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WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 26, 2012
Vol. CXXIII, No. 248
INSIDE:
OFFICIAL NEWSPAPER OF THE CITY OF TACOMA Devoted to the Courts, Real Estate, Finance, Industrial Activities, and Publication of Legal Notices
Published Since 1890
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LEGAL NOTICES BANKRUPTCIES LIENS ORDERS FEDERAL COURT AUDITORS OFFICE NEW BUSINESSES editor@tacomadailyindex.com
Year In Review
Center for Urban Waters earns LEED Platinum
File Photo By Todd Matthews, Editor City of Tacoma officials announced in May the Center for Urban Waters was awarded Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Platinum certification by the Green Building Certification Institute. Platinum is the highest rating in the LEED green building certification program, the nationally recognized benchmark for the design, construction and operation of green buildings. Completed in 2010, the 51,000-square-foot building houses City of Tacoma Public Works Environmental Services labs and offices, University of Washington Tacoma researchers and Puget Sound Partnership staff. The three-story facility is located on the east side of the Thea Foss Waterway, across from downtown Tacoma. "Tacoma is proud to have this facility and to have our leadership in sustainability validated by the LEED Platinum certification," said Mayor Marilyn Strickland. The building's design reduces energy costs by 36 percent compared to a standard building. The facility includes a ground source heat pump consisting of 84 geothermal wells more than 250 feet deep under the esplanade and parking lot. The building also uses natural ventilation and radiant heating and cooling to reduce energy use. The building uses 46 percent less water than a conventional facility by reusing rain collected from the roof and water rejected by the lab's pure water system. The water, stored in two 36,000-gallon tanks, is used for landscaping and flushing toilets. Among the other elements contributing to the Center's LEED Platinum certification are a green roof, in two sections totaling 12,000 square feet, absorbs rainfall and filters pollutants from the air and stormwater. It also helps reduce energy needed for heating and cooling by naturally insulating the building; a rain garden of native plants in the middle of the parking lot collects and filters stormwater runoff; the parking lot is constructed of pervious pavers that allow rain to pass through the parking lot and filter into the soil; water-wise landscaping uses native and adapted plants that require less water and fertilizer. Native plants provide habitat for birds and animals and protect water quality; and recycled content materials were used throughout the building.
NOTE TO READERS
In observance of New Year's Day, the Tacoma Daily Index will not be published on Tues., Jan. 1. Publication will resume on Weds., Jan. 2.