Sustainability

SUSTAINABLE APARTMENT LIVING DEFINED

We are committed to a holistic view of sustainability-one that creates shared value for our residents, the community and the planet. We blend a commitment to conserving and optimizing water, waste, and energy usage with resident comfort and aesthetics.

What that means in your home

Appliances are Energy Star rated, so the machines you run daily draw less than their conventional equivalents. Lighting is LED throughout, using bulbs rated for roughly fifteen years. That is not only an energy figure. It means you are not standing on a chair replacing bulbs, and it means far less waste leaving the building over the life of the lease.

Plumbing fixtures are low flow, which reduces water use without turning a shower into a punishment. Paints and adhesives used in construction are low or no VOC. That choice matters most in the first year of a building's life, when conventional materials are still off gassing, and it is one of the few sustainability decisions you can actually smell the absence of.

Cooling without a machine

The building uses passive cooling. Orientation, window placement, and airflow do the work that mechanical systems do elsewhere. Seattle summers make this practical in a way they would not in a hotter climate. It also means the way you use your windows has a real effect on how your home feels in August, and the leasing team can walk you through it during a tour.

Water and the roof

Storm water is reclaimed rather than sent straight to the drain. The rooftop garden terrace is part of this picture as well as being the shared space residents use most. A planted roof holds water, moderates temperature, and gives you somewhere to sit that is not your living room.

Getting around without a car

Secure bike storage sits inside the building, which is what makes cycling a default rather than an occasional effort. The location does the rest. Victrola Coffee Roasters and Caffe Ladro are on 15th Avenue East. Liberty is at 517. Volunteer Park and the Volunteer Park Conservatory are north of here, Miller Community Center is close by, and Cal Anderson Park and Broadway Market are within the neighborhood. When daily errands are walkable, the greenest trip is the one you never take.

The programs behind the building

The Fifteen participates in Seattle's Multifamily Tax Exemption program and the city's Incentive Zoning program. Both connect the building to the city's broader goals around housing affordability and density. Sustainability and affordability are the same conversation more often than they are treated as one.

• Energy Star high efficiency appliances
• LED lighting
• Light bulbs that last 15 years
• Passive Cooling
• No or Low volatile organic compounds in paints, sealants, adhesives and carpets
• Water saving low flow plumbing fixtures
• Reclaimed Storm Water
• High Walkability Score 91!
• Water saving landscaping
• Bike Storage to support a low carbon commute