Located on a quarter block on 2nd and Stewart in downtown Seattle, the Emerald is a 41-story condominium tower with 263 residential units, five levels of below-grade parking and retail space on the ground level. The 381,571-sq-ft tower features such amenities as a fitness center, yoga studio, dog washing room and outdoor terrace. The 39th floor will be home to an outdoor space for residents.

Led by Andersen Construction, the team’s safety philosophy says that no single person, action or policy can guarantee that everyone goes home safely. Therefore, a group effort that draws from collective interests and experiences will make an organization better. The team’s approach was not to build a series of barriers by highlighting what can’t be done, but instead to look collectively at guidelines to determine the best course of action. The safety approach included onboarding: Every Andersen worker attends the same half-day safety orientation. Various events are held throughout the year that seek to praise contributions to safety rather than focusing on correcting wrong behavior. Training, planning sessions and celebration events were all held frequently as a method for developing engagement and cooperative “buy in” for the company and the project.

The project team used a telescoping excavator in lieu of a conveyor belt or long reach excavator to remove the soil from the building footprint. This saved money and time. The Emerald was one of the first projects in the area to use the method.