The City of Redmond gave new purpose to a 95-year-old gem—the former Evergreen Elementary school building—transforming 35,000 square feet into a city hall that’s a model of historic preservation and energy efficiency.

Renovation of the building honors the school’s past by showcasing historic features such as chalkboards, original wood window frames with brass hardware and original wooden stair banisters.

To help meet its energy-efficiