Bothell Mayor Mark Lamb joins the team of builders, architects, engineers, Cascadia Community College employees and students at a ceremony from 3-5 p.m. on June 4 to officially recognize the city’s first LEED Platinum building.

Crews just finished installing the photovoltaic solar array on the roof of the college’s 53,400 square foot Global Learning and the Arts building. The solar array secured the final point needed for the building to gain the highest level of certification awarded by the U.S. Green Building Council.

“Even in the Pacific Northwest region where green building is emphasized, LEED Platinum certification is a rare achievement. In our case, it marks the culmination of a rigorous 9-year process that has required an enormous commitment on behalf of the entire project team,” said Dee Sliney, Cascadia’s Director of Facilities Services and Sustainability and a LEED Accredited Professional.

Lamb will make comments and project collaborators will be acknowledged at LEED Platinum Ceremony at the Global Learning and the Arts Building at Cascadia Community College located at 18345 Campus Way N.E. in Bothell.

LEED is the nation’s preeminent program for the design, construction and operation of high performance green buildings. The building boasts a variety of green features including a 10,000 gallon tank for holding rainwater for flushing toilets, green roof gardens that provide natural cooling, re-use of felled trees from the site and the use of low-emitting materials throughout building.

“Building operations are nearly 40 percent of the solution to the global climate change challenge,” said Rick Fedrizzi, President, CEO and Founding Chair, U.S. Green Building Council. “While climate change is a global problem, innovative companies like Cascadia Community College are addressing it through local solutions.”

Visitors are welcome to take a self-guided tour of the building. Copies of a student-created brochure are available near the elevator on the first floor.