Tacoma trades Superfund for research center

The Center for Urban Waters sits on a waterway.

A newly opened building in Tacoma resting on a former Superfund site is aiming to become one of a handful of working laboratories earning the highest level of Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification. The 51,000-square-foot, $22 million Center for Urban Waters designed by Perkins+Will and built by Turner Construction is a joint venture between the nonprofit National Development Council and the City of Tacoma.

Serving as University of Washington – Tacoma’s water-testing lab, the building was designed to interact with its surrounding environment as much as its occupants, says Devin Kleiner, project designer for Perkins+Will.

The Center for Urban Waters, which will open April 20, combines office space for the city’s Environmental Services department and Puget Sound Partnership with the university’s laboratory space.

Combining standard elements of a high-performance building with the unique needs of a laboratory was a challenge for designers. But by dividing the west and east sides of the building, designers were able to reduce the energy use in one section of the building without sacrificing performance on the other. Overall, the center is expected to use 36 percent less energy compared to a building built to code.

Even more impressive, the building is expected to reduce fresh water use by 46 percent compared to conventional buildings, thanks to a 12,000-square-foot green roof, which is expected to divert 168,000 gallons of stormwater runoff into Puget Sound annually. Wastewater from the lab’s production of reverse osmosis water is being diverted to two 36,000-gallon above-ground cisterns which will also hold the stormwater runoff.

The building is expected to be the lynchpin in Tacoma’s effort to redevelop the former Superfund site, says Jim Parvey, city engineer and assistant public works director for the city. The city, which has a 30-year lease-to-own contract on the building, is working to get state funding to turn the area into an Innovation Partnership Zone. Such districts encourage cluster development to help rebuild regional economies.