The Commons

The Commons is a true mixed-use project in Ballard. Two towers over two levels of parking house 80 distinctive apartments, four townhomes, 20,000 SF of retail, and 22,000 SF of office space. Shared amenity spaces and lobbies for office, retail and residential make The Commons a model of how integrated urban uses can enhance the tenant experience while reducing energy use and creating space efficiencies.

The Commons was Seattle’s first project to be pre-certified LEED Platinum Core and Shell before breaking ground. Its 20,000-gallon rainwater cistern supplies 100% of the landscaping irrigation needs, and photovoltaic panels provide over 3% of the building’s energy. The project is fully air-conditioned and has a highly efficient VRF system, upgraded during construction, that is shared by residential and commercial spaces.

The Commons’ complex structure reflected its multiple uses. To effectively include anchor tenant Bartell Drugs, two floors of flexible offices, townhomes, apartments and rooftop amenities for all users, the north tower included two extra levels of concrete, two levels of wood, a single level of wood and steel amenity space which was carefully sound-isolated from the high-end apartments below, and a separate structural steel system for the townhomes.

Nearly every project element was upgraded for durability and greater appeal to both commercial tenants and residents during the construction process, requiring an unusual level of sophistication and flexibility during construction. Each element was carefully reviewed, added and coordinated in a series of site meetings during construction and finalized just in time to meet the schedule. One key component was a change in cladding after it was discovered that the originally specified product was performing poorly on another local project. Extensive research, in combination with the use of our skilled installers, both reduced costs and provided a better product.

W.G. Clark also performed the tenant improvements for onsite offices for Gravity Payments and Bartell Drugs.