It's not just what you build, but where you build

As the Northwest’s largest metropolitan area, Seattle is experiencing tremendous development these days, especially within the downtown core where residents are relocating by the thousands get a piece of the city’s newfound “urban lifestyle.”

As a result of rapid growth, Seattle is facing the significant challenge of building with an eye towards the environment while it enables the typical supply-and-demand economic forces to run their course. With condominiums and apartment properties in high demand, and with LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification difficult to achieve for some residential projects, developers are finding they need alternative ways to build in a sustainable, eco-friendly manner.

The answer lies in how projects are sited — specifically, where they’re placed in order to strategically minimize commuter traffic while giving residents greater access to a wide range of urban amenities and services.

The Schuster Group is breaking ground soon on a condominium tower in downtown Seattle’s Belltown neighborhood. The project, called Mosler Lofts, is located in a part of the city where access to public transportation, commercial office buildings, local attractions and street-level services add value for its residents.

The building, which will be one of the first LEED-Silver certified condominiums in Seattle when complete, has many sustainable design features such as a “green” planted rooftop that will filter storm water efficiently. Mosler Lofts will also include renewable building materials, energy-efficient appliances, and natural day-lighting capabilities, among other green-focused elements.

Don’t get me wrong: Creating a building with eco-friendly design features is important. But developing a sustainable project is about so much more than meeting a particular design standard.

Mosler Lofts’ proximity to bus lines, shopping and work encourages residents to leave their cars at home — or ditch them altogether. The project adds to urban density and contributes to the city’s vitality while decreasing sprawl. Mosler Lofts residents, by the very nature of the project’s location, will be incentivized to change behaviors that otherwise negatively impact the environment.

Developers looking to the future should consider strategic areas of the urban environment as places to create sustainable new housing that can appeal to a population concerned with everything from the cost of fuel to the ever-burdened natural world around us. With the right tools and vision, we can live comfortably while ensuring the needs of future generations.