Developers of the seven-story, under-construction Watershed Building in Fremont are pursuing the International Living Future Institute’s Living Building Petal Certification. 

The office building, set to be complete in early 2020, will have 60K SF of office space and 5,500 SF of ground-level retail.

Construction of the Watershed is following the guidelines set by the city of Seattle’s Living Building Pilot Program, a green building certification program that recognizes deep reductions in water and energy usage. The program aims to reduce the total energy usage by at least 25% and reduce total building water usage by 75% before the city’s baseline targets.

“Our intent is to show that it is possible to meet cutting-edge sustainability goals while still meeting the needs of the most demanding technology tenant,” Hess Callahan Partners’ Joanna Callahan said. “In a city that cares deeply about sustainability, Watershed will set the standard for green building design and development. It creates immediate value for future tenants and the surrounding neighborhood.”

One of the key sustainability features at the site is a process for retaining and treating polluted stormwater runoff from the adjacent street and the Aurora Bridge through a series of stepped bio-retention planters along Troll Avenue. This on-site treatment cleans 400,000 gallons of stormwater annually before it goes into Lake Union. The process will protect migrating salmon runs and water quality.

The Watershed project is a partnership between Hess Callahan Partners, Mark Grey and Spear Street Capital. Weber Thompson provided architecture and landscape architecture services. Lloyd Low and Joe Gowan from JLL will handle all office leasing.