Buckhorn Mountain / Foundations / Fifth and Madison

Buckhorn Mountain MiningGets the Green Light

Tonasket - An accord was reached between conservation groups and mining interests, ending an 18-year effort to stop the development of a large gold mine on Buckhorn Mountain in north central Washington State. By negotiating the agreement signed by both mining opponents and the company that will build the mine, Okanogan Highlands Alliance (OHA) was able to achieve proactive environmental protections beyond those required by federal and state agencies.

OHA is an environmental advocacy group that fought to protect the mountain.

The Washington State Department of Ecology approved a permit for Crown Resources/Kinross to construct the proposed mine which OHA appealed. Over a year later in the fall of 2007 the Department issued water rights and water quality certification which were appealed by OHA, Washington Environmental Council (WEC), and the Center for Environmental Law & Policy. These and other permit appeals were consolidated and the parties were preparing for a trial scheduled to begin on May 12. With the signing of the agreement, the groups withdraw the appeals in exchange for verifiable, independent monitoring and increased mitigation.

Key parts of the settlement with Crown focus on improved monitoring and mitigation. High-points include: maintenance of the natural water levels for headwater creeks on Buckhorn Mountain; protection for residents worried about their wells; additional wetland and stream improvement projects in the Okanogan Highlands; and third party monitoring with independent verification and annual audits of monitoring results.

DBM Completes Two Excavation Projects in Seattle

Seattle—DBM Contractors Inc. has completed a $700,000 excavation support job for construction of the Aspira, a 37-story, mixed-use residential tower at 1823 Terry Avenue in Seattle. The project was a design build soil nail wall with 98 each vertical elements and more than 500 soil nails for the nearly 20,000 square feet of wall area. The project was complicated by adjacent utilities and buildings that restricted location and length of soil nails.

When completed in 2010, Aspira will house 325 apartments. Urban Partners is developing the project, Turner Construction Co., Seattle is building the project, and Keller CMS is providing project delivery services. Shoring design was provided by Ground Support, PLLC of Redmond, Wash.

DBM has also completed the excavation support for the Pratt Park Apartments located at 1800 South Jackson Street in Seattle. The shoring, designed by Golder Associates of Redmond, Washington, incorporated some existing basement walls into the shoring system.  Soil nails were installed through the existing basement walls and strut nails were installed below the walls to secure them. The finished system included 37 vertical elements, 550 soil nails and 17,500 sq ft of shotcrete facing. The contract amount for the excavation support was $670,000.

When completed the six-story, 1.6-acre, mixed-use development will include 247 apartments.

ZGF to Design New Seattle Highrise

SEATTLE - Zimmer Gunsul Frasca Architects LLP (ZGF), Seattle, has been selected to design the Fifth and Columbia office tower in the heart of Seattle’s financial district. Developed by Daniels Development, the 43-story, approximately 760,000 sq ft tower will be the city’s fifth-tallest building and the tallest constructed since 1990.

The block contains two historic buildings, Rainier Club and First United Methodist Church, both of which will be preserved. The slender faceted tower slopes over the existing structures initially and then tapers back through a sequence of triangulated building planes.

The tower is being designed as a highly energy efficient and sustainable building with the goal of pursuing LEED-Gold Certification from the US Green Building Council. Elements such as photovoltaic panels, water harvesting systems, a living wall, daylighting and other innovative energy saving systems will be integrated into the building’s design.

The project is scheduled for completion in the summer of 2010.