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Making Energy Upgrades to Vital Community Resources

The City of Seattle was recently awarded a $350,000 Energy Efficiency Grant from the Washington State Department of Commerce. The grant will fund energy efficiency upgrades at six buildings that house organizations that provide vital community services. While the buildings are owned and managed by the City, the tenants are community organizations.

Sites include South Park Neighborhood Center, Central Area Senior Center, Northwest Senior Center, and Centerstone, Greenwood Senior Center and Neighborcare at Columbia City. Typical measures include upgrading insulation, windows, lighting, and mechanical system controls. Food systems efficiency and reliability will also be addressed for the five locations providing meal services or food bank functions.

These measures will lower operating costs, address functional deficiencies, and improve the environmental and fiscal sustainability of our non-profit community partners.

The Office of Sustainability & Environment coordinated and wrote the grant application, while Finance and Administration, Seattle Public Library, and Seattle Center assisted in pulling together the information on the $1.4 million package of existing projects used for leverage.