Dave Cook Delves into Ecology’s Affordable Housing Cleanup Grant Program at MTCA Law Seminar

Senior Principal Geologist Dave Cook, LG, CPG, will be a part of a seminar on Thursday, December 7 focused on the Model Toxics Control Act (MTCA). First adopted by the Washington State Department of Ecology (Ecology) in 1991, MTCA is now in its 33rd year regulating cleanup of contaminated sites in our state.

The site of the future Maddux North building being readied for redevelopment in 2020. The property formerly housed a dry cleaner, which left contamination in the surrounding soils. Cleanup of the site followed regulations per MTCA.

Dave and Ali Furmall, LHG, Brownfield Program Lead at Ecology, will present “Community Investment: Overview of Affordable Housing Cleanup Grant Program and Other Brownfield Program Resources.” Their talk will give an overview of Ecology’s Affordable Housing Cleanup Grant Program, which helps organizations purchase and remediate sites across Washington to build affordable housing.

Since the program’s start in 2016, Dave and Aspect have actively collaborated with Ecology, real estate developers, legal teams, and nonprofit housing groups to get projects funded and properties ready for cleanup. Our work now spans Bellingham, Ellensburg, and several sites in Seattle, including the launch pilot-project Mt. Baker Housing Association’s Maddux development. The project built two buildings with 203 total units on the site of a former dry cleaner and gas station/auto repair shop.

Maddux North, funded in part by the Affordable Housing Cleanup Grant program, welcomed residents in March 2023.

The day-long seminar hosted by Law Seminars International will spotlight other aspects of MTCA, including an overview of the recent updates—the first major updates in over 20 years—covering new decision-making criteria and other requirements that will impact future cleanup projects.

For the full seminar agenda and information how to register, visit the Law Seminars International website.

Dave Cook Honored as Volunteer of the Year at Northern Arizona University

Senior Principal Geologist Dave Cook returned to his alma mater, Northern Arizona University (NAU), in Flagstaff on Friday, October 27, to attend the 2023 Honored Alumni & Hall of Fame Ceremony. He was honored with their 2023 Jeff Ferris Volunteer of the Year Award, which “is presented to an NAU alumna or alumnus who has demonstrated sustained interest and loyalty to the NAU Alumni Association or the University as a whole.” The ceremony and Dave’s acceptance speech are available on the NAU Advancement | Foundation YouTube page.

“I was given an incredible opportunity at NAU to learn from world-class geologists while completing a dream research project in the Grand Canyon. The place, people, and environment were game changers for my development. It’s important to me to mentor and give back to the place and people that helped put me in a position for an amazing career – hoping that they’ll have similar successes.”
— Dave Cook on what drives him to give back to NAU.

Dave outside the NAU Geology building

Dave’s service to the university started shortly after he graduated with a master’s degree in geology in 1991. Over the years, he has spoken at various lectures and seminars and acted as a reviewer and commenter for NAU’s Annual Science Symposium. He has contributed to alumni-funded scholarships and was one of the launch funders for the Parnell Water Research fund, named after Dave’s master’s advisor Rod Parnell, in 2019. In 2022, he co-led a geology department alumni committee to envision new curricula. He is currently an affiliate professor for the School of Earth and Sustainability and serves on its Board of Advisors. Dave has also had three student mentors through NAU’s Thrive Externship program, two of which have traveled to Seattle to shadow Dave and meet Aspect staff to learn more about environmental consulting.

Dave on campus with past NAU mentees (left to right) Karen Vera, Natalie Pierson, and Caitlin Brogan in May 2023

Congratulations to Dave on his award and for his years of contributions to NAU.

Estelita’s Library Receives Grant to Move Forward with New Community

May 7-13 is Affordable Housing Week, championed by the Housing Development Consortium to highlight the role affordable housing plays in stabilizing our communities. See a recent affordable housing story below and more of Aspect’s Affordable Housing work here.

Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell recently announced $13.5 million in grant funding awards though the City of Seattle’s Equitable Development Initiative (EDI) to help community groups among Seattle’s diverse cultural communities purchase properties in neighborhoods where they are at high risk for displacement due to gentrification and redevelopment. The funds are designated “for site acquisition and major capital projects, as well as capacity-building support to organizations that are still developing their plans for permanent spaces in Seattle.”

Among the recipients is Estelita’s Library, a local nonprofit that will receive $2,375,000 to complete purchase of a property to expand their community hub. 

“Estelita’s Library is a social justice library, bookstore, and cultural hub focused on uplifting our most marginalized communities,” said Edwin Lindo, co-founder of Estelita’s Library, in the City’s press release. “It has been serving South Seattle through literature, space for communities to organize and build, and fighting gentrification through culture. With this support, Estelita’s Library will be able to fulfill its commitment to acquire property in Beacon Hill; expand its services, space, and library; and ultimately fulfill its vision and commitment of building affordable housing that is grounded in and uplifts community.” 

