OYSTER WORKS' PROJECT HITS FRONT PAGE OF PROVIDENCE JOURNAL excerpts below
CHARLESTOWN---When the Charlestown Package Store reopens this spring, customers will see that the original hole-in-the-wall business has been replace by a much larger structure with a two-story, timbered lobby. What will be less obvious is the specially designed geothermal system that will heat, cool and dehumidify the new building without burning a drop of oil or gas.
The system will rely on three wells that will draw water from 450 feet underground, where the temperature is 45 to 55 degrees year-round.
In winter, a heat pump raises the temperature to heat the building. In summer, the water supplies air conditioners to cool the building. All year, the water cools the beer and wine storage areas...
In Charlestown, all of the complex innovations sprang from two themes among the owners and the builders--a love of wine and a strong interest in green building.
The Charlestown Package store... had been run by the Walsh family for decades. Jon Maldon, a businessman in Connecticut, and his sister, Jane Gross, are Walsh descendants and decided to buy out their family's business several years ago...
They talked to one regular customer, Megan Moynihan, an architect who had relocated from New York to Charlestown. Moynihan's husband, Andrew Baer, has family with deep roots in town. They opened an architecture, design, and project management firm called Oyster Works.
Moynihan liked talking wine. But soon, the three were discussing plans for a new store.
Baer said he decided geothermal was the best energy source for the building, so many design considerations followed from that. He estimates that the extra costs of the green measures were about 11 percent. In a recent tour of the work site, Baer and Moynihan showed off their innovations.
Much of the large parking lot is built with blocks that allow rainwater to drain into the ground. A large advanced septic system was installed, lessening the chance that pollutants will make their way underground to the nearby Ninigret Pond.
The building's siding looks like wood shingles, but actually it's recycled PVC.
Hot water from the geothermal heat pump is pumped through radiant heat tubes in the floor. They will be covered by white pine planks. The walls and roof are made from insulated panels that are 8 to 10 inches thick.
Much of the lighting is provided by light-emitting diodes that are controlled by touch pads.
Maldon said that it has been estimated that it will take five years for energy savings to pay off the cost of the geothermal equipment. After that, it will cost very little for heating and cooling. "Also, it was just the right thing to do," he said. "It makes a lot of sense."
Maldon said he is pleased that they decided to use local tradespeople and buy as many materials as possible locally. As many as 112 tradespeople have worked on the jobs, and all but 7 were from South County, Baer said.
The specially designed geothermal system was provided by a Massachusetts firm called Alares LLC.
As an added benefit, Maldon said that with more storage space he can order beer and wine in the volumes that will let him lower prices. He hopes to host wine tastings and other events. And he hopes that his new building will be a marketing tool.
"Hopefully, from a marketing standpoint, people who enjoy the environment will come becauses it's a green shop," he said.
The Oyster Works team has created a blog which tracks the progress of the construction : | 
