It's eco-friendly: ShoWare Center gets major environmental award

The City of Kent learned Wednesday that the ShoWare Center, its new multi-purpose sports and entertainment facility, has been awarded LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Gold certification by the U.S. Green Building Council.

This designation makes ShoWare Center the first sports arena in North America to achieve such a rating.

“I’m extremely proud of this achievement,” said Kent Mayor Suzette Cooke. “Receiving LEED Gold certification reaffirms our efforts to balance economic development with being good stewards of the environment. It’s also pretty cool to be the first on the continent!”

LEED is a voluntary, consensus-based national certification program for developing high-performance, sustainable buildings that provide immediate and measurable results for building owners and occupants.

Points are awarded in six environmental categories as defined by LEED: sustainable sites, water efficiency, energy and atmosphere, materials and resources, indoor environmental quality and innovation and design.

Ben Wolters, Kent economic development director and project lead for the city, said throughout planning and construction, the city, along with Mortenson Construction, LMN Architects, and anchor tenant Seattle Thunderbirds were targeting a Silver rating, requiring 33 points.

“Because of a tremendous commitment by the entire team, the project earned 40 points, with a perfect score for innovation and design,” Wolters added.

Highlights of ShoWare Center’s green features include:

• Premium parking for fuel-efficient vehicles and car and vanpools

• Low-flowing water fixtures and dual-flush toilets exceeding 40 percent water savings when compared to similar buildings

• Native plant landscaping that doesn’t require watering

• Energy-efficient lighting, heating, cooling, ventilation and ice-making equipment, reducing energy use by more than 37 percent.

• Recyycling more than 90 percent of the construction debris.

• Constructed using more than 50 percent Forest Stewardship Council-certified wood

• Using low-volatile organic compound paints and adhesives to minimize indoor contaminants that exacerbate respiratory problems

• Using excess heat rejected from the ice-making equipment to warm the ground under the ice rink, to maintain the integrity of the foundation.

Designed by LMN Architects with consultation by Paladino and Co., one the leading green

building consultants in the United States, the city's arena went above and beyond the minimum requirements to achieve a “Silver” rating for the building, according to the USGBC.

“While building 'green' costs significantly more upfront, ultimately the city will see a cost savings in the long run,” Wolters said. “LEED buildings cost less to operate and maintain and are energy- and water-efficient.”

ShoWare Center has received several awards since opening in January, including the American Institute of Architects Civic Design Award and Green Building of America Award by the Real Estate & Construction Review.

Additional information about the center's green building features is available at www.ShoWarecenter.com.

More information about the LEED green building certification system is available at www.usgbc.org/LEED.

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