The High Street office and retail buildings, located between NE Park Drive, 10th Ave. NE and NE High Street, were recently awarded the nation’s highest levels of green building certifications: the U.S. Green Building Council’s prestigious LEED® (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Gold and LEED Certified, respectively.
Designed by Seattle architecture firm CollinsWoerman, the 20,000 square feet of High Street retail was envisioned to provide eco-friendly retail space of the highest quality that integrated well into the overall design of the community. As one of the first multi-tenant retail projects to be certified in the LEED Core and Shell pilot program in the U.S., the High Street retail incorporates a range of new and innovative sustainable features, including Issaquah’s first “green roof.” Located atop Sorella Salon & Spa, the “green roof” reduces energy consumption for the building and filters stormwater run-off. The “green roof,” combined with additional eco-friendly roofing practices, also helps to reduce solar heat gain (the sun heating a building’s roof and the entire structure).
The High Street retail, which is positioned to become a model for developers and architects from across the country, features eco-friendly construction practices throughout. A portion of the buildings’ power comes from Green Power, a program of PSE. Thanks to the use of low-flow water fixtures, the tenants have reduced potable water use by an average of 20%, or 28,000 gallons, annually.
Even more impressive is the Gold certification awarded to the High Street office building, which houses various tenants, including Port Blakely Communities, developer of Issaquah Highlands. The building focuses on a reduction in energy consumption, conservation of natural resources and improved environment air quality designed to protect the health of the building’s occupants.“The LEED Gold Certification is a first for Issaquah Highlands – a community that is truly committed to environmental stewardship,” said Alan Boeker, president, Port Blakely Communities. “All residents can be proud of this building that represents the future of ‘green’ building practices.”
The building’s construction strongly emphasized waste reduction. In total, 84% of construction waste – more than 33 tons – was diverted from landfills and recycled. More than 10% of the materials used in construction contained recycled content, while 22% of the materials came from local manufacturers – directly supporting our local economy. By procuring materials from local manufacturers and distributors, the amount of fuel needed to ship materials long distances to the job site was reduced.
A “rain screen” is among the building’s most innovative construction features. Designed for extreme weather conditions, the “rain screen” lets the building breathe by shedding water efficiently from both outside and within the wall cavity – even under 80mph winds and freezing temperatures, while still providing excellent thermal protection. But unlike most severe weather clothing, the “rain screen” is attractive and not visible to the passerby.
There are four levels of LEED Certification: Certified, Silver, Gold and Platinum. The High Street retail and office buildings join two other prominent Issaquah Highlands landmarks in LEED Certification. In 2003, Fire Station #73 became the First LEED Silver Fire Station in the United States, and in 2005, Blakely Hall was awarded LEED Silver Certification. The LEED certification plaque for the High Street retail will be displayed in the common area plaza, which is located just outside Caffe Ladro. Stop by, take a look, and be proud that your community is continuing a proud tradition in leading the country in sustainable building and innovative practices.
For the first time in the Cascade region, an eighteen foot Menorah constructed from hundreds of balloons was kindled at the fourth annual Chanukah Celebration in Blakely Hall with the Issaquah Highlands community on Sunday, December 28th. Due to weather conditions the party had to be postponed by a week, so instead of lighting only one candle for the first night of Chanukah we got to kindle all eight. The beautiful balloon Menorah with all its candles lit was quite a sight! Everyone got an opportunity to blow their own balloon and contribute it toward the building of the Menorah.
In its Chanukah outreach campaign, Chabad of the Central Cascades joined thousands of Chabad centers across the globe that are staging similar public displays of the Menorah and its symbolic lights. From Australia to Africa, Thailand to New Orleans, Baghdad, Iraq to the White House lawn, hundreds of thousands have experience the joy of Chanukah with Chabad. Our thanks goes to all who attended this special evening. Thanks to Port Blakely and the Issaquah Highlands Council for co-sponsoring the event.
