January 25, 2016

Best in state: Gold award
Social, economic and sustainable design
Otak

Photo courtesy of Otak

Otak provided construction management services for this stormwater detention vault in Redmond’s Overlake Village neighborhood.

Project: Overlake Village south detention vault — integrated facilities
Client: City of Redmond

The Overlake Village neighborhood in Redmond is projected to grow into the central Puget Sound region’s next urban center.

Overlake Village will include a mix of commercial, retail and residential uses. An East Link light rail station is slated to open there in 2023.

In the past, the area was developed at a lower density but with a high percentage of impervious surface area and little to no stormwater flow control or water quality treatment. In 2010, Otak completed a study for the city of Redmond laying out a plan to provide stormwater infrastructure to support the city’s new vision for development.

Two years later, Otak was hired by the city to help with the development of the Overlake Village regional stormwater facilities plan, which presented in greater detail the flow control, runoff treatment and conveyance facilities needed to support full redevelopment of Overlake Village.

Otak developed a strategic implementation plan to balance the interconnected low-impact development elements, regional facilities, and parks and open spaces. This approach allowed the most cost-effective means of providing stormwater management.

An overarching objective was to provide the maximum benefit to the environment while also supporting a vibrant urban center.

Otak was also the prime consultant for the preparation of construction documents for the first two of three regional facilities proposed in the 2012 regional plan. One of these facilities, the station infiltration facility, is a 4.4-acre-foot infiltration facility that will be located beneath the access road at the future light rail station.

The second facility, the south detention vault, is a 20-acre-foot detention facility located at the downstream end of the watershed underneath the Sears parking lot, which will be converted to a city park as the village redevelops. Construction of this facility was completed last summer, and Otak, along with the city of Redmond staff, provided construction management services.

This project successfully constructed the largest stormwater detention vault in Washington within a highly urbanized neighborhood, requiring deep excavation near busy roadways and adjacent businesses. This regional stormwater facility has stimulated economic growth in the Overlake Village area with several redevelopment master plans being submitted before the final construction was completed.

The project shows how careful planning can create a win-win situation for developers, who can now maximize their site development potential and be assured that the stormwater from their sites is properly managed, and for the city, which wanted maximum environmental enhancement, economic growth and open space in an area that lacked all three.

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