May 5, 2017

Community & Public Service

Photo by Francis Zera Photography

Sebastian Place provides 20 units of housing for formerly homeless veterans.

Sebastian Place Veterans Housing
Synergy Construction

Architect: Tonkin Architecture

Engineer: Nouwens Structural Consultants

Owner: Catholic Community Services of Western Washington

ABC members: Ahlers & Cressman; Dexter + Chaney; Electri-City; Pacific 1 Construction; Propel Insurance; Safety Matters

Sebastian Place is a 20-unit apartment complex in the heart of Lynnwood for formerly homeless veterans. It provides a safe haven for the veterans and is the first of its kind in Snohomish County.

The project is a partnership between Catholic Community Services of Western Washington, Snohomish County and the Veterans Administration.

Three of the four one- and two-story buildings are slab-on-grade wood-framed buildings that house studio dwellings. The fourth houses the community laundry and kitchen, plus storage and office space for Catholic Community Services staff.

Synergy Construction worked with the owner, architect and consultants to exceeded the project goals. It was built to the Evergreen Sustainable Development Standard, a green building performance standard required for all projects receiving funds from the Washington State Housing Trust Fund. The standard is designed to safeguard health, increase durability, promote sustainable living, preserve the environment, and increase energy and water efficiency.

A stringent air barrier system required daily inspections and open communications with various subcontractors to ensure that problems were averted or solved immediately.

Challenges to the project included numerous buried and partially buried utilities, old mobile home foundation pads, and two previously unknown abandoned septic tanks that had to be removed during the course of construction. Synergy also hit an unknown 2-inch water line that had to be shut down and repaired by the Alderwood Water District. Although the line was shut down quickly, it still flooded a 3-by-75-foot ditch. Fortunately flooding was confined to just the project site and the incident caused no project delays.

Despite the challenges, the project was completed ahead of schedule with no time-loss or medical injuries during the 6,243 hours worked.

Other Stories:

• ABC mantra: Get into politics or get out of business
  
• Institutional Construction
  
• Historic Preservation/Restoration
  
• Electrical Construction
  
• Mechanical Construction
  
• Specialty Contracting: Exterior
  
• Survey: Stoneway Concrete
  
• Survey: Colvos Construction
  
• Survey: Compass General Construction
  
• Survey: Rafn Co.
  
• Survey: GLY Construction
  
• Multifamily Construction
  
• Tenant Improvement/Renovation
  
• 10 things developers must consider when hiring a GC
  
• Tech wizardry: What’s really behind the curtain?
  
• Time to put the brakes on 700 work zone deaths
  
• Equipment firms’ new focus: ‘power-by-the-hour’
  
• What every contractor should know about bonds
  
• Eagle of Excellence • Mixed-Use Construction
  
• Commercial Construction over $10 million
  
• Commercial Construction $1 million to $5 million
  
• Commercial Construction under $1 million
  
• Healthcare
  
• Survey: PCL Construction Services