Top 10 LEED-Certified Buildings in Seattle

After we reviewed the top LEED-certified buildings in Washington, D.C., in 2019, we continued our search for 2020’s top-ranking LEED-certified properties and zeroed in on Seattle. Using data from the U.S. Green Building Council, we narrowed down a list of the metro’s highest-scoring projects year-to-date through September. The list below ranks the certifications from platinum to certified.

A total of 36 projects received LEED certifications in the mentioned time frame, with developments ranging from residential and office use to hospitality and public properties. Most office projects on the list were completed in 2019 or 2020, further underpinning office developers’ growing interest in environmentally friendly projects.

Project Name	Street	Points Achieved	Certification Level	Certification Date
800 Fifth Recertification	800 Fifth Ave.	81	Platinum	1/17/2020
818 Stewart Street	818 Stewart St.	73	Gold	3/19/2020
Block 25 v3	630 Boren Ave. N	71	Gold	5/7/2020
Block 31 v3	625 Boren Ave. N.	67	Gold	5/7/2020
333 Dexter	333 N. Dexter Ave.	63	Gold	4/1/2020
Viewpoint	2401 Elliott Ave.	62	Gold	1/31/2020
Met Park North	1220 Howell St.	62	Gold	1/23/2020
505 First Ave.	505 First Ave. S.	61	Gold	1/15/2020
5th & Columbia Tower	811 Fifth Ave.	29	Silver	6/18/2020
192724 Seattle Restack Floors 40 & 42	999 Third Ave.	45	Certified	6/9/2020

1. 800 Fifth

USGBC started the year with its first Platinum recertification granted to the 800 Fifth property in January. The project earned 81 points on the scorecard. EQ Office acquired the property in 2019 for $540.4 million. The tower received the highest certification in 2015, and at the time it marked the 12th building developed or managed by Hines to receive this designation.

In addition to earning LEED, the property has earned the Energy Star label every year since 2005. Since 2000, the building has completed more than 27 green activities that achieved outcomes of water use reduction, sustainable site selection and development, responsible materials selection and waste management, enhanced indoor environmental quality, energy-efficient operations and design. The tower has maintained a minimum of 98 percent occupancy since it opened.

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2. 818 Stewart St.

Totaling more than 232,000 square feet of office space, 818 Stewart St. has achieved LEED v4.1 O+M: Existing Buildings Gold certification in March 2020 with a scorecard of 73 points. Additionally, since 2019, the property has been Energy Star Certified with 78 points. J.P. Morgan Asset Management acquired the 14-story office building in a $129.3 million portfolio transaction in 2011. The building is home to tenants such as Seattle Children’s Research Institute, Rakuten USA Inc., Hagens Berman and DCI Engineers.

3. Block 25 V3

Block 25 is a 14-story, mixed-use building totaling more than 244,000 square feet. Located at 630 N. Boren Ave., the property includes ground-floor retail space, office space from the second floor to the sixth floor, and residential space from the seventh floor to the 13th floor, while the top floor features residential amenities. USGBC awarded the property LEED 2009 Core and Shell Gold certification in May 2020, with a scorecard of 71 points. 

4. Block 31 V3

Dubbed the Lakefront Blocks, Block 31 and Block 25 serve as Google’s office campus. The two-building Block 31 consists of more than 433,000 square feet of office space, ground-floor retail space and 79 residential units. Located at 625 N. Boren Ave., the 14-story buildings achieved Gold certification with a 67-point scorecard. Owned by Vulcan Real estate, the 2019-built assets are both Salmon-Safe certified and include stormwater systems to minimize runoff that can carry pollutants into nearby waterways and Puget Sound.

5. 333 Dexter

The two-tower, 635,000-square-foot office property in the Lake Union submarket achieved LEED 2009 Core and Shell Gold certification earlier this year in April. The 12-story buildings attained 63 points on the scorecard. Kilroy Realty’s asset was also Energy Star certified in 2013 with 92 points. Apple has fully leased 333 Dexter.

