Hamilton Urban Partners: 4-Star Sylvan Court Expansion

Vital Stats	Section	Points
Location: Seattle Star Level: 4-Star Checklist: 2017 Multifamily Checklist Verifier: Evergreen Certified	Site and Water	180
	Energy Efficiency	75
	Health and Indoor Air Quality	107
	Material Efficiency	61
	Total Score	437

According to the Carbon Leadership Forum’s Carbon Avoided Retrofit Estimator’s (CARE) website, “Renovating an existing structure typically has a much lower carbon footprint than building a new one because it reuses most of the carbon intensive parts of the building—the foundation, structure and building envelope.” Sylvan Court, which was originally constructed in 1964, recently underwent a renovation to upgrade the existing building instead of tearing it down; and also constructed a new building on the property’s former parking lot, doubling the amount of rentable housing units. While the original building doesn’t earn points on the new building’s checklist, their strategy was a great approach to minimizing their carbon impact, reduce waste, while still promoting urban density by constructing more units on the same lot.

The new building, a 20-unit apartment building, obtained a Built Green 4-Star certification on the 2017 multifamily checklist. The building was able to do so by claiming a variety of points throughout the checklist. Some of the highlight features utilized in the Built Green checklist to get the points were using drought-tolerant and native vegetation and low-flow plumbing fixtures to minimize the amount of water used on the property; BIBS insulation and a lower blower door score to keep energy costs down; low VOC paints, finishes, and interior products with indoor air-quality certifications to keeps tenants safe and healthy; and utilizing local and durable material to keep the building standing for a long time to come.

In addition to the variety of green features utilized by the construction team, the building offers bike storage with a repair station to incentivize tenants to ride their bikes or walk. The building is located within of the urban village zone and has a walkability score of 91. This in itself will help encourage more healthy living while reducing the need for a car.

Hamilton Urban Partners: 4-Star Sylvan Court Expansion exterior

Hamilton Urban Partners: 4-Star Sylvan Court Expansion loft ladder

Hamilton Urban Partners: 4-Star Sylvan Court Expansion interior

Built Green Highlights

Site and Water

Greyfield Lot
90%+ permeable hardscaping
Energy Star qualified TPO roof
Drought-tolerant landscaping
Low-flow EPA WaterSense plumbing fixtures

Energy Efficiency

Blown-in blanket insulation in exterior walls
0.25cfm/ft² @ 75Pa blower door score
Water and electricity sub-metering
All lighting LED and/or Energy Star
Energy Star appliances in all units

Health and Indoor Air Quality

Low VOC paints, adhesives, finishes
Pre-finished LVP flooring in units
CRI Green Label plus carpet tiles in hallways
Rainscreen installed under siding
Sill pans with back dams at doors and windows

Materials Efficiency

Abundance of locally products items used
Extensive engineered lumber
Insulation with 40% recycled content used
Declare, Living Building Challenge, Cradle-to-Cradle materials used

Hamilton Urban Partners: 4-Star Sylvan Court Expansion courtyard

Hamilton Urban Partners: 4-Star Sylvan Court Expansion laundry room

Built Green highlights:

Site and Water:

Urban, Transit-oriented infill
Seattle Green Factor Score of 0.61
82% of stormwater from site managed on-site
No turf grass in final landscaping along with drought-tolerant plant selection

Energy Efficiency:

Ductless mini splits throughout the units
Centralized hybrid heat pump domestic hot water heater
100% electric units
Energy Star appliances

Health and Indoor Air Quality:

Anti-idling and healthy jobsite practices implemented
Low VOC products used throughout
GreenGuard Gold Certified flooring
Rainscreen installed under siding

Materials Efficiency:

Used locally and regionally manufactured materials
Engineered lumber used for floor system
Used recycled-content roofing materials

Equity & Social Justice:

Designed to promote pedestrian-friendly neighborhoods
Built within walking distance of transit, schools, shopping and parks

Photo credit: NWMLS

case-study-leota-commons

Built Green™

02/28/2023

Habitat for Humanity Builds Affordable Green Condos on Capitol Hill

Habitat for Humanity’s Capitol Hill development on 11th Ave. East is five stories of 13 condominiums that will house families living on incomes under 80% of the Area Median Income (AMI).

Completed this year, the development earned a four-star Built Green certification while taking advantage of improved property close to public transit and bike trails, shopping, restaurants, and some of Seattle’s most popular parks. Families living in the development will be within walking distance of public, charter, and private schools. Habitat’s mission is to assure that everyone has a decent and affordable place to live. In Seattle and King County, Habitat is committed to balancing that mission with environmental concerns.

