Energy efficient, comfortable, highly functional green-building projects earn King County grants

Applications available now for new round of grants

Projects to build a city hall, a community learning center and a mixed residential-retail project all have one thing in common: They’ve received King County grant awards for their energy efficient and environmentally sustainable design.

The King County Department of Natural Resources and Parks has awarded grants to the projects, which are pursuing LEED® (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) program certification.

The King County LEED grant award winners include the City of Shoreline’s City Hall/Civic Center, the Technology Access Foundation/Lakewood Community Learning Space, and the Avalon Towers Bellevue project.

"King County actively supports wider use of green building techniques, and this grant program recognizes a diverse range of green building projects," said Dan Farrell, project manager with King County’s GreenTools Program.

"The fact that we are awarding a mixed residential-retail project, a city hall, and a community learning center shows that green building is mainstream and the techniques are applicable to any project type," Farrell said.

The program awards grants competitively to projects that achieve at least a LEED-Silver level certification and meet other key environmental performance benchmarks. The current awardees are part of the second application round for the program; the first applied in 2006. Current recipients applied in the summer of 2007, were notified in December of 2007, and awarded funds in the first quarter of 2008.

Recipients are also eligible to receive technical assistance through the GreenTools Program, which is administered through the county’s Solid Waste Division.

"We are excited about the grant we received from King County and the opportunity to construct a Civic Center Building in a way that promotes environmental sustainability in our community," said Jesus Sanchez, Operations Manager for the City of Shoreline.

"The Civic Center will not only be a healthy place to work and visit, but it will be a visual model that inspires residents and businesses to incorporate similar green building aspects into their homes and offices," Sanchez said.

Applications are now being accepted for the 2008 round, and are available on the GreenTools program Web site at http://your.kingcounty.gov/solidwaste/greenbuilding/. Private, nonprofit and public projects in King County outside the City of Seattle are eligible to apply.

For questions or information on the King County LEED Grants program, contact Farrell at 206-263-6037, or dan.farrell@kingcounty.gov.

King County LEED Grant Award recipients for 2007 include:

City of Shoreline Civic Center/City Hall
Owner: City of Shoreline
Location: N. 175th St. & Midvale Ave. N, Shoreline
Architect: LMN Architects
Grant Award: $20,000
LEED certification goal: Gold

TAF/Lakewood Community Learning Space
Owner: Technology Access Foundation
Location: 10821 8th Ave. SW, Seattle
Architect: Miller-Hull
Grant Award: $15,000
LEED certification goal: Silver

Avalon Towers Bellevue
Owner: Avalon Bay Communities
Location: 939 Bellevue Way NE, Bellevue
Architect: Ankrom Moisan Associated Architects
Grant Award: $15,000
LEED certification goal: Silver

Related Information:

Sustainable Building