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Robert Frank, City Editor frank@heraldnet.com

New Mukilteo City Hall going green

By Scott Pesznecker
Herald Writer

MUKILTEO -- Mukilteo is about to trade an old, metal warehouse in an industrial park for a building made from recycled materials with grass on its rooftop.

Mukilteo's new City Hall, under construction on the corner of Cyrus Way and Harbour Pointe Boulevard, is expected to be among the most environmentally friendly public buildings in Snohomish County when work is finished in early 2009.

A grass-covered roof, geothermal heating and natural lighting are among the features being incorporated into the $6.9 million building.

"We wanted to provide leadership to the citizens and developers in our city that it's doable," said Mukilteo City Councilwoman Jennifer Gregerson, who was council president when the building's design was approved in June 2007.

The City Hall, designed by ARC Architects of Seattle, is expected to be recognized by the Washington, D.C.-based United States Green Building Council as a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design structure.

The building is expected to receive the council's LEED-Gold certification, the second-best of four possible ratings, said Jennifer Reese, project manager for ARC Architects.

Mukilteo officials aren't aware of any other building in the county with that level of certification.

"It's a big step in the right direction," said Reese, whose firm has worked on public projects in Port Townsend and Sammamish that were certified by the Green Building Council. "Plenty of buildings are going up where they aren't thinking of sustainability."

The two-story City Hall, to be built with recycled materials and wood from regional lumber mills, is planned with a slanted roof on one side and a flat roof on the other. A large, wedgelike entryway will split the City Council chambers from private city offices. The building will open with 15,000 square feet of usable space, with 3,000 square feet available for later expansion in the southwest corner of the building.

A green roof over the City Council chambers could be the building's most head-turning feature, Mukilteo Mayor Joe Marine said. The grass-covered roof -- a slanted roof with a layer of soil and grass -- is designed to provide insulation and control storm-water runoff.

Marine said he has some concern about the green roof's durability, but he likes the eco-minded message it sends.

"I hope it turns out great," Marine said. "Anything new like that, you're always a little unsure."

The new City Hall will feature low-flow toilets to reduce water consumption. Overhangs and sun shades on the outside of the building will help reduce heat gain on the inside, without diminishing the amount of natural light coming in.

The parking lot will be paved with porous concrete that will allow water runoff to seep through to a bed of rock beneath the pavement. The water runoff will be funneled into a retention swale northwest of the parking lot.

Building green tends to increase overall construction costs by 1 percent or 2 percent, said Ashley Katz, spokeswoman for the U.S. Green Building Council. However, the environmentally friendly features lead to cost-savings in the long run, she said.

"It's not just good for the environment, but it's also good for the employees, and for the bottom line," she said.

Mukilteo resident Chris Chase -- owner of Cottage Werks, a company that specializes in green home building -- is excited to see the finished City Hall. There are things the city could have done differently, he said, such as asking for a lighter colored metal roof instead of a green roof. That would have saved money without losing any effectiveness, he said.

Still, Chase is thrilled to see city government building green.

"I think it's a great idea," he said. "Anything they can do to get it in the public eye and bring about more awareness is great."



Reporter Scott Pesznecker: 425-339-3436 or spesznecker@heraldnet.com.

More public green building projects

Mukilteo's new City Hall building is designed to have several environmentally friendly features. Other public green-building projects in the Puget Sound region include:

Seattle City Hall and Justice Center: An 8,500-square-foot green roof was installed over the Justice Center in 2002, and a 13,000-foot green roof was installed over City Hall in 2003.

Sammamish City Hall: The new building, which opened in July 2006, includes features such as low-flow water fixtures, natural lighting and low-maintenance landscaping.

Port Townsend City Hall: Built in 1892, the building was recently renovated in accordance with U.S. Green Building Council standards.

Nationwide, 398 public buildings have been certified by the U.S. Green Building Council. In addition, 2,816 pending public projects have registered to become certified by the council.