525 Golden Gate project moves forward; PUC plans pioneering on‑site living machine to treat black and gray water

Shelby Campbell, project director for the 525 Golden Gate development, reported that design documents are complete, DBI review comments were received and addressed, and bid packages are being released with many due in September and November. The project team expects to largely complete buy‑out by December and to report back on budget and award status at the December meeting.

Campbell described several sustainability features: extensive solar panels, a roughly 30,000‑gallon rainwater tank for irrigation, and an on‑site "living machine" — an ecological wastewater treatment system that purportedly can treat up to 5,000 gallons per day of gray and black water using planted treatment cells and polishing stages. "The living machine is an on‑site ecological wastewater treatment approach that produces recycled water out of both gray and black water without chemicals, odor, byproducts, or high energy usage," she said, explaining the multi‑cell process and noting the need for about 750 square feet of planted area to support the treatment volume.

Commissioners and staff discussed encroachment and sidewalk approvals for planting areas and the practical limits on outdoor play space for the childcare center; staff said priority enrollment would be PUC employees, then city employees, then the public, with some neighborhood slots reserved. Campbell said the living machine design will undergo DPH and DBI review and that the project hoped to be among the first U.S. buildings to treat black water with the living machine approach (Portland had recently installed a similar system). Completion remains targeted for spring 2012 and staff said they expect to stay within budget.