New Aspira Tower in Seattle Wins Four-Star Certification from Built Green

The new Aspira Apartment Tower in Seattle today received the coveted four-star certification from Built Green, making it the first and only high-rise residential building in Seattle to receive this top environmental honor.

“We are thrilled to have officially received the four-star certification from Built Green,” said Patrick Merritt, Project Manager for Keller CMS, part of the Aspira development team. “Aspira’s development team committed very early on to focus on both environmental sustainability and to making this one of the most contemporary apartment buildings in our city. We think that important mix makes this not only one of the most aesthetically beautiful buildings but also one of the greenest places to call home in the Puget Sound area.”

"Using environmentally-sustainable practices is the future of building in King County, and this project shows that even in a difficult economy, doing what’s right for the environment can also be good for business," said King County Executive Dow Constantine at a news conference this morning. "This building also proves the success of our program of transferring development rights from rural lands to the urban area, and I am working to extend that program."

Aaron Adelstein, executive director of Built Green, was also on hand at the news conference to present the official four-star certification to the Aspira development team and give them praise for their dedication to the green design and construction of the apartment building.

Aspira has a number of groundbreaking environmental features, including an extremely efficient heating and air-conditioning system which in combination with the high performance exterior envelope, extensive use of glazing and operable windows in every unit helps to create a comfortable and very energy efficient home for all residents. During the design phase, developers collaborated with Seattle City Light’s Built Smart program to take advantage of current technologies available and found several ways to reduce energy usage such as motion sensor controlled lighting in the stairways and parking garage. Whenever possible, locally sourced, sustainable and durable materials were utilized in the design and construction including locally produced masonry and cabinetry.

The owners and design team worked closely with the City of Seattle to meet the green street requirements by enhancing street level landscaping as well as adding an innovative “green wall” on one side of the building that supports bamboo groves and vine plants. To reduce water usage, dual-flush toilets and low-flow plumbing fixtures were installed. The use of non-petroleum based carpet pad, fresh air vents, whole house fans, and low VOC paints greatly improves the air quality of the apartment homes.

In addition to the physical features of Aspira, the team utilized King County Transfer of Development Credits to preserve 100 acres of rural land on Sugar Loaf Mountain in King County in exchange for making the tower an additional 100 feet high. This increased the urban density in the area which created another important environmental feature of Aspira. Also, the team implemented an aggressive recycling program during construction, ultimately recycling more than 85 percent of all construction waste generated.

Aspira is also home to the first commercial electric car recharging stations in Seattle which are located in its resident-only parking lot and were demonstrated by King County Executive Constantine today.

Source: http://www.aspiraseattle.com/