April 16, 2019

SRM joins team for deep-green Living Stone offices

Rendering by Weber Thompson [enlarge]

Weber Thompson is designing the five-story building, which will have solar panels, a giant cistern and rooftop bee hives.

The corner property at 3524 Stone Way N. went on the market two years ago. The Schwartz Co. has it under contract. Weber Thompson is designing a five-story office building for the site. And now SRM Development of Spokane has joined the team as co-developer, as John Schwartz confirmed with the DJC. The two then issued a press release.

The project will have its second and likely final design review at 6:30 p.m. April 22 at Good Shepherd Center, 4649 Sunnyside Ave. N.

Now called Living Stone, the proposal will employ the city's Living Building Pilot Program, which allows more floor area in exchange for various green features. The project stands to gain 15 feet in additional height, for a total of about 60 feet.

Schwartz says that he and SRM, after acquiring the property, hope to break ground in the first quarter of 2020, with completion in late 2021. He says it's unlikely they'd build on spec, and that preliminary discussions are already underway with prospective tenant or tenants. Brokers will be named later. SRM will build the project, which is currently envisioned as a single-tenant building.

The numbers haven't changed much since the first design review last summer: about 115,000 square feet of offices, 7,700 square feet of retail/commercial space, and 149 parking spaces (up slightly) on three levels, both structured and underground. Access to the garage will be from North 36th Street.

Rooftop bee hives and a 100-kilovolt-ampere solar panel array are planned. Clerestory windows will help illuminate the fifth floor. A small roof deck is also indicated, plus some small balconies on the north and south facades.

Overall building energy use will be reduced by at least 25 percent from that of a comparable office building.

Other “petals” in the pilot program will be achieved via recycling water for non-potable uses (via a 250,000-gallon rainwater cistern), salvaged and locally sourced building materials, local and sustainable landscaping, and maximizing sunlight for office workers. Stairs to encourage walking for the office workers will be external, above the entry alcove, and partly exposed to the elements.

Weber Thompson's Kristen Scott said in a statement that “Our main structural system is Dowel-Laminated Timber (DLT), a mass timber product which creates a warm, natural wood environment supporting the very human desire to be closer to nature.”

The retail will be in two bays on the north and south corners of the building, with the office entrance in between.

There will also be 139 bike stalls, which will also contribute toward the project's sustainability requirements. Access will be from a roll-in ramp on the building's south side, next to the Fremont Collective building (home to Joule, The Whale Wins, and evo Seattle). That building has its own curb cut and private alley facing Stone, that separates the two properties.

The developers said in a statement that “The design of this deeply sustainable speculative office building places focused attention on natural daylighting, non-toxic, sustainable building materials, energy efficiency and building features that promote an optimum work environment for all employees.”

The Living Stone team also includes Coughlin Porter Lundeen, structural engineer; KPFF, civil engineer; Hewitt, landscape architect; and WSP, mechanical and electrical engineer.

The old one-story warehouse buildings will be removed from the 34,200-square-foot property. Stone Way Cafe, Hashtag Cannabis and ABC Enterprises are among the current or recent tenants. The longtime family owner is represented by Brian Fairchild of Commercial Space Advisors.

Living Stone will join another deep-green office project designed by Weber Thompson in Fremont: the Watershed Building, now under construction at 900 N. 34th St. It, too, is participating in the pilot program. Fremont itself is fast becoming a major-minor tech hub, home to Google and Tableau.

Meanwhile, SRM is planning the historic preservation of the Knights of Columbus building on First Hill. That century-old structure will become offices, flanked by two new apartment buildings with 179 units. SRM also has plenty of experience with offices, having previously developed two buildings with about 375,000 square feet for Google in Kirkland, where that company continues to expand. SRM also has a branch office in Kirkland.