HopeWorks Station, is a 65-unit affordable housing development with on-site social services that offers a restorative community for people transitioning from homelessness. The 67,000 sf complex provides housing alongside on-the-job training for residents in its street-level retail businesses. The innovative new development powers its community in more ways than one by combining ambitious sustainability goals with a holistic approach to social services.

HopeWorks is the first structure in Everett to achieve LEED Platinum certification. The complex is targeting net positive energy use with 531 solar panels blanketing the roof and parking canopy. “Knowing the impacts of climate change hit underserved populations hardest, and that affordable housing often comes with special challenges and funding limitations, HopeWorks is helping define a sustainability framework for these projects,” explains Jon Hall, principal at GGLO. “HopeWorks has a unique mission in that they recognize we need housing first, but we can’t have housing only,” says Hall.

To ensure the building optimizes energy efficiency, a group of HopeWorks staff and residents called the Green Team helps educate residents on implementing all aspects of the project’s sustainability goals. As Hall notes, “It’s a reminder that as designers, we have to do everything we can to put ourselves in the shoes of the user and deeply consider where they’re coming from.”

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