The first thing you’ll notice about STCU’s new Liberty Lake Branch is that it doesn’t look green.
The roof is gray, the sides are beige. Light cement covers four Drive-Thru lanes and thick wooded beams support an overhanging carport.
But honestly, the branch is green.
In fact, environmentally speaking, STCU’s Liberty Lake Branch is the “greenest” credit union branch location in Eastern Washington/North Idaho—and one of the greenest in the Pacific Northwest.
It’s a subtle green that could easily be taken for granted. Visit the branch at the corner of Appleway and Madson, and you may forget that you’re walking across recycled carpet or leaning against toxin-free countertops. You may think the big tinted windows are just for show, or the sidewalk meandering around grassland merely ornamental.
Yet the design has a purpose—to reduce global warming, to stretch finite natural resources, and to provide a healthier place to work.
As environmental stewardship moves beyond recycled aluminum cans and bans on open burning, being green is showing up in practical ways that touch you right where you live and work. The Liberty Lake Branch is STCU’s most ambitious example of new, green buildings that promote sustainable construction.
| Liberty Lake Branch | Lobby Mon-Thur |
Lobby Fridays |
Drive-Thru Mon-Thur |
Drive-Thru Fridays |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2201 N. Madson Road | 9:00 to 5:00 | 9:00 to 6:00 | 7:30 to 5:30 | 7:30 to 6:30 |
Encouraged by its Board of Directors—a volunteer group of elected members—the executive management team at STCU agreed to build a branch that qualifies for the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building Rating System. The 3,400-square-foot branch was designed Bernardo-Wills Architects PC and built by Vandervert Construction, both of Spokane.
LEED® standards were developed by the U.S. Green Building Council, a nonprofit Washington, D.C.-based organization, to promote sustainable construction.
“Some people plant trees to make you think they’re green,” says Kyle Blacketer, STCU’s construction manager. “We wanted to invest real money in a permanent place where people—and the environment—are kept safer and healthier.”
“And, yeah, don’t worry. We planted lots of trees, too.”
LEED standards are a challenge for traditional builders. It requires you to rethink ordinary construction standards by evaluating every system that may require energy to operate or produce before, during, and after the project is completed.
For instance, Vandervert’s crews had to recycle nearly all waste from the construction site. Workers were prohibited from smoking on the building site, even during construction. Inside the building, engineers had to design a way for computer sensors to monitor heat and lighting in each room, so when humans aren’t using an office, the computer turns down the energy and the system sleeps.
Branch floors are covered with recycled carpet and recycled tile. The cabinets were produced without formaldehyde and big, tinted windows were designed to keep summer heat out, winter solar energy in. Tons of light, reflective concrete was poured to cool the parking surface, instead of using cheaper black asphalt that tends to superheat the earth.
Members stopping by to withdraw cash at the 24-hour ATM may not know that the branch buys wind power and filters rain water runoff through a sod swale. But inside, employees and members can feel the difference of a green building. Sensors regulate air quality to improve health conditions and reduce sick time. Restrooms feature natural light and are stocked with recycled paper products.
If enough companies build green, the Green Building Council says, the change could reserve finite resources for future generations and reduce global warming. One third of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions come from buildings, the council says, which consume two thirds of the nation’s electrical output and generate 30 percent of its waste.
It cost more to build green, Blacketer says, but STCU believe it’s the right thing to do. Members already are saving gas and time just by using the convenient, new location.
The Liberty Lake Branch employs 6 people, including Branch Manager Darla Sowl. With 25 years credit union experience, Sowl comes to Liberty Lake from STCU's North Branch.
“Every day someone tells us ‘thank-you’ for opening a branch in Liberty Lake,” says Sowl. “All I can say is ‘thanks for having us.’ We love it here!”
Visit the Liberty Lake Branch!
Watch the slideshow of the grand opening.
STCU is a not-for-profit cooperative serving 73,000 members with checking and savings accounts, home and car loans, Visa credit cards, ATMs, and commercial loans. In addition, STCU, with $1 billion in assets, serves a growing number of small business owners with business accounts, real estate loans, and lines of credit.
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