In repurposing the reclaimed Sharon Steel tailings repository, a former steel mill and federal Superfund site, this nearly 400,000-sq-ft project represents a long-term commitment to sustainability.

In 1902, the U.S. Mining Co. started operation of its copper smelter on the property, depositing by-products of ore processing that contained high levels of arsenic and lead. The EPA conducted cleanup operations on the site throughout the 1990s, which resulted in capping the tailings piles with a flexible membrane liner. During construction, crews discovered that the PVC liner in the deep utility trenches was not performing properly. Several trenches were more than 15 ft deep, so as the trenches were backfilled and compacted, the liner would stretch in the center, weakening it to allow small pebbles in the tailings. With hundreds of pin holes in the liner, the EPA issued a stop work order to investigate and determine the cause.

During this time, civil utility work halted and the project team had to dig up trenches of varying depths to determine how far the problem had spread. Along with the utility work stoppage, the investigation affected the building’s exterior skin installation in surrounding areas. But after multiple EPA design review meetings, the final solution was adding a layer of geosynthetic clay liner underneath the PVC line to protect the liner.

Photo courtesy of Okland Construction

That 2.5-month process had a huge impact on the schedule. Fortunately, during that time, the contractor was able to resequence work and continue progress on the building, leading to an on-time and on-budget finish in June 2022.

Wellness and restoration rooms can be found on each floor, and shareable e-bikes, bike lockers and pickleball courts offer employees the opportunity to be out in nature.

An all-electric mechanical system boasts nearly 2 GW of power. The design includes hillside, rooftop and carport solar features that produce 75% of the building’s electrical power. These 2,000 photovoltaic panels will save 4.9 million lb of carbon annually. The campus also includes a five-story, 820 space parking structure along with 179 electric vehicle parking spaces. These efforts culminated in the project achieving LEED Platinum certification.