Unico Sustainability is a division of Unico Properties focused on creating experiences that enhance human health and productivity, protect the natural environment, and increase economic returns for our partners. We do this by deploying a sophisticated palette of development and operating solutions for new construction, major renovation, and existing building projects across a variety of building uses and typologies.
Boulder Brands
As an industry leader in healthy foods, Boulder Brands wanted to create a corporate office that reflected its commitment to healthy and sustainable living. The result was a partnership with Unico that delivered a space designed to maximize human wellness and productivity by incorporating abundant natural light and views of Boulder’s iconic Flatiron Mountains, reducing artificial light by 45%, using only low-emitting carpet, paint, and furniture to improve indoor air quality, providing community space for cooking and socializing, and creating a zero-waste office for recycling and composting consumable goods.
Commercial Interior
Boulder, Colo.
Bullitt Center
Perched atop Seattle’s Capitol Hill neighborhood, the Bullitt Center sits as arguably the most sustainable commercial building in the world touting achievements of net-zero energy, net-zero water, and zero toxic Red List materials. As the property manager for the Bullitt Foundation, Unico oversees day-to-day performance of the building which included the 12-month performance period required to earn Living Building Certification from the International Living Future Institute.
44,800 SQUARE FEET
sEATTLE, wASH.
The Commons at Ballard
Healthy and sustainable living at its finest, The Commons at Ballard was named Green Development of the Year by Multifamily Executive in 2017 earning a spot as one of the nation’s most sustainable buildings. Unico provided our sustainable development services to incorporate many of our signature concepts, such as abundant natural light and views, low-emitting materials, infill restoration with native vegetation, rainwater harvesting for irrigation, and solar energy to provide supplemental power – all of which helped the mixed-use project earn a distinguished LEED Platinum certification.
160,000 square feet
Seattle, Wash.
Circa Building
Unico’s first ground-up office development in Denver boasts a LEED Platinum certification and offers tenants a world-class experience with a proliferation of natural light, enhanced thermal envelope and HVAC systems, beyond-code air filtration, low-emitting materials, and a featured staircase – all of which contribute to a healthy, active, and productive workplace. The project is also a showcase in resource conservation with low-flow water fixtures, electric vehicle charging, and a solar energy system on the roof.
96,000 SQUARE FEET
Denver, Colo.
Harlequin Plaza
Faced with increasing and volatile electricity prices in Denver, the solar energy project at Harlequin Plaza demonstrates Unico’s creativity to mitigate financial exposure by creating a fixed power purchase agreement to supply the building with low-cost, clean power for the next 20 years.
327,900 square feet
Denver, Colo.
Russell Investments Center
Formerly WaMu Center prior to the financial crisis, Unico repositioned this Seattle high-rise with a LEED Platinum certification that helped attract notable tenants like the building’s new namesake Russell Investments, Boeing, Zillow, Nordstrom, and DocuSign, among others. During the repositioning, Unico improved the building’s energy efficiency by 58% and delivered and ENERGY STAR score of 100. The project also resulted in a 40% reduction in water usage and was able to divert 83% of all waste from landfill in what was then Washington’s largest Platinum-certified building.
1,248,047 square feet
Seattle, Wash.
Stone34
Stone34, headquarters for Brooks Sports, completed the requirements of the City of Seattle’s Deep Green Pilot Program (now the Living Building Pilot Program) by surpassing rigorous performance standards for energy, water, and stormwater. The project is a case study in sustainable development and operations demonstrating how privately-owned buildings can deploy advanced design and technology without sacrificing industry-required returns.
