Aug. 31, 2004
King Street Center grabs the gold
2004 Archived News
As
Olympians from around the world won medals for stellar athletic
performances the King Street Center here in Seattle has won gold for a
stellar performance of another kind – environmental sustainability.
King Street Center is the first building in the Pacific Northwest and
one of only a handful nationwide to receive a Gold level rating from
the U.S. Green Building Council for features in existing buildings that
help conserve natural resources and protect the environment. Gold is
the second highest rating possible through the U.S. Green Building
Council's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design for Existing
Buildings (LEED®-EB) program.
"The
impact of building green can be significant," said King County
Executive Ron Sims. "Consider that buildings in the U.S. account for
more than 35 percent of total energy use, 30 percent of greenhouse gas
emissions and consumption of 12 percent of the potable water supply.
Then consider that King Street Center uses reclaimed water for 50
percent of toilet flushing needs, has an HVAC system that reduces
carbon dioxide emissions by 22 to 30 percent and is an energy star
building. Now imagine if everyone built green."
King
Street Center achieved a Gold level rating for innovative building
features including substantial water conservation, reduced carbon
dioxide emissions, energy savings and an exemplary recycling program.
The building has a reclaimed water system that saves more than one
million gallons of potable water a year by using a rainwater harvest
system to collect rainwater off the building that is used for 50
percent of toilet flushing needs. Lighting systems that rely on natural
light and HVAC systems helped save $100,000 over two years and reduced
carbon dioxide emissions by 22 percent to 30 percent. And, an exemplary
recycling program diverted 60 percent of building waste from the
landfill.
King
Street Center, at 201 S. Jackson in Seattle's Pioneer Square
neighborhood, was developed by Wright Runstad and is currently occupied
by King County, which has a rent to own agreement with the National
Development Council.
Completed
in 1999, King Street Center was the first green building project
undertaken by King County. Although it was designed and built before
the 2000 release of the LEED Green Building Rating System, the process
improvements and upgrades significantly improved building operations
and qualified the project for Gold certification in the LEED-EB pilot
program. "As more projects like the King Street Center certify under
LEED-EB and realize the ongoing economic, environmental, and social
benefits, building projects of all kinds will begin to seek these same
rewards," said Rick Fedrizzi, President and CEO, U.S. Green Building
Council. "This is how we effect positive change to the built
environment and move the industry to building green."
The
certification is a larger effort by King County to conserve resources
and reduce costs through green building practices. In 2001, King County
Executive Ron Sims signed the "Green Building Initiative" to promote
the use of environmentally friendly construction practices in the
county's capital projects. As part of this initiative, legislation was
introduced last week to adopt green building standards for all
construction of King County buildings. Current construction projects
being undertaken by King County that are pursuing LEED certification
include the 1st NE Transfer and Recycling Station, Power Distribution
Headquarters, and the completed Kent Pullen Building is awaiting its
LEED certification.
For a virtual tour of King Street Center see http://dnr.metrokc.gov/dnrp/ksc_tour/
For more information on Green Building see http://dnr.metrokc.gov/swd/bizprog/sus_build/greenteam.htm
Fact Sheet
- King
Street Center was developed under a unique partnership between Wright
Runstad, King County and the National Development Council. King County
has a 20-year lease to own agreement with the National Development
Council.
- King Street Center is 327,000 square feet of office and retail space and is home to 1,450 King County employees.
- King
Street Center at 201 S. Jackson in Seattle Pioneer Square neighborhood
is the first building in the Pacific Northwest and one of only a
handful in the region to receive a gold rating from the U.S. Green
Building Council's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED)
Existing Building program.
- Among the features that earned King Street Center the Gold level rating were:
- Rainwater
harvest system that saves more than one million gallons of potable
water a year, meeting over 50 percent of the toilet flushing needs with
reclaimed water.
- Energy
savings of approximately $100,000 in the first two years of operation
and a reduction of carbon dioxide emissions by 22 percent to 30 percent.
- Exemplary recycling program that diverts 60 percent of building waste from the landfill.
- A virtual tour of King Street Center is available at http://dnr.metrokc.gov/dnrp/ksc_tour/
- LEED
for Existing Buildings is a set of performance standards for the
sustainable operation of existing buildings. It addresses
whole-building cleaning/maintenance issues including chemicals, ongoing
indoor air quality, energy efficiency performance, water efficiency
performance, recycling programs and supporting facilities, exterior
maintenance programs, and systems upgrades to improve building energy,
water, indoor air quality, and lighting performance to green
performance standards.
- The
impact of buildings on the environment is significant. Buildings
account for 35 percent of total energy use and 65 percent of energy
consumption.
- U.S. buildings create 30 percent greenhouse gas emissions and consume 12 percent of the potable water supply.
- In
2001 King County Executive Ron Sims signed the Green Building
Initiative in order to encourage and promote the use of green building
practices in all buildings King County constructs, remodels and
renovates. Under the Green Building Initiative King County has:
