King Street Center grabs the gold

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:
  • Certified two buildings through LEED, King Street Center and the Regional Communications and Emergency Coordination Center in Renton.
  • Created an online green building reference center at http://dnr.metrokc.gov/wtd/library/green/index.htm
  • Launched the nation's first online LEED™ Supplemental Tool at http://www.metrokc.gov/dnrp/swd/leed/index.asp