simulations, the team developed performance and economic forecasts for varying weather, tenant conditions, and utility rate tariffs — enabling optimized microgrid configuration. Introba developed a commercial framework for future energy procurement, including contracting methodology and performance guarantees, ran competitive solicitation, performed vendor due diligence, evaluated proposals, and supported contract negotiations, communications, stakeholder engagement, and marketing. 

In total, services for Horton Plaza Redevelopment eliminated $6M in upfront capital costs and cut operating electric utility costs by over 60%.

Project Highlights

  • 840,000 gross ft² of renovation, repurposing, and additions targeting zero-carbon including a 10-story, 300,000 ft² life science tower 

  • Heat recovery reduces the energy to heat the 100% outdoor air lab systems and saves heating equipment installation costs. 

  • First onsite commercial blackwater treatment system, harvesting wastewater from the core restrooms, saving 55% of the campus’s potable water use 

  • Optimization and procurement 5 MW photovoltaic and battery storage systems will cut energy costs, risks, and carbon 

  • Advanced energy services eliminated $6M in upfront capital costs and cut operating electric utility costs by over 60% 

Photo credit: Stockdale Partners

Services

Awards
Unbuilt Concept or On the Boards or Under Construction , 2020
Southern California Development Forum Design Award

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