Seattle Courant Archive

Green and affordable

Green and affordable

By Aubrey Cohen
June 06, 2008

They've shown this by earning silver certification in the U.S. Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design program for its Broadway Crossing project. It's the first affordable multifamily building in Seattle to get the silver rating, which is the program's third-highest, behind platinum and gold.

Broadway Crossing put 44 affordable apartments above a Walgreens store and underground parking at the corner of Broadway and East Pine Street.

The original redevelopment plan for the site was a single-story Walgreens with a parking lot. But developer S.E. Grainger partnered with Capitol Hill Housing after area residents called for a more intense urban project.

Green features of the building include large windows that allow in lots of light, low-flow water fixtures, a high-efficiency elevator, drought-tolerant landscaping, formaldehyde-free cabinets and low-fume paints, sealants, adhesives and carpet. Every resident gets a handbook that describes the green features and includes non-toxic cleaning recipes.

For-profit developers will take green development seriously when buyers demand it, Cooper said. "A lot of market-rate developers don't really care about it because their customers don't care about it."