Hill York Innovator Brought Air Conditioning to South Florida High Rises/Hotels
FORT LAUDERDALE-DAVIE, Fla. – As Fort Lauderdale temperatures rose into the mid 90s, the family of Robert S. Lafferty Sr. gathered today at Nova Southeastern University’s (NSU) Central Energy Plant to honor his memory by naming the chiller facility—one of the largest in the United States— after him. A pioneer in the air conditioning industry, Lafferty had the vision of air conditioning South Florida’s high-rises and hotels back in the ‘50s. Hill York and the Lafferty Family Foundation have made a significant gift to the university.
“The Lafferty family has been working with NSU for more than two decades,” said NSU’s President and CEO George L. Hanbury II, Ph.D. “Hill York has been part of NSU’s design, development and construction team as the campus has grown and they continue to be at NSU every day to keep us cool.”
“This generous gift, which includes the Charles W. Daniels Endowed Scholarship Fund to benefit NSU undergraduate students, demonstrates Hill York’s continued commitment to a bright future for NSU students,” Dr. Hanbury said. This gift will enable young men and women to attend NSU who would not be able to be here without the generosity of the Lafferty family.
Charles W. Daniels was the father-in-law of Robert S. Lafferty Jr., chairman of Hill York. The first scholarship recipient is Lauren Alfino, a freshman from Denver, Colorado, who is studying marine biology, spoke at the naming ceremony.
“My dad was known for his innovative ideas,” explained Robert S. Lafferty Jr. “Look around Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties at all the high-rise apartment buildings. Probably 95 percent of them, starting with the Kenilworth House in 1956, used my dad’s design. That is quite a feat.”
“Charles W. Daniels, whose nickname was Chip, taught me about relationships, and doing deals based on trust,” said Chip Lafferty, chief executive officer of Hill York. “It’s not a coincidence that this is how we do business at NSU. For 25 years now, we have worked together, through a maturing relationship and trust.”
NSU’s Robert S. Lafferty Sr. Central Energy Plant was designed and built for the university and recognized as one of the largest energy storage systems in the United States. The three-story, state-of-the-art structure is expected to save the university more than $500,000 annually or $17.3 million over the life of the plant. It provides cooling that is both energy efficient and, at the same time, environmentally friendly.
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About Hill York: A full-service commercial air conditioning company, Hill York provides energy efficient solutions for the installation, maintenance and repair of a wide range of heating, cooling and ventilation systems. Founded in 1936, the company serves the state of Florida. For more information, visit www.hillyork.com.
About Nova Southeastern University (NSU): Located in beautiful Fort Lauderdale, Florida, NSU is a dynamic research institution dedicated to providing high-quality educational programs at the undergraduate, graduate and first-professional degrees levels. An independent, not-for-profit institution with approximately 25,000 students, NSU has campuses in Fort Lauderdale, Fort Myers, Jacksonville, Miami, Miramar, Orlando, Palm Beach and Tampa, Florida as well as San Juan, Puerto Rico and online globally. For more than 50 years, NSU has been awarding degrees in a wide range of fields, while fostering groundbreaking research and an impactful commitment to community. Classified as a research university with “high research activity” by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, NSU is one of only 37 universities nationwide to also be awarded Carnegie’s Community Engagement Classification. For more information, please visit www.nova.edu