Aspect’s environmental team, led by Associate Geologist Ali Cochrane and Principal Geologist Dave Cook, assisted Estelita’s Library with purchase negotiations and environmental due diligence to assess property conditions. Soil and groundwater at the site is contaminated with petroleum from the property’s decades-long use as gas stations and auto repair shops.  

Drill rig installs a monitoring well at the property Estelita’s Library is looking to purchase for their new community space. Aspect will sample these wells to gauge the level and extent of contamination in site groundwater.

Our team helped Estelita’s Library procure over $125k in planning grants from Ecology’s Brownfields Grant program to fund these efforts. We will support them through the upcoming application process for a grant from Ecology’s Affordable Housing Cleanup Grant program, which will fund the planning and design phases of the cleanup in concert with property redevelopment.

Celebrating the Start of New Affordable Housing Projects Around the Puget Sound

Principal Geologist Dave Cook recently attended multifamily real estate development firm GardnerGlobal’s (GC) kickoff celebration for the next stages of the Skyway Towncenter, a new affordable housing project in Skyway—one of King County’s most diverse and most underserved neighborhoods.

Dave raises a glass with attendees at GardnerGlobal’s celebration.

The Skyway Towncenter, which is still in the planning phase, will include both market-rate and affordable housing, some of which will have rent-to-own options. This option creates an opportunity for residents to have not just more housing stability, but to be able to build wealth and truly invest in their community.

Unlocking Needed Housing Projects in Skyway, Seattle’s Central District, and SeaTac

Aspect is working with CEO and Owner of GG Jaebadiah Gardner and consulting partner Loundyne Hare of Hare International, along with environmental attorney Mike Dunning of Perkins Coie to help GG through due diligence, cleanup planning, and procurement of over $1M in cleanup grants from the Washington State Department of Ecology’s Affordable Housing program. The grant will help fund environmental investigation and a portion of the cleanup of solvents spilled from a dry cleaner that once operated at the site. Senior Geologist Ali Cochrane is leading our environmental team as they investigate contamination. Once building design and construction planning starts, Aspect will lead the cleanup design and geotechnical engineering services.

Public outreach has begun related to early phases of transitioning this contaminated property to new use. On October 20, Ali and Dave spoke alongside Jaebadiah Gardner and Loundyne Hare at the Holy Temple Evangelistic Center in Skyway on environmental conditions and the investigations at the Towncenter site. These meetings and engagement with Ecology will continue so that Skyway residents can learn how the cleanup will result in a new residential community.

Attendees review plans to address contamination at the Skyway Towncenter site during a public outreach meeting on October 28th.

Aspect is also working with GC on the Sarah Queen Development, planned as a seven-story mixed-use building near the corner of 23rd Avenue and Union Street in Seattle’s Central District, where half of the units will be for affordable housing. Our geotechnical engineering team, led by Senior Geotechnical Engineer Eric Schellenger, recently started work on design and construction recommendations for the building foundations.

Also at GC’s kickoff celebration were Hamdi Abdulle and Bilan Aden. This mother and daughter team are the Executive Director and Associate Director, respectively, of African Community Housing & Development, (ACHD) a nonprofit that creates housing stability and economic development opportunities for African Diaspora immigrant and refugee communities in King County. Aspect will conduct environmental and geotechnical due diligence for a site ACHD is looking to acquire for a future residential community in SeaTac.

From left to right, Loundyne Hare, Hamdi Abdulle, Jaebadiah Gardner, and Bilan Aden.

Over 500 Affordable Housing Units Nearing Completion

These projects are starting as Aspect is nearing the end of two major affordable housing projects in south Seattle for Mt. Baker Housing Association (MBHA). Geotechnical special inspections are finished for construction of The Maddux, a two-building development that will add 203 units of affordable housing two blocks from the Mt. Baker Light Rail Station. Our work has included extensive cleanup of contaminants left from a dry cleaners and auto repair shop that once operated on the site and an innovative ground improvement technique to address liquefiable soils that could threaten building stability during an earthquake.

Left: Ground improvements consisting of displacement rigid improvements start at Maddux in Jan. 2021. Right: Maddux nears end of construction in October 2022.

Installation of aggregate piers and auger cast piles has started at Grand Street Commons, just south of the future Judkins Park light rail station near I-90. Construction is underway on three mixed-use buildings with a mix of affordable and market-rate housing and retail. The project is creating 776 new apartments, 360 of which will be affordable units.

A drill rig arrives via crane at Grand Street Commons, October 2022

For more on Aspect’s support for Affordable Housing, visit our Affordable Housing website.

