Sammamish Valley, King County, WA –
Providing vital infrastructure and education to help support small
farms, 21 Acres, a non-profit organization, will be breaking
ground on June 6 for an unprecedented, cutting-edge facility in
western Washington. Demonstrating new technologies for energy and
water conservation in commercial and residential buildings, the 21
Acres Center for Local Food and Sustainable Living will
feature a year-round farmers market, community kitchen, publicly
available classroom space and a 50 kW PV solar panel array. Phase
1 of the project- The 8,500 square foot East Wing of the
Center-will be located in otherwise urban western King County and
will be a community venue for education on farming, sustainable
living, and energy and water saving systems.
Since 1999, 21 Acres has served the local community and
individuals throughout the state of Washington who are learning
about local food and farming. Numerous community groups have
visited the site as volunteers and partners to create an active
education program on what was once fallow farmland. The
construction of the Center will add many jobs to the local
community-25% of them green
jobs-all at fair wages. Upon
completion, the facility will serve as a venue for training the
new green workforce of skilled, committed individuals working to
strengthen the 21st Century economy.
The design process of the 21 Acres Center
team has emphasized reducing long term operating costs over
short-term savings and systems that are built for a long-term
return on investment. These systems will provide sustained on-site
energy production and high amounts of water re-use. A key goal in
the process was to challenge conventional wisdom about buildings.
The result is a building that uses less energy than Washington
Energy Code requirements which will exceed the Platinum LEED
standards for which the organization is seeking certification. The
Center will be one of only four Platinum LEED projects
in
Washington State and 82 in the entire country.
Extensive research and analysis has gone into creating the
Center, including a careful review of every step of the
construction process to reduce landfill waste along with selection
of building materials that will conserve resources. The 21 Acres
Center solar components will include: a large photovoltaic (PV)
solar panel array, a solar thermal water heating system and a
solar educational display including data collection, monitoring
and website setup. When both wings are completed the
solar PV array will be the largest non-utility system in
Washington. The 50 kW PV array will consist of 286 high
efficiency solar panels and a power inverter. It will generate
power for the building equal to 60,000 kilowatt hours annually,
which will offset 38% of the facility’s annual electrical energy
costs.
21 Acres is a collaborative community project that encourages
development of a strong local economy. The programs that are now
and will be conducted at the Center, will provide to individuals,
students and future professionals new, unique opportunities for
education and skills on farming and green building.
A
capital investment in 21 Acres was recently announced supporting
the construction and to launch the groundbreaking of The 21
Acres Center for Local Food & Sustainable Living. HumanLinks,
a Washington state private foundation, will provide financial
support to build the basic structure for Phase 1, the East Wing,
of the new Agricultural Center. In launching the community
portion of the capital campaign, 21 Acres needs to raise the
remaining $1,700,000 to complete the East Wing. Phase 2, the
West Wing of the Agricultural Center will occur after Phase 1 is
completed. With its mission supporting sustainable agriculture and
providing educational resources to the community, this gesture of
support allows 21 Acres to move forward into the next decade.
The ground-breaking ceremony is scheduled for Saturday,
June 6, 2009, at 10:30 a.m., in conjunction with the
ongoing Sustainable Saturday series of farm tours, workshops and
volunteer community service projects. For more information log on
to www.21acres.org; e-mail: generalinfo@21acres.org,
or call 206-442-2061.
21 Acres is committed to making local,
sustainably grown food a cornerstone of salutary living and
vibrant communities for future generations. An historic vote in
1979 for the Farmland Preservation Program in King County
preserved thousands of acres of land for future farms. While rapid
urbanization in what used to be rural valleys in the region was
putting local farms at risk of disappearing forever, 21 Acres has
restored some of that land to productive farmland and now supports
a community farm and garden plots; growing food for families,
markets, restaurants, schools and hunger relief. A Small Acreage
Food Production Program began in 2009 along with youth Seed to
Table farm camps
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