Emerald City Commons is a new mixed-use building that includes 61 affordable housing units, 5,700 square feet of commercial space, and parking.
The retail space was created for Rainier Health and Fitness, a non-profit health organization. The building is comprised of 3 levels of wood framing over 1 level of concrete. The building was constructed to meet the Evergreen Sustainable Development Standard and received a Seattle City Light Built Smart Award.
The building design includes one, two, and three bedroom apartments, open interiors with natural light provided by many large windows, an extensive community room with a kitchen and computer workstations, and a spacious private courtyard with a variety of landscaped areas including a children’s play area. There is also program space for health and wellness services, after-school programming, and housing stability assistance.
Rafn met the challenges of a long and narrow building site with street access only from busy Rainier Avenue, encountering previously unknown contaminated soil during excavation, and project coordination with a half dozen funding sources to complete the distinctive and functional new building which is filling a significant need in the community and the lives of the residents.
This project won the 2014 ABC Eagle of Excellence in Construction award.