$23 Million for Affordable Housing Funding in Seattle

Lots of happy faces, hugs, and cheers at a recent June press conference as Amazon’s Housing Equity Fund director, Catherine Buell, announced the $23 Million award to Gardner Global for their Central District project; Mt. Baker Housing Association for their Grand Street Commons project; Mt. Baker Housing Village projects; and to El Centro de la Raza for their El Centro Columbia City project.

Over several years, Aspect has partnered with Mt. Baker Housing, Lake Union Partners, and Gardner Global on revitalizing several key brownfield cleanup sites in south Seattle for Affordable Housing goals.

Learn more about Aspect’s affordable housing work here: Affordable Housing — Aspect Consulting

This week, Aspect staff attended an event featuring Jaebadiah Gardner with Gardner Global, David Tan with Mt. Baker Housing Association, Estela Ortega with El Centro de la Raza, as well as Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell.

Groundbreaking Ground Improvements for Seattle Affordable Housing

Construction at Mt. Baker Housing Association’s Maddux Development is underway—the beginning of the end of a project that is bringing 203 units of affordable housing to Seattle’s Mt. Baker neighborhood. It features an innovative partnership between MBHA and Ecology as the first project under Ecology’s Healthy Housing program to help fund the environmental cleanup of future affordable housing sites. It also features a first-in-Seattle use of a ground improvement technique called displacement rigid inclusions to address the site’s challenging geology and the project’s limited budget.

Drilling the displacement rigid inclusions columns.

Drilling the displacement rigid inclusions columns.

Soil Liquefaction Muddies Building Design

The land under the new Maddux buildings consists of very loose fill soils that lie on top of glacial recessional deposits – a hodgepodge of loose soils left behind as the last glaciers retreated from the Puget Sound area thousands of years ago. Under that are stiffer soils that were consolidated by the weight of the glacier. The loose soils are saturated by groundwater that lies on top of it unable to infiltrate into the harder soil underneath.

During an earthquake, the saturated, loosely packed grains of soils at the Maddux site could be shaken to a point where the elevated water pressure within the pore spaces increases the space between grains and causes the soil to lose strength and flow like a liquid in a process called liquefaction.

Think of wiggling your toes in the sand while standing on a beach near where the waves come in—the Maddux site soils would respond in similar fashion. When the shaking starts, the loose soils would become even weaker and any foundation bearing weight on them would settle, crack, and potentially collapse. Structures on sites like Maddux require particular design for seismic conditions in order to be built safely.

Weak Soils Get an Automatic F

The building code divides the soils at sites into six classes – ranging from A (strong rock)  to F (weak, loose, liquefiable soils) – based on the characteristics of the upper 100 feet of soil from the base of any future building. These site classes set the parameters for how a building must be designed to respond to strong shaking from earthquakes.

The building code rates sites with any amount of soils at risk of liquefaction as Site Class F. Building on Site Class F sites usually requires either deep foundations or ground improvement—both of which are more expensive than conventional shallow foundations. The building itself can also be more expensive, since building on weaker soils often requires more steel and other materials. And for an affordable housing project like this one, cost is a critical factor to the viability of the project.

Conscious of these cost concerns, Aspect’s geotechnical team started to investigate the most effective foundation design for building on a Site Class F site such as Maddux. In a nutshell: It’s complicated.

Design vs. Complex Site Geology vs. Costs

This figure shows the varying elevations of bearing layer –soils that can safely bear the weight of a building foundation – at the Maddux site.

The land the Maddux site is on has been through a lot. The last glacier left not just weak soils but left them at wildly varying depths. You can drill at one spot and reach stiffer soils within a few feet of the surface, then move over 10 feet, drill again, and have the strong glacial soils be 15 or more feet further down.

Add to this the legacy contamination from former dry cleaners and a gas station that has since spread throughout the soil and groundwater. Excavation to remove contaminated soil was already part of the site’s environmental plan, but to extend that excavation to remove all the soft and liquefiable soils in addition to all the contaminated soils would have required more digging, deeper shoring, and more off-site soil disposal – and a lot more money. We also needed to make sure whatever ground improvement we used didn’t interfere with our environmental team’s remediation plan.

Whatever the method, we wanted it to be as cost-effective as possible. Ecology’s funding for the Maddux development only covers the environmental remediation. Any expense for building foundations is the responsibility of MBHA, which as a nonprofit has limited funding. Our geotechnical team carefully weighed the costs versus benefits of several options. For example, conventional deep auger cast piles, which are often used at sites like Maddux, are relatively inexpensive to install, but they require a lot of concrete and steel to construct, adding more to the cost of materials. They also don’t improve the ground around the piles; the class rating would still be an F, which increases the cost of the building itself.

Displacement Rigid Inclusions to Raise the Grade

As we weighed the factors, it became apparent that displacement rigid inclusions were the most appropriate and cost-effective technique for the site. Rigid inclusions are a ground improvement method that use columns of concrete to transfer the weight of a structure through loose soils down to more competent bearing soils below, thereby reducing potential damage from liquefaction.

