Building Science Consulting Services

Chelsea Group provides building science consulting services, including engineering, architectural, and industrial hygiene expertise, to the owners of commercial and institutional real estate. We specialize in building science: we fix broken buildings and help prevent them from breaking.

Building owners and managers increasingly find that improving sustainability of their building operations brings economic advantage on several levels: reduced operating cost, improved tenant satisfaction, and a potential for improved asset value. Chelsea Group has developed an industry leading program that optimizes sustainability strategy at the portfolio level and delivers cost effective sustainability improvements at the building level. The Chelsea Group program has been adopted by the largest and strongest real estate investments trusts and property management companies.

Two trends are converging in building management: increasing pressure for financial results and a declining talent pool in building operating engineering. Chelsea Group has developed an innovative approach to support property managers and building engineers in improved delivery of capital improvement and maintenance programs. Property management firms that have adopted the Chelsea Group approach find they now can see “both the forest and the trees” in keeping their buildings in good shape.

Building owners and managers know the value of providing safe, secure facilities for their clients and responding quickly and effectively when there is a disaster. The Chelsea Group Disaster Preparedness and Recovery program is about protecting the health and safety of occupants and the value of the physical asset for commercial and institutional properties during and following natural and man-made disasters. Chelsea Group’s Disaster Recovery program has helped clients recoup from floods and fires, solve mold problems, and recover from construction defects.

Since its inception in 1990, Chelsea Group has developed a combination of core skills in engineering and industrial hygiene and a supporting network made up of leading national experts in a variety of aspects of building science. As a result, the company is well qualified to offer assessments, engineering design, project management, and measurement and verification services, applying building science for sustainability, disaster recovery, and optimization of asset value at your property or throughout your portfolio of buildings.

Chelsea Group Building Science Philosophy

Chelsea Group understands that the owners and managers of commercial and institutional real estate need consultants they trust to deliver services that add value to properties and operations. Chelsea Group offers a master agreement approach to establish the structure and framework for the application of building science consulting to the management of a portfolio of properties or a single building in a manner that will protect and enhance physical asset value at each property and at the portfolio level. Objectives within this goal include the following:

• Achieving value in acquisition of properties through applying building science to assessment of the asset, development of capital planning strategies and projects, and benchmarking on performance factors, such as energy and sustainability.
   
• Protecting and enhancing value in operations of properties through on-going reviews of operations, retro-commissioning of the building, on-going CapEx program oversight and project commissioning, oversight and verification of problem resolution, and tracking and documentation of performance factors
   
• Recovery of value following a disaster, such as a flood, fire, or storm damage by providing hazard vulnerability assessments, scope and oversight for recovery activities, documentation and verification of clean-up, reconstruction, start-up, and re-commissioning of properties

Chelsea Group Master Agreement Services

Chelsea Group provides a menu of services to assist property owners and managers in their stewardship of real estate portfolios, campuses, and individual buildings..

1. Asset optimization for each participating subject property through Midsource engineering

1.1. Property Condition Assessments (PCA)

1.2. Capital expenditure (CapEx) planning, oversight, and commissioning

1.3. Mechanical, electrical, and plumbing (MEP) assessment, problems solving, oversight, project start-up and commissioning

1.4. Building commissioning and retro-commissioning

2. Sustainability

2.1. Energy performance

2.2. US EPA Energy Star

2.3. LEED Certification

2.4. Portfolio benchmarking

3. Disaster Recovery

3.1. Hazard Vulnerability Assessments (HVA)

3.2. Disaster response deployment, scope development, and contractor oversight

3.3. Disaster recovery verification and documentation

3.4. Forensic analysis

Where applicable and desired, Chelsea Group can also arrange for project and performance based financing in cooperation with the Delphi Energy Fund.

With its focus on adding value for real estate owners, Chelsea Group applies building science in ways that can benefit everyone in the value chain. Improved performance, from benchmarking through planning to capital project management to commissioning and retro-commissioning, on through tracking and reporting performance results, delivers value where it counts. Chelsea Group works to build long term, trusting relationships with clients through consistent delivery of that value.

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Chelsea Group, Ltd.     (800) 626-6722