Seattle’s Sound Transit broke ground on its new Operations and Maintenance Facility (OMF) East, which will service and house light rail vehicles for the growing fleet in the Puget Sound area. Beginning in 2019, and continuing through 2023, Sound Transit’s light rail vehicle fleet will expand from its current 62 vehicles to 214. The new OMF East will service extensions to Northgate, Lynnwood, Federal Way, and Redmond.

The design-build team of Hensel Phelps Construction Co., Stantec, and partners will deliver the new $218 million OMF East. Hensel Phelps and Stantec bring more than 140 combined years of design and construction experience to the project. The 165,000-square-foot facility will provide 14 service bays, a cleaning and wash bay, shop areas, parts storage, office space, and on-site parking for service and employee vehicles.

The new facility will support the inspection, service, maintenance, storage, and deployment of up to 96 light rail vehicles. The existing Operations and Maintenance Facility on Forest Street in Seattle has capacity for 104 vehicles. OMF East will employ up to 250 full-time employees and will be open 24 hours a day every day of the year.

Sound Transit worked with the City of Bellevue and community partners to incorporate an opportunity for transit-oriented development (TOD) at the OMF East to integrate with new housing, office, and retail projects occurring in the Spring District. Approximately 1.1 million square feet will be available for TOD when construction of the OMF East is complete at the end of 2020.

The project is targeting LEED Silver certification and will be constructed to achieve a variety of sustainable goals to reduce environmental impact and optimize performance. Among the sustainable features include: 50% reduction of outdoor water use, 35% reduction of indoor water use, installation of a 50-kilowatt photovoltaic system, use of low-emitting materials to reduce concentrations of chemical compounds, and a planned diversion of 75% of construction and demolition waste from the landfill.

Stantec is leading the design of the project, providing design management; LEED facilitation; electrical engineering; mechanical engineering; site design management; environmental permitting; and design for lighting, IT/communications, security, signals, SCADA, acoustics, and track integration.

During design, Hensel Phelps Construction Co. is providing pre-construction, BIM (Building Information Model), and budgeting services out of their local office in Bellevue. With a focus on sustainable jobsite practices, safety, and quality, Hensel Phelps will also lead the construction efforts on site with several local trade partners.