Shoreline City Hall earns environmental sustainability Gold

By Susan Will

The City of Shoreline announced today that Shoreline City Hall has been awarded LEED® Gold established by the U.S. Green Building Council and verified by the Green Building Certification Institute (GBCI). LEED is the nation’s preeminent program for the design, construction and operation of high performance green buildings.

“We wanted to provide a model of sustainability and to set an example for future development in the City,” says Shoreline City Manager Robert Olander. “Learning that we’ve achieved LEED-Gold is not only great news, but shows that our efforts are on the right track.”

Shoreline City Hall achieved LEED Gold for energy use, lighting, water and material use as well as incorporating a variety of other sustainable strategies. By using less energy and water, a LEED certified building saves money for families, businesses and taxpayers; reduces greenhouse gas emissions; and contributes to a healthier environment for residents, workers and the larger community.

“The Shoreline City Hall LEED certification demonstrates tremendous green building leadership,” said U.S. Green Building Council President, CEO and Founding Chair Rick Fedrizzi. “The urgency of USGBC’s mission has challenged the industry to move faster and reach further than ever before, and Shoreline City Hall serves as a prime example of just how much we can accomplish.”

The City’s goal from the beginning was to construct a City Hall using – and featuring -- the highest level of green building practices. From the contaminated soil remediation to the recent installation of solar panels over the garage, Shoreline has been committed to sustainability. Some of the green practices built into City Hall include 100% storm water management on the site through swales and rain gardens, a green roof, solar shades, solar hot water system, sensor-controlled lights, low-flow toilets, sensor faucets with batteries that are recharged by the water flow, electric car charging stations, solar panels and pervious concrete sidewalks.

“One of our community’s strongest values is environmental sustainability so it’s appropriate that our premier civic building reflects that,” says Shoreline Mayor Keith McGlashan. “Now the Shoreline community can also take pride in having such a highly-certified City Hall that showcases successful green building practices.”

Created by USGBC in 1998, LEED is a green building certification system that promotes a whole-building approach to sustainability. The certification progress is very rigorous. Organizations seeking certification must develop sustainable building practices from the beginning design phase. Buildings can achieve certified, silver, gold or platinum ratings. The LEED certification is recognized around the world and shows an organization’s commitment to environmental responsibility.

"Energy conservation is Seattle City Light's first resource of choice for meeting our community's electricity needs,” says Seattle City Light Superintendent Jorge Carrasco. “ I commend the City of Shoreline for incorporating energy efficient design and equipment into its new City Hall as well as solar panels that will produce some of the electricity it uses. This building demonstrates how all of us can make sustainable energy choices."

  
To achieve LEED-Gold, the City took its commitment to being a “model of sustainability” to a new level. In conjunction with the many sustainable measures incorporated into the design and construction by the project team, the City also added educational and demonstration opportunities through permanent signage, solar-powered recycling and garbage cans, an accessible green roof, and household battery recycling.

“Though many projects have incorporated green power purchases or solar technologies for demonstration purposes, Shoreline City Hall is the only one of dozens of local LEED certified projects we have been involved with to actually achieve a LEED point for on-site renewable energy by generating 2.5% of their annual energy use by cost,” says LEED Consultant Nancy Henderson, ArchEcology Managing Partner.

The City of Shoreline thanks its consultant team for its expert guidance during the City Hall project and congratulates it on sharing the honor of the LEED Gold Certification: LMN Architects designed Shoreline City Hall; developer Opus NW with development director PJ Santos (now with Lorax Partners); contractor Opus Construction; ArchEcology; landscape architect Karen Keist; civil engineer SvR Design; MacDonald Miller; Valley Electric; Studio Lumen; Northwest Mechanical (a local Shoreline company); and Silicon Energy. Seattle City Light Utility and King County Department of Natural Resources and King Conservation District were partners through grants and support.

Photos by Steven H. Robinson