What made the ground improvement for the Maddux project unique in the Seattle area was the use of displacement rigid inclusions. Displacement rigid inclusions are a type of rigid inclusion that involve specialty tooling that densifies the soil around each column. The act of drilling the columns “displaces” the ground around it. The soil between the columns is pushed together and becomes denser, thereby reducing the chance it will liquefy during an earthquake. Displacement rigid inclusions provide structural support for the building with the same element that is used to mitigate liquification.

Tests to Pass the SDCI Test

There aren’t many chances to test seismic design—the Seattle area hasn’t experienced a “design-level” earthquake, one with the magnitude we are designing our buildings for, in hundreds of years, so it can be hard to predict exactly how a building will respond. Instead, engineers study what has happened during other earthquakes under similar circumstances. We can then apply that understanding to safely develop innovative techniques to protect against earthquakes at more problematic sites like Maddux. To use displacement rigid inclusions for the Maddux project, the design required approval from the City of Seattle. Displacement rigid inclusions had never been used before to change the site class of a project in Seattle.

During design, we conducted cone penetrometer tests (CPTs) to determine the soils’ geotechnical engineering properties plus extensive laboratory tests on the soils. We worked with specialty ground improvement contractor Condon Johnson to assess whether the soils would respond to the displacement the way we thought they could. From those tests, the detailed ground improvement design was established including the spacing of each column needed to effectively strengthen the soil between columns.

Our team met regularly with Seattle Department of Construction and Inspections (SDCI) to present our design approach. Conservative estimates were developed for how much densification would be possible in the site soils. We found that the ground improvement could be designed to achieve adequate densification to eliminate liquefaction risk –and thus raise the site class.

SDCI approved the approach during design, but all was contingent on the results of verification testing after the rigid inclusions were installed. If we installed the columns and performed more CPTs that showed enough improvement in the soil strength, they would give final approval.

Installing the Columns

We started installing the displacement rigid inclusion columns at the Maddux site at the beginning of 2021. The drilling required specialty displacement auger tooling, and because this technique isn’t used much in this area, the driller had to bring the displacement auger up from California.

Displacement rigid inclusion installation in early 2021 at the Maddux site

Displacement rigid inclusion installation in early 2021 at the Maddux site

A cage of rebar is set in place after the column is filled with concrete.

A cage of rebar is set in place after the column is filled with concrete.

The displacement auger drilled 18-inch-diameter columns down through the weaker soils and into the underlying dense glacially overridden soil layer. As the auger pulled out, it pumped concrete into the void created by the auger pushing soil to the side. The concrete itself is under pressure, which pushed out the soil even more, which aides in densification. Once the auger was fully removed, a “cage” of rebar could then be lowered in to reinforce the concrete once it cures.

In all, there were 249 columns drilled at Maddux North and 219 at Maddux South, each placed about 5 feet apart center to center, installed over two months.

The Results

Once the displacement rigid inclusions were installed, we completed another round of CPTs to physically verify that we achieved the level of densification we predicted in design. Results from the post-treatment CPTs showed the displacement rigid inclusions had worked even better than we thought. Our team delivered the data to the City that showed the soils at Maddux were no longer liquifiable.

Aspect, as the geotechnical engineer of record, then gave the recommendation that the site class could change. This opinion was backed by the robust quality controls we used during construction, documentation of the verification CPTs, and post-treatment liquefaction analyses showing the liquefaction risk had been removed.

The Site Class at Maddux was raised from an ‘F’ to a ‘D’. A ‘D’ rating allowed for the structures to be designed using less materials, therefore saving money on construction costs.

The Maddux project represents a successful use of an innovative ground improvement technique on a complicated site in conjunction with an extensive environmental cleanup. See the Maddux ‘Story Map’ for more context on the project.

Reaching a Milestone for an Innovative Seattle Affordable Housing Project

The Maddux is a 200+ unit affordable housing project in Seattle that has been years in the making. After almost five years of work -- the environmental cleanup is essentially complete.

This project, in South Seattle’s Mt. Baker neighborhood, sat unused for decades. The culprit? Petroleum releases from an old gas station and solvent leaks from a former dry cleaner that severely affected soil and groundwater beneath the Site. The contamination issues prevented nearly all potential developers from touching these properties – the cleanup cost and environmental liability, which stretched across many properties, were just too much to manage.

Taking on One of the Most Challenging Sites in the City

Yet, Aspect’ s clients, Mt. Baker Housing Association, along with Perkins Coie, Washington State Department of Ecology (Ecology), and the City of Seattle saw an opportunity to build a new concept to turn brownfields into cleaned-up affordable housing.

Construction Begun with Move-in Anticipated in 2022

The earthworks, building design and construction team includes: Aspect, Beacon Development Group, Mithun, Coughlin Porter Lundeen and many others.