Bounded by Dexter Avenue and Highway 99/Aurora Avenue, the property is close to the Space Needle and has direct access to key regional transportation routes, including the SR-99. Located at 333 N. Dexter Ave., on Seattle’s primary north-south bike highway, the property’s design embraces bike culture and will include a two-floor bike facility with 128 lockers, 12 showers and 340 bike racks directly accessible from the street level.

6. Viewpoint

Located at 2401 Elliot Ave., Unico Properties’ 133,000-square-foot office building achieved LEED v4 O+M: Existing Buildings Gold certification earlier this year. The five-story property obtained a 62-point scorecard. The company has owned the building since 2017, when it acquired it for $65 million from Nuveen Real Estate. This building owes its green status to seven sustainable activities that achieved outcomes of energy-efficient operations, water use reduction, responsible materials selection and waste management, and enhanced indoor environmental quality. Built in 2000, Viewpoint is home to tenants such as WeWork and Pacific Market International LLC.

7. Met Park North

Owned and managed by Hudson Pacific Properties, Met Park North at 1220 Howell St. consists of more than 190,000 square feet of office space and received LEED v4 O+M: Existing Buildings Gold certification with a scorecard of 62 points. The company acquired the 11-story property in 2013 for $106.4 million, as part of a portfolio transaction.

Completed in 2000, Met Park North is part of the Met Park campus, which features roughly 700,000 square feet of office and retail space. Met Park East & West also reached a 61-point scorecard, achieving LEED 2009 Existing Buildings Operations and Maintenance Gold certification in 2014. The LEED scorecard provided by USGBC shows that Met Park North received a total of 14 out of 18 points for location and transportation, two out of 10 for sustainable sites, six out of 12 for water efficiency, 27 out of 38 for energy and atmosphere, two out of eight for material and resources, six out of 17 for indoor environmental quality, three out of four for regional priority credits and two out of six points for innovation.

8. 505 First

Located at 505 First Avenue S., the 288,300-square-foot office building is owned and managed by Hudson Pacific Properties, which acquired the asset for $155.9 million in the same portfolio deal as Met Park North. The seven-story asset received LEED v4 O+M: Existing Buildings Gold certification with a scorecard of 61 points and was also awarded Energy Star certification in 2020 with 79 points for its seven green activities.

The property has received a total of 15 out of 18 points for location and transportation, three out of 10 for sustainable sites, eight out of 12 for water efficiency, 14 out of 38 for energy and atmosphere, four out of eight for material and resources, eight out of 17 for indoor environmental quality, four out of four for regional priority credits and five out of six points for innovation.

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9. 5th & Columbia Tower

F5 Tower, also known as The Mark or the 5th & Columbia Tower, is a 48-story building featuring 25 levels of office space totaling 516,000 square feet leased entirely by F5 Networks, and two floors of penthouse mechanical space. Ten floors serve as luxury hotel space, four floors are dedicated to conference facilities and seven levels provide below-grade parking. The tower also features a restaurant.

In June, the asset received LEED-CS 2.0 Silver certification with 29 points on the scorecard. The nearly 700,000-square-foot tower is owned by KKR and managed by Daniels Real Estate. KKR acquired the asset in December 2019 for $458 million. To achieve Silver certification, the ownership implemented a rainwater reuse system, a 35-foot living wall and rooftop solar energy equipment. The glass walls of the building were designed to regulate temperature and energy use by selectively letting in sunlight.

10. 192724 Seattle Restack Floors 40 & 42

Located at 999 Third Ave., the 47-story building consists of nearly 1 million square feet of office space. Owned and managed by EQ Office, the property received LEED v4 ID+C: Commercial Interiors Certified certification with 45 points on the scorecard. The property has also been Energy Star certified since 2013, with 92 points. EQ Office acquired the asset for $588.3 million in 2019.

The property has received a total of 17 out of 18 points for location and transportation, four out of 12 for water efficiency, 13 out of 38 for energy and atmosphere, three out of 13 for material and resources, one out of 17 for indoor environmental quality, two out of four for regional priority credits and five out of six points for innovation.