We’re excited to announce that our historic St. Charles Apartments recently won the Seattle 2030 District’s Vision Award for Water!

The St. Charles Apartments is one of Plymouth’s beloved historic buildings. It was designed by well known Seattle architect John Graham (who also designed the Frederick & Nelson store now owned by Nordstrom on Fifth Avenue) and constructed by contractor Harry Brandt in 1911, and for many years it served as an entry point to the adjacent Grand Opera House for its patrons. 

In 1999, Plymouth acquired the property, and in 2004 we completed our renovation. It’s always been important to us to maintain the integrity of historic buildings while also providing homes for men and women experiencing homelessness. The St. Charles Hotel has been a longstanding feature of Third Avenue, and we’re proud to be its caretakers.

And that’s why we’re so excited about the Seattle 2030 District Vision award. We worked with Emerald Cities Seattle‘s RENEW Program and contractor MacDonald-Miller to install water saving low-flow shower heads, kitchen aerators, and toilets along with long-life LED lights in hallways, fixtures, and exit signs and updated boiler controls. All told, since the energy retrofit work was completed in February 2016, we’ve seen a 22% energy savings and an amazing 51% water savings!

Special thanks go to Steve Gelb, Director of Emerald Cities Seattle, and Elly Bunzendahl of O’Brien and Company for their support and expertise. It’s our hope that results like these will encourage other housing providers to retrofit their historic buildings in a similar manner—preserving Seattle’s history and environment at the same time!