Some reasons why this project has happened:

  • Affordable Housing need in Seattle is great and this project commits to 200+ units near a walkable light rail station and within a mile of downtown Seattle.

  • Ecology provided “seed money” in support of an innovative idea – why not turn these blighted properties that no one would touch into affordable housing? A win for the environment, a win for the neighborhood, a win for housing, a win for transit and connection to downtown.

  • Ecology took the MBHA/Aspect/Perkins Coie innovative idea and created a new ‘Brownfield’ funding program (the Healthy Housing Program) because of this project to help affordable housing agencies develop prime real estate that has been overlooked.

  • But this isn’t all. The properties could liquefy in an earthquake. So, Aspect and the City of Seattle worked to design and permit a first-of-its-kind ‘earthquake proofing’ foundation system to facilitate economical, and safe, redevelopment of the property.

Construction Begun with Move-in Anticipated for 2022

  • The foundation engineering is ongoing as of Spring 2021.

  • The public will soon see the building “coming out of the ground” with anticipated move-in date in 2022 for families in the area.

Check out this ‘Story Map’ of the past 5 years of work to date:

From Spokane Railyards to Vital Urban Core: Building the University District

In the past decade alone, the Spokane region has grown by 44,000+ people. The 2nd biggest city in Washington state is seeing an influx of residents and affordable housing is key to meet this need. As one piece to support the growth, “The District” is a 300-unit multifamily development planned for construction in 2021 and adds vital housing and connects Spokane communities.

The future ‘District on the River’ project.

The future ‘District on the River’ project.

Cleaning up a Waterfront Railyard Property

The District project — led by Sagamore Spokane LLC, located in Spokane’s University District — adds 300 units adjacent to the Spokane River. Cleanup actions will be completed prior to redevelopment of this former manufactured gas plant property and railyard area.. Aspect and teaming partners from Perkins Coie, DCI Engineers, Witherspoon Kelley,, and ALSC Architects developed a cleanup approach for the contaminated site allowing for building construction.

A Prospective Purchaser Consent Decree was entered by Sagamore Spokane LLC with the Washington State Department of Ecology for the agreed upon cleanup approach. Aspect and Perkins Coie were instrumental in working with Ecology and the Attorney General’s office to facilitate a pathway for Sagamore to invest in this brownfield redevelopment project.

Adding 300 Units to a New and Walkable University District

The cleanup actions are integrated with the development and will allow for the beneficial reuse of this notable vacant property contaminated by historical manufactured gas plant (MGP) operations. Completion of the cleanup actions will improve protection of human health and the environment, allowing this 300-unit, four-building residential apartment complex, known as the ‘District on the River’, to be completed.

With its prime location near the Spokane River, Ben Burr Trail, Hamilton Street bridge and close by amenities, this is anticipated to be a sought-after livable and walkable area.

Aspect Leads Environmental Oversight for Amazon HQ2

On February 2, 2021, Amazon announced the Phase 2 design proposal for its second headquarters, located in Arlington, Virginia, featuring a blend of sustainable architecture and public green spaces.

Aspect Leads Environmental Oversight

In partnership with Amazon and development manager Seneca Group, Aspect (and our subconsultant, Sanborn Head) is leading environmental due diligence, cleanup, environmental construction oversight, and regulatory strategy on Phase 1 (Metropolitan Park property) and Phase 2 (PenPlace property) of this project, as we have for the past several years.

Sustainable Community-Centric Design

Designed by architecture firm NBBJ, PenPlace, is a ground-up development project that will feature 2.8 million square feet of office space across three 22-story LEED platinum-certified buildings, 2.5 acres of green space accessible to the public, and a mix of restaurants, retail, and community gathering areas. Undoubtedly, the most striking HQ2 landmark will be the glass-encased Helix, a counterpart to Seattle HQ1’s Spheres, where employees can work immersed in nature. The 370,000-square-foot building will be open for public tours and will feature landscaped terrain, walking paths, and vegetation native to the region.

Amazon HQ2.jpg

Phase 1 Metropolitan Park Construction Underway

Adjacent to PenPlace, Amazon’s HQ2 Phase 1, designed by architecture firm ZGF is a development at the Metropolitan Park property that also features a 2.8-acre park, lush tree canopies, and public space. Construction at this site is currently underway and features redevelopment of vacant warehouses into two 22-story sustainable office towers and 65,000 square feet of retail and restaurant spaces. Amazon plans to add 25,000 jobs and invest $2.5 billion in Arlington over the next 10 years.

