This plant will provide chilled water and emergency power to the west and south areas of the UW Seattle campus. In addition to its function of providing utilities to the campus, the building also serves as a gateway to this part of the campus and is needed to provide an iconic appearance. The project on day 1 provides 4,500 tons of chiller capacity and 6 megawatts of emergency electrical power and is expandable to 10,500 tons of chiller capacity and 12 megawatts of emergency power without modification to the building. 24 hours of underground diesel fuel storage and 1,800 lineal feet of 22” chilled water pipe in existing utility tunnels is also included in the project.

This building was designed and constructed with the goal of being Envision Gold certified. Part of the building's sustainable features include a series of display screens with a video highlighting UW student groups, which was designed and implemented by a design class from UW. More information about the building's sustainable features can be found here.