BELLEVUE (April 20, 2023) – At the 2023 Vision Awards Wednesday evening, Kiki Gram of Vulcan Real Estate announced the launch of a Bellevue 2030 District. Bellevue joins an international network of twenty-four districts committed to helping property owners and managers reduce the environmental impact of their buildings. 2030 District members commit to voluntary sustainability targets – a 50% reduction in energy, water, and transportation emissions by the year 2030.
The launch of this new district comes at a challenging time for property owners. As employees continue to work remotely because of the COVID-19 pandemic, many owners and managers are struggling to fill vacancies. At the same time, state and local building standards are putting additional pressure on property owners to reduce their buildings’ environmental footprint.
2030 Districts support property owners and managers along with architects, engineering firms, developers, and contractors as they work to achieve the 2030 targets. Founded in 2011 by Architecture 2030, Seattle was the first city to host a 2030 District. Since that time, the Seattle 2030 District has provided education opportunities, policy recommendations, and building performance analysis for member properties. With over 580 million square feet committed across the districts, the 2030 Network has an outsized influence on reducing the environmental impact of the built environment.
“Buildings are one of the leading sources of carbon emissions in our region,” said Daniel Poppe, the Executive Director of the new Bellevue 2030 District. “If we can help make our commercial, multifamily, and municipal buildings more sustainable, we can dramatically reduce our regional carbon footprint.”
“Bellevue is committed to bold sustainability goals through our Environmental Stewardship Initiative, and the enthusiastic support of our business and development communities will help make substantial progress,” said Bellevue Mayor Lynne Robinson. “Together through the Bellevue 2030 District, we can ensure a more sustainable city and region for future generations.”
With support from Vulcan Real Estate, Amazon, and the City of Bellevue, the Bellevue 2030 District already represents over ten million square feet of real estate across eighty-five buildings in Bellevue’s downtown core and Factoria neighborhoods.
“As a founding member of Seattle’s 2030 District, we are excited to see the network expanding into Bellevue,” said Ada M. Healey, Vulcan’s chief real estate officer. “Our support is a natural extension of our commitment to sustainable development practices throughout the region.”
About the 2030 Districts Network: The vision of the 2030 Districts Network is to establish a global network of thriving high-performance building districts and cities, uniting communities to catalyze transformation in the built environment and its role in mitigating and adapting to climate change.