By acquiring the Capitol Hill property, Habitat assured that the development would be transit oriented. The multi-story condominium construction allows for affordable density on a relatively small footprint in a vital neighborhood. Habitat continually nurtures relationships with architects, manufacturers, and suppliers to reuse green designs and techniques that work, holding costs down for the future Homeowner.

For this project, Habitat was able to install hybrid heat pump water heaters and ductless electric space heating throughout the development, earning it high points for energy efficiency. The project mitigated 95% of the stormwater runoff from the roof and site to improve function and minimize local water and groundwater pollution. The units’ interior materials used low VOC paints and flooring materials as well as assuring proper ventilation for maximum interior air quality. The use of locally sourced and recycled-content materials and achieving a 90% landfill diversion rate of new construction waste helped to minimize the project’s environmental impact.

Habitat for Humanity condos in Capitol Hill, kitchen

Qualifying homebuyers for the Capitol Hill condos must finance their purchase with a mortgage. Habitat helps to cover any portion of the projected purchase price not covered by the mortgage, cash down payment, or other down payment help. Habitat SKC inaugurated a black homeownership initiative (BHI) in 2022 in partnership with several Seattle civic organizations that includes a pilot debt remediation program to improve loan eligibility for BIPOC families to start building toward generational wealth. Eleven of the 13 available units on Capitol Hill are already purchased with 5 going to BIPOC homebuyers.

Habitat works with homebuyers to assure the mortgage payments do not exceed 35% of their gross income. Monthly payments for the one, two and three-bedroom Capitol Hill condos range from $1,050 to $2,500. Homebuyers also receive ongoing budget management training in free Habitat classes. Habitat’s formula for affordable homeownership includes sweat equity in the form of volunteer hours. Due to the complexity of the multi-story building, Capitol Hill homebuyers have donated their time to other projects as well as to supporting Habitat’s Re-Stores. Ultimately, the property will be placed in a land trust providing permanent affordability for future generations.

The combination of green construction, close transit, shopping, and schools with affordable homeownership make Habitat for Humanity’s Capitol Hill 11th Avenue condominium homes a formidable prototype for addressing the area’s housing crisis. Habitat, in partnership with GreenCanopy Node, will soon break ground on another project – 17 units in six stories just South of Capitol Hill --that is also planning to achieve a Built Green 4-Star certification.

Habitat for Humanity condos in Capitol Hill, bathroom

Habitat for Humanity condos in Capitol Hill, exterior

Habitat for Humanity condos in Capitol Hill, bedroom

Built Green highlights:

Site and Water

Urban, Transit-oriented infill
Seattle Green Factor Score of 0.67
95% of stormwater from site managed on-site
82% effective pervious surface outside of building footprint
WaterSense ultra low-flow plumbing fixtures, showerheads, and toilets
Turf grass limited to only 24% of landscaping along with drought-tolerant plant selection

Energy Efficiency

Modeled performance of 31% over 2015 WSEC
All EnergyStar appliances
Low blower door score of 0.247CFM/SQFT of envelope
Ductless mini-split in the main living areas & electric heaters in bedrooms
Centralized hybrid heat pump domestic hot water heater, UEF: 3.75
85% high efficiency lighting

Health and Indoor Air Quality

Low VOC paints, adhesives, finishes & flooring
GreenGuard Gold Certified Insulation
All electric building
Rainscreen installed under siding
ERV installed in the service lobby and vestibule area

Materials Efficiency

Used locally and regionally produced materials
Used recycled-content roofing materials
61% recycled-content insulation
No vinyl siding or exterior trim
Emphasized use of products with EPDs

Equity and Social Justice

100% of units priced for families below 80% of AMI
Provides debt remediation for BIPOC homebuyers
Built within walking distance of transit, schools, shopping and parks

habitat-for-humanity-builds-affordable-green-condos-on-capitol-hill

Built Green™

08/02/2022

Building Spaces of Belonging

Author: Sonja O'Claire, Built Green Program Manager

Building a home has always been more than a construction project on a plot of land. It’s the creation of a place of physical and psychological safety where hopes and dreams can flourish, a place to make connections with others, raise families and grow old, a place to call home. These spaces of belonging are the foundation for building community.

Young girl with construction hat playing

Despite the myriad benefits of owning a home, many community members don’t have access to homeownership or are subjected to higher rates of environmental pollution due to codified and institutional systems that persist to this day. Many also lack living-wage jobs that would make homeownership more attainable. In order to overcome these disparities, an equitable, just, and inclusive approach is required, one that opens the door to homeownership as well as living-wage jobs in the building trades.

