HopeWorks Station North

Everett, Washington

Affordable Housing Meets Workforce Training

HopeWorks Station is an innovative campus that integrates high-performance affordable housing with workforce training programs, helping residents transition to high-skilled jobs and greater independence. The housing component participated in the ILFI Living Building Challenge Affordable Housing Pilot, targeting the Net-Zero Energy Petal.

Ecotope provided mechanical and plumbing engineering, along with energy efficiency consulting, to create an optimized low-energy building. A life-cycle cost analysis was conducted to evaluate strategies for significantly reducing space heating energy to achieve net-zero energy. The selected approach combined electric-resistance heating with a high-performance building envelope—including triple-pane windows, airtight construction, and heat recovery ventilation—chosen for its durability and ability to enhance indoor air quality. Flow-through cross ventilation was achieved by designing apartments with operable windows on both the courtyard and exterior sides, while common spaces feature heat pump air conditioning for short-term high-heat events.

Domestic hot water is supplied by a semi-centralized CO₂ heat pump water heating system, with individual heat pumps located on the roof over each stack of three to six apartments. This design minimizes heat loss and reduces costs, achieving an annual average COP of about three. The system’s use of R744 (CO₂) refrigerant ensures a low Global Warming Potential, making it a sustainable solution.

HopeWorks Station received a $1,000,000 grant from the Washington State Department of Commerce Housing Trust Fund and a $750,000 Ultra-Efficient Affordable Housing (UHEE) Grant, which required above-code energy efficiency measures with a positive life-cycle benefit. The project achieved LEED Platinum certification and serves as a case study for high-performance construction, highlighted in a virtual video tour funded by the Bonneville Power Administration’s Emerging Energy Efficient Technologies program.