Bainbridge Island’s newest development to exceed energy efficiency standards

The Island Gateway development, at the corner of Winslow Way and Highway 305 on Bainbridge Island, will meet the goals of both national and international energy challenges. Designed and built through the partnership of PHC Construction, Asani, Coates Design, and the new commercial buildings will exceed energy efficiency standards set out by the Department of Energy’s Energy Star program and the ‘Architecture 2030’ challenge.

The development, designed architect Matthew Coates, will host office space, retail space, and two museums in five buildings. Preliminary analysis shows that the commercial buildings currently under construction score in the top ten percent of all buildings in the Energy Star program, which, through the Department of Energy, encourages commercial and residential buildings to reduce their energy consumption and establish lower occupancy costs.

The buildings also meet the Architecture 2030 challenge goals. Architecture 2030, a non-profit organization, recognizes that buildings are a significant source of demand for energy and materials that cause greenhouse gasses and aims to encourage all buildings to be carbon neutral by 2030.

Energy savings in the buildings are realized through careful design and construction, as well as choice of materials and equipment that maximize efficiency. The recent revisions to the building design that achieve the energy savings were all made within the original budget for the buildings, demonstrating that thoughtful design and planning can achieve energy efficiencies without additional capital investment.

Tenants of the buildings will be the direct benefactors of these energy efficiency measures, experiencing more comfortable work spaces and reduced utility costs.

“The Island Gateway team has done a fantastic job of paying attention to what matters most to this community and what will matter most to the building’s eventual users — without adding significant costs to the project,” says Kelly Muldrow, broker at Windermere Commercial.