Sustainability Venn diagram

Social institutions and equity are core components of sustainability and sustainable development and have been a value of the Built Green program from its beginning. Other green building certifications have looked to address equity by encouraging the construction of affordable housing units. Built Green was the first residential certification in the country to establish a requirement that focused on how the entire home building process – from developer to homebuyer– can move the needle on equity and social justice.

Developers, designers, and builders direct how capital resources are distributed through site selection, design aesthetics and function, who is hired for the job, and what vendors are used to source materials. Using these investment decisions to create spaces of belonging and centering equity in turn provides economic and growth opportunities, reduction in turnover costs, and increases the applicant labor pool for builders to capitalize on.

Built Green implemented the Equity and Social Justice (ESJ) Section into its latest checklists to codify the intent of addressing inequality and alleviating barriers experienced by marginalized populations. To accomplish this the Built Green team started by reallocating long-standing credits for building accessory dwelling units, stakeholder engagement, and transit-oriented, pedestrian-friendly, and accessible design into this new section. Additional new credits were conceived to offer flexibility to a variety of company sizes, project types, and site contexts. The new credits were crafted through a process of stakeholder outreach and taking inspiration from existing equity scorecards and of what some Built Green members were already doing.

The ESJ credits are intended to support developers, designers, and builders in their efforts to promote equity and inclusion, one home at a time. They provide mutually beneficial actions builders can take to address workforce supply and retention, climate resiliency, accessibility, and homeownership.

To alleviate concerns about how builders can incorporate this new Built Green requirement into their projects, the remainder of this article offers clarification on writing a project-specific ESJ Plan and implementation examples for different star levels.

Writing a Project-Specific ESJ Plan

Anyone who has managed a project, especially as one as complicated as building a home, knows that if it’s not written down in the plan it doesn’t get done. A project-specific ESJ plan is like any other plan that is produced as part of the project management process: a project team must first consider their options given project constraints, then develop objectives, determine actions to take, assign responsibilities, and create a timeline to achieve each objective. A project-specific ESJ plan is required for all projects seeking 4-star certification or higher.

A sample process for writing an ESJ plan is described below.

1. With the project team, consider the project, site, and the company’s context. Based on that context, brainstorm some ways the project could incorporate equity and social justice into its design, build, or sales process. Tip: Look to the ESJ section of the checklist for ideas of how this could be done.

2. Using the Builder’s letterhead write a memo, using an extended outline format that describes possible ESJ objectives that could be incorporated in the project. For each ESJ objective provide the specific action items that will achieve its intent (including as much specific details as possible), ESJ credits related to these actions, responsible party accountable for implementation, and anticipated completion timeline/project phase. Tip: Action items could be the specific ESJ credits associated with those objectives. See handbook for examples.

a. Only list realistic and relevant objectives and actions that could be used by the project. For example, if the project was financed and planned to be sold for market rate, then the objective of providing workforce housing is not realistic or applicable. If the home is built on a sloped property than having a stepless front entry would not be a realistic action item to an objective of increasing universal access.

b. Alternatively, Gantt chart can also be used as a format for the ESJ plan to document the objectives, actions, responsible party and implementation timeline.

3. Highlight or bold the text of any priority ESJ objectives in the list. Priority ESJ objectives are defined as those with the highest possible impact to increase equity and social justice. Tip: Priority items may not always be the most expensive or time consuming. Community or stakeholder outreach can provide valuable insight to what is considered a priority of local residents and also earns ESJ credits.

4. Of all the objectives and actions that are possible, document which ones the project team is committed to achieve on this project.

5. If any of the priority objectives or actions were not committed to, describe the reasons why they were not selected.

ESJ plan snapshot text

The ESJ plan will not be graded on which objectives or actions are listed or how many of them are implemented on the project. The intent is for project teams to start building their ESJ muscles and to begin considering it like any other part of the project’s planning process. Like with other new green building strategies, with each project, teams will learn from the experience, create a palette of ESJ actions that streamline the process, and eventually weave it into the company’s culture.