Spokane Health Building Taps into Groundwater for Carbon-Neutral Goals

It’s not every day you can celebrate the first step in an innovative, carbon-neutral $60 Million health campus. In Spokane, Washington, a group of regional partners – including Gonzaga University, University of Washington, and McKinstry – are collaborating to build a four-story, 80,000-square foot health sciences building in the heart of Spokane’s riverfront. This Regional Health Partnership is the first of its kind in several ways. The public-private collaboration is unique as all partners look to build a world-class health headquarters in the Inland Empire. It’s also special because it has its sights on achieving recent carbon-neutral targets set out by the state of Washington.

The campus is just breaking ground now, with target construction completion finishing in summer 2022. One of the keys to the carbon-neutral puzzle – essentially, no emissions from the campus – is an innovative heating and cooling system for the campus building. This system, which is being co-designed between Aspect and McKinstry, pumps groundwater from an aquifer beneath the property, runs the water through a mechanical device where heat energy in the water is used to heat or cool the building. This “Open-Loop Ground Source Heat Pump” system has been implemented elsewhere but is not done very often because the subsurface conditions have to be just right to both provide the energy and cost savings to make it viable.

Take a look at the celebratory video marking this milestone (see Aspect’s ‘congratulations’ at 19:25 of the video):

A Nod to the Mighty Spokane Valley-Rathdrum Prairie Aquifer

Aspect is the hydrogeologic lead on the ground-source heat pump piece of the project and, as a company founded by hydrogeologists, we’re excited to contribute to eliminating carbon-based fuels historically used to heat and cool buildings.

The Spokane Valley-Rathdrum Prairie (SVRP) aquifer in the project region is known as a highly productive one, pumping out the right temperature and volume to make the overall heating/cooling vision for the campus come to life. The final piece of the puzzle came together through a detailed characterization of the site to support water rights permitting.

There’s plenty of more work to do on this exciting project in the months to come and we look forward to helping other clients meet innovative and forward-looking energy goals with hydrogeologic science..

Dave Cook Declared “Rock Star” by Alma Mater Northern Arizona University

Principal Geologist Dave Cook is featured in the latest issue of Pine, the alumni magazine for Northern Arizona University. Dave reflects on how a rafting trip through the Grand Canyon while he was an undergrad in Ohio sparked his curiosity for geology and led him to NAU to earn his master’s degree in Geology. There, he focused research on a remote, little-studied part of the Canyon called the Chuar Group and its 800-million-year-old rocks that show evidence of an ancient sea.

The lessons Dave learned on that project—about geology, project management, and himself—have informed and enriched his current work leading clean up of contaminated land to create affordable housing in Seattle and other cities in the Pacific Northwest, as well as volunteer efforts with Engineers Without Borders USA and NAU. Read the full article here.

Ground Source Heat Pump: Saving Energy Costs and Reducing Carbon Footprints

Our new COVID-19 world has changed every part of work life, including for Aspect. But work does continue on at the same time, as long as it can be done safely, at a distance from others, and consistent with the intent of the current Governor’s Order. Because of the environmental work that we do, Aspect is used to working under strict health and safety procedures. One snapshot of Aspect’s work relates to what our water supply team has been doing for the state’s Public Health Lab in Shoreline, Washington.

Helping to Build a New Public Health Testing Facility

In another year, this may have been just another water supply project – bread-and-butter work for our geologists/hydrogeologists. However, this year finds Aspect’s team working on one of our state’s and the nation’s most unique sites – a Public Health lab that is analyzing COVID-19 tests, among others.

This project was in progress before the COVID-19 news hit—to help design and install a network of ground source heat pump injection and extraction wells to sustainably heat and cool their expanded laboratory efficiently and with a low carbon footprint (another Governor Initiative).

Groundwater to Sustainably Heat and Cool Facility Operations

Why is a ground source heating/cooling method more sustainable? We can use the constant groundwater temperature of about 55 degrees as a way to heat and cool buildings through a mechanical device called a heat pump. The groundwater and heat pump use very little mechanical energy compared to the conventional alternative: a fuel-based boiler and an electrical or water-intensive chiller/air conditioner to heat and cool the laboratory.

The open-loop ground source heat pump system starts with the extraction of groundwater from wells designed and installed by Aspect. The groundwater is then pumped through the heat exchanger then injected back to the ground. No water is lost. The 55 degree ambient temperature of groundwater provides a heat source to heat the lab in the winter and a heat sink to cool the lab in the summer. This system replaces the conventional carbon-based heating and cooling system to reduce carbon footprint and save money in energy costs over a system’s lifespan.

Developing a High-Yield Well in the Middle of the City

The complexities of local Seattle geology can sometimes make high-yield well (i.e., 100+ gallons per minute) development a challenge locally, yet the project team has seen encouraging initial results. Aspect oversaw drilling of a 300-foot-deep boring and conducted a series of tests to assess potential well yields and thermal properties of the ground. After wrapping up well drilling and testing recently, our water supply team is analyzing the hydraulic and thermal modeling, with the goal to have heating design recommendations done by June and delivered to our partner, McKinstry, the mechanical engineering leader of the project team.

