Issaquah Highland Awarded Green Globe for Leadership in Sustainable Building

Port Blakely Communities, developer of Issaquah Highlands, has received a King County Green Globe “Leadership in Sustainable Building“ Award for encouraging the wise use of resources in their building practices. The award recognized Port Blakely’s leadership in Built GreenTM and as the driving force behind the Built Green Idea Home, which in 2004 entertained and educated 8,000 visitors who took docent-guided tours.

Other practices cited in the award include extensive sustainable development features at Issaquah Highlands, such as preservation of over 1,400 acres as permanent open space and habitat for local wildlife and over 120 acres of wetlands to ensure a healthy ecosystem, community protection from unauthorized pesticide/herbicide use by homeowners, homeowner education on Best Management Practices for green living, and structured land so that stormwater infiltrates naturally to help protect Issaquah drinking water, aquifer and streams.

In addition, Port Blakely Communities required all builders at Issaquah Highlands to meet Built Green 3-star certification, which encourages participation in King County's Construction Works program and also requires all builders to submit a recycling plan for minimizing construction wastes. On the land development side, Port Blakely Communities recycled dirt that would have normally gone to a landfill, separating it into topsoil, rocks, and fill for reuse.

Update: Port Blakely Communities now requires all homebuilders to meet Built Green 4-start certification.