ESJ Implementation

The following tables layout example strategies a hypothetical project team could perform to earn points for ESJ credits at each star level. Please keep in mind there are multitudes of credit combinations and ways for each of these credits to be implemented, and that some ESJ credits will also earn the project points in other sections of the checklist:

3-Star Single Family home in rural community (15 points minimum)

ESJ Action/Credit	Implementation	Points
6-14: Stepless front entry and stepless other entry	No steps to access home’s front door and stepless access to garage	3
6-16: Install exterior accessible hard surface gathering area	Home has a patio that requires no stairs or steps to access from the home	1
6-23: Bedroom, bathroom, kitchen, and laundry appliances on main floor	Home’s main entry leads to the main floor that was designed for aging in place	8
6-26: Design low maintenance outdoor spaces	Landscape designed with drought tolerant and native perennials, trees, and shrubs*	1
6-32: Design to promote and encourage pedestrian-friendly and safe neighborhoods	No fence in the front yard, bicycle access through garage, street trees in courtesy strip	3
	Total Points	16

*Earns project credits in Site and Water section

4-Star Single Family infill home in Kirkland (20 points minimum)

ESJ Action/Credit	Implementation	Points
6-3: Offer equity-focused trainings and workshops to staff, subcontractors, and other building partners	GC has staff attend MBAKS and ANEW Rise Up workforce development trainings	5
6-9: Develop a project-specific ESJ plan clearly indicating equity objectives; identifying priority elements. Required	ESJ plan includes measurable actions that could be implemented, including the ones on this chart	3
6-28: Build within 1/4 mile of a transit stop	Infill project site located near bus line	3
6-29: Build on a lot that is within 1/2 mile of at least six essential services	Infill project site located in walkable neighborhood*	3
6-36: Hire temporary employees or apprentices through Weld Works or ANEW	GC hires Weld Seattle workers for 25% of the temporary work hours on the project during site clearing and demolition	5
6-40: Builder offers mentorship program to employees	GC maintains a mentorship program for employee’s professional development, which requires leadership staff to attend equity-focused trainings	3
	Total Points	22
Over Achievement Opportunity—6-8: Build an ADU or DADU	+10 points	32

*Also earns points in Site and Water section

5-Star Single Family townhomes in Seattle’s Ballard neighborhood (25 points minimum)

ESJ Action/Credit	Implementation	Points
6-9: Develop a project-specific ESJ plan clearly indicating equity objectives; identifying priority elements. Required	ESJ plan includes measurable actions that could be implemented, including the ones on this chart	3
6-15: Hard-surface stepless grade changes at exterior to allow access to essential maintenance locations	All units have a stepless path from the garbage can storage area to municipal pick-up area	1
6-28: Build within 1/4 mile of a bus stop	Site located near a bus line	4
6-29: Build on a lot that is within 1/2 mile of at least six essential services	Infill project site located in walkable neighborhood*	3
6-32: Design to promote and encourage pedestrian-friendly and safe neighborhoods	No fence in the front yard, bicycle access through garage, street trees in courtesy strip	3
6-39: Offer vacant properties to WELD Seattle for use as temporary housing	GC contracts with Weld Seattle to allow the site’s existing home for temporary housing prior to its deconstruction	8
6-44: Annually provide pro bono or reduced rate services to nonprofit or historically marginalized community organizations	GC builds a ramp at MBAKS annual Rampathon event	5
	Total Points	27

*Also earns points in Site and Water section

4-Star Multifamily mid-rise, mixed-use apartment in Seattle’s Beacon Hill neighborhood (30 points minimum)

ESJ Action/Credit	Implementation	Points
6-40: Engage Local Community groups to assess community needs to inform the project-specific ESJ plan	Project team held outreach meetings with Beacon Hill residents and community leaders so they could collaborate on a design that could address known disparities in noise and outdoor air pollutants experienced in Beacon Hill	8
6-9: Develop a project-specific ESJ plan clearly indicating equity objectives; identifying priority elements. Required	ESJ plan includes measurable actions that could be implemented, including the ones on this table and more from universal design credits	3
6-12: Site, design, and construct to counter known disparities identified through engagement with community stakeholders	Based on community’s comments the project team designed the building to include Triple pane windows, HRV and HEPA filters in the air-tight building, and a pedestrian-friendly exterior design with additional trees.*	15
6-28: Build within 1/4 mile of a bus stop	Site located near a bus line	4
6-29: Create mixed use building	Building designed with retail and live/work units on ground floor with 4 stories of apartments above	10
6-10: Implement priority elements of project’s ESJ plan	Implemented all identified priority ESJ objectives from the project’s ESJ plan	7
	Total Points	47

*Also earns credits in Site and Water and Energy Efficiency sections

Want to dive deeper into the details on this section? Watch the Mastering Built Green: Equity and Social Justice Credits webinar:

Please note this was recorded prior to the ESJ section being renamed from Section 1 to Section 6. All credits mentioned correspond with Section 6 of the checklists.