Construction begins on Seattle's Watershed Building

SEATTLE, December 4, 2018 – Following the groundbreaking on September 24th, construction is underway on the highly sustainable Watershed Building, a seven-story commercial office building located at 900 North 34th Street in the heart of Seattle’s Fremont neighborhood. Watershed will pursue Living Building Petal Certification under the City’s Living Building Pilot Program. The building will offer 60,000 square-feet of Class A+ office space and 5,500 square-feet of ground-level retail space. 

The project is a partnership between Hess Callahan Partners, Mark Grey, and Spear Street Capital. Weber Thompson provided architecture and landscape architecture services. Lloyd Low and Joe Gowan from JLL will handle all office leasing.

Set for completion in early 2020, Watershed is adhering to the strict guidelines of the City of Seattle’s Living Building Pilot Program, a rigorous green building certification program that incentivizes deep reductions in water and energy usage. The goals of the program include the reduction of total energy usage by at least 25 percent and reducing total building water usage by 75 percent below the City’s baseline targets.

“Our intent is to show that it is possible to meet cutting-edge sustainability goals while still meeting the needs of the most demanding technology tenant,” said Joanna Callahan, Hess Callahan Partners. “In a city that cares deeply about sustainability, Watershed will set the standard for green building design and development. It creates immediate value for future tenants and the surrounding neighborhood.”

“We’re incredibly excited about what Watershed offers to users who want to occupy a space that is in line with their views on corporate responsibility and innovation,” said Lloyd Low, one of the project’s leasing agents at JLL. “The building’s leading sustainability initiatives appeal to a wide variety of tenants in this region and beyond who are looking to attract and retain top talent. In addition, the location offers walkable amenities and convenient access to Lake Union and nearby bike and running trails.”

“Like every project we design, we’ve approached Watershed as an opportunity to create a building that positively impacts the broader community,” said Kristen Scott, Architect and Senior Principal at Weber Thompson. “Watershed allows us to take what we’ve learned from some of our most ambitious sustainability projects to date and dig deeper to find new ways to showcase practical, achievable deep green design. Our goal is to inspire, through design, a stronger connection to place, community, and the environment around us.”

One of the key sustainability features at Watershed is a process for retaining and treating polluted stormwater runoff from the adjacent street and the Aurora Bridge through a series of stepped bio-retention planters along Troll Avenue. This on-site treatment cleans 400,000 gallons of stormwater annually prior to discharge in Lake Union, protecting migrating salmon runs and improving water quality for everyone.

Additional sustainability elements will include: 

•  Electrochromic glass that automatically tints to significantly reduce solar heat gain and glare through generous floor-to-ceiling windows.
•  Salmon Safe Certification to help maintain the native salmon population in the watershed.
•  State of the art building energy controls and systems.
•  Use of reclaimed rainwater for toilets and irrigation needs.
•  Healthier, locally-sourced materials. 
•  Public spaces featuring art that promotes reflection and interaction with the environment.
•  Reduced operating costs through building efficiencies.
•  Outdoor patio/deck space on levels 1, 2, 4 and 7. 

In order to reduce the carbon footprint of future tenants, the building will provide storage for up to 100 bikes and post-ride amenities like lockers and showers to encourage people working in the building to take advantage of the easy access to the Burke Gilman Trail, Lake Union Loop and Troll Bridge Walkway. 

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