SEATTLE—Inspire at the Russell W. Young Building is nearly 100% leased within six months of opening, according to a joint venture between Shilshole Development and Russell’s Fifth Avenue Inc. This is Seattle’s first multifamily building designed to be carbon positive, meaning it produces more renewable energy on-site than the building consumes. Inspire is also Seattle’s first apartment building to pursue Seattle’s Living Building Pilot Program and the International Living Future Institute’s Living Building Challenge Energy Petal Certification for net-positive energy buildings, one of the world’s most ambitious green building certifications.

Located in the Fremont neighborhood at 3825 Bridge Way North, the six-floor 42-unit residence with studios and one-bedroom apartments opened in March 2020 the same week Governor Jay Inslee issued the stay-home order for Washington State. Inspire achieved stabilized occupancy in less than six months since the pandemic first hit and is now 97% leased.

“With Inspire, we are thrilled to deliver Seattle’s most sustainable multifamily development, with incredible leasing velocity that has achieved nearly 100% occupancy in six months, despite the pandemic headwind our city and our nation has faced. Inspire proves there is great market demand for carbon-positive buildings and that buildings like this can make financial sense for profit-oriented developers,” said Brett Phillips, a board member with Russell’s Fifth Avenue Inc.

Inspire’s Living Building Challenge Energy Petal Certification makes it the first residential building in the Puget Sound region to produce more than 100% of its power with on-site renewable energy and the net-positive residence produces more electricity than it uses. This abundance of solar energy eliminates electricity bills for residents.

In addition to pursuing the Living Building Challenge Energy Petal Certification, Inspire is also designed to meet the 2030 Challenge, which is aligned with the decarbonization ambitions of the Paris Climate Accord. Inspire just won NAIOP’s Sustainable Multifamily Development of the Year award and the 2019 Solar Washington Innovation Award, and was named a Featured Project by Earth Day Northwest 2020.

Phillips recently shared some insights into its path to carbon positive and how that contributed to fully leasing the building.

GlobeSt.com: Was the aim of this development to be Seattle’s first multifamily building to be carbon positive or did it evolve?

Phillips: Building a net-positive energy building through Seattle’s Living Building Pilot Program was part of the development’s feasibility analysis from the beginning. Once we concluded it was financially feasible, we committed to the concept and the execution strategy that has now resulted in Seattle’s first carbon-positive apartment building.

GlobeSt.com:  Would you attribute the carbon-positive aspect to be the primary driving force in the robust leasing activity?

Phillips: Undoubtedly, Inspire’s leasing success proves there is strong market demand for environmentally restorative buildings that eliminate fossil fuels and combat climate change. But it also proves that residents can live sustainably in a beautifully designed building without changing their habits or sacrificing modern conveniences. For example, floor-to-ceiling windows flood units with natural light and access to sweeping views, fully loaded modern appliances including pre-installed TVs are provided in all units, and a high performing ventilation system provides a constant source of fresh air. This shows Inspire’s leasing success is a result of both its carbon-positive performance and its class-A design, assuaging a narrative that these design features are mutually exclusive.