Water Supply Testing of Well at the State’s Public Health Lab in April 2020

Dave Cook Discusses Consent Decrees, Cleanup and Ecology’s Healthy Housing Program for Contaminated Sites at the WA Brownfields Conference on May 30, 2019

On May 30, Aspect’s Dave Cook will co-present on affordable housing development from the environmental consulting perspective at the Washington State Brownfields Conference in Spokane.

Brownfield properties represent opportunity. Dave will talk about innovative ways to turn blighted property into affordable/work force housing. Aspect’s first-of-its-kind work on the Mt Baker Housing Association’s Gateway project in the Mt Baker/Rainier Valley neighborhood in Seattle has become an example of what is possible. Mt Baker Housing Association (MBHA), as a non-profit, took on a significantly contaminated site to redevelop as affordable housing where the cost of the cleanup is more than the value of the five properties combined. Dave will join Scott O’Dowd of Ecology, Conor Hansen of MBHA and Mike Dunning of Perkins Coie to describe how these properties were purchased, investigated, liability managed, and the cleanup financed—all keys that made this pioneering project successful and sparking the State’s new Healthy Housing program .

Contact Dave (206.838.5837 and dcook@aspectconsulting.com), or learn more about prospective purchaser consent decrees, funding, and redeveloping contaminated land for affordable housing at https://www.aspectconsulting.com/affordablehousing


Engineers Without Borders USA Spotlights Seattle Volunteer Eset Alemu

In honor of National Volunteer Month, Engineers Without Borders USA (EWB-USA) put the spotlight on engineers who give their time and talents to improve infrastructure in communities around the world. Their blog post features an interview with Eset Alemu, a Seattle-based engineer who is co-leading the Puget Sound Professionals of EWB-USA for several projects in Nicaragua. She also is the current president of the ASCE Seattle Section and is helping with transition for the President-Elect, Aspect’s Principal Geotechnical Engineer Henry Haselton, who will step into the role in September.

Read EWB-USA’s full post here.

Aspect’s Principal Geologist Dave Cook, who has volunteered with Engineers Without Borders USA since its inception, says, "EWB-USA is engineering with soul. I, like many, still believe in founder Bernard Amadei's ethos and why this organization was originally founded. Engineers, scientists and other professionals should all be able to work in harmony to deliver technical skills that are so hard to come by in the developing world."

In addition to Dave’s contributions to EWB-USA, Aspect has supported EWB-USA financially over the past several years.  Aspect supports all volunteers, particularly those whose mission is capacity building around Earth + Water problems.  https://www.ewb-usa.org/donate/

Innovative Affordable Housing Solutions Continue in South Seattle

The Seattle City Council recently approved the 2nd Redevelopment Opportunity Zone (ROZ) in Seattle’s history for the 700-unit Grand Street Commons housing development near the future Judkins Park light-rail station. The ROZ designation means that this innovative $20 Million private/non-profit partnership (Lake Union Partners and Mt. Baker Housing, respectively) now has direct access to state funds to build a 700-unit development—with about half of those units earmarked for affordable housing. These 350 future units, together with the 160 units planned at The Maddux (the City’s first ROZ zone near the Mt. Baker light-rail station), brings 500+ ROZ-designated affordable housing units coming online in the next five years in South Seattle.

The 700-unit Grand Street Commons is a unique private/public partnership, where approximately half the units will be affordable housing. The cleanup for this brownfield site is being led by Aspect and funded by a new approach to access money specifically for affordable housing projects.

Aspect, with law firm Perkins Coie, has helped Mt. Baker Housing pioneer this ROZ model to unlock state-backed grant funding in a first-of-its-kind model. Recognizing this success, the state introduced the Healthy Housing Program this fall– earmarked specifically for affordable housing developers looking at restoring land at brownfield sites.

Learn more about new approaches to restore land and find solutions for our affordable housing crisis here: www.aspectconsulting.com/affordablehousing.

Washington State Helps Turn Brownfields into Affordable Housing

See Washington State Department of Ecology’s new article covering the state’s new Healthy Housing Remediation Program for restoring contaminated land to promote affordable housing. Mt. Baker Housing’s 160-unit project in South Seattle — which Aspect is leading the cleanup for — was the inspiration for this program.

Read more here.

Learn more here: https://www.aspectconsulting.com/affordablehousing

Dave Cook to Discuss Reclaiming Brownfields for Affordable Housing at Housing Development Consortium Event

On September 18, join Aspect’s Dave Cook and Perkins Coie’s Mike Dunning as they share their experience developing innovative ways to reclaim brownfields for affordable housing. Dave and Mike will be joined by representatives from project partner agencies Mt. Baker Housing Association and the Washington State Department of Ecology in discussing Mt Baker Housing’s The Maddux – a two-building development with 144 apartments affordable to people earning up to 60 percent of the area median income. This project was made possible by implementing innovative cleanup solutions and identifying creative funding mechanisms. Learn More Here.

Washington's Healthy Housing Program Helps Fund Cleanup for Affordable Housing

Today, the Seattle Daily Journal of Commerce (DJC) published a great overview of the new Washington State Healthy Housing Program and the inspiration for the program - Mt. Baker Housing's $55 million Maddux project. Check it out.

Does your firm want help turning brownfields into affordable units?

Ecology wants to offer grants to get brownfields cleaned up and reused, and is seeking applications from developers until Saturday.

By BENJAMIN MINNICK
Journal Construction Editor

There are thousands of blighted properties across the state that could be redeveloped to create more affordable housing, but contamination on these sites has mostly kept developers at bay.

Now the state and its consultants are testing a way to get more of these sites developed. The Healthy Housing Remediation Program provides grants to help affordable housing developers build on brownfields.

The departments of Ecology and Commerce created the program. To gauge interest, they are seeking applications from developers until Saturday. The list of firms that respond will be used to develop Ecology's 2019–21 cleanup budget plan and to demonstrate funding needs for the Legislature to consider during the 2019 session.

Dave Cook of Aspect Consulting, one of the consulting firms, said affordable housing developers face high property costs, water rights issues and Growth Management Act restraints. He said this program will help fund remedial investigation studies and site cleanup to make blighted properties more attractive to developers.

The program was inspired by Mt. Baker Housing's $55 million Maddux project, which is slated for a site on South McClellan Street, east of Martin Luther King Jr. Way South and near the Mount Baker light rail station.

Maddux will have two buildings with 144 apartments that are affordable to people earning up to 60 percent of the area median income. Nearly half of the units will be “family-size,” with two- and three-bedroom layouts.

Mt. Baker Housing will use $6.2 million in state funds to clean up contamination from a gas station and dry cleaner. The nonprofit signed an agreement last year with Ecology that lays out the cleanup plan, and Ecology provided $400,000 for initial studies.

“We've been in the Mount Baker neighborhood a long time and these five properties always intrigued us — but we knew conventional options to develop the site were limited,” said Conor Hansen, director of real estate at Mt. Baker Housing, in a news release. “Once we learned about the opportunity to work with the Department of Ecology and play a part in creating a new innovative model, we believed this site would be the perfect candidate to clean up, develop and activate a prominent intersection that will serve as a catalyst for the neighborhood and provide much-needed affordable housing near light rail.”

In early 2017, the city designated the five properties as a Redevelopment Opportunity Zone, which allows state funds to flow directly to Mt. Baker Housing for remediation.

The parcels total about a half-acre.

Mt. Baker Housing aims to select a general contractor shortly, and break ground in late 2019 and open in early 2021. Other team members are architect Mithun, development consultant Beacon Development Group and acquisition lender Impact Capital.

Cook said it will be two months before all the data is available about the site contamination, but it's “very contaminated.”

Aspect and law firm Perkins Coie led the environmental team for Mt. Baker Housing, and worked with Ecology on the pilot program.

Cook said Aspect and Perkins Coie can help interested developers with the pilot program's application process.

 

Washington State’s First Affordable Housing Fund for Contaminated Sites: Applications Due June 30th

The Washington State Departments of Ecology and Commerce have created an innovative new program that will provide grants to affordable housing developers seeking to redevelop contaminated properties and increase the state’s housing stock.

The Healthy Housing Remediation Program will provide grant funds to nonprofit and private housing organizations to evaluate, investigate, and clean up contaminated properties to support the development of affordable housing. It was created by the Washington State Legislature during the 2018 session and will be funded in the 2019 session.

The program builds upon the successful partnership between Ecology and the Mt. Baker Housing Association on the Gateway Project in Seattle. Mt. Baker Housing’s Gateway Project will redevelop several contaminated properties for affordable housing near transit hubs in Seattle’s Rainier Valley. Aspect and law firm Perkins Coie — with lead counsel Mike Dunning — serve as Mt. Baker Housing’s environmental team on the Gateway Project. Perkins Coie and Aspect have worked directly with Ecology and Mt. Baker Housing to build this unique concept.

Ecology and Commerce started soliciting applications for the program on June 1 and the application period closes June 30. Perkins Coie and Aspect can help interested organizations complete and send in their applications. This needs to happen as soon as possible to meet the June 30 deadline.

If you have any questions about the Healthy Housing Remediation Program or about redeveloping contaminated properties for housing, please contact Dave Cook at 206.838.5837 and at dcook@aspectconsulting.com or Mike Dunning at 206.359.3464 and at mdunning@perkinscoie.com.

Before and after conceptual image of Mt. Baker Gateway Project  in South Seattle – one of the affordable housing cleanup sites that the Healthy Housing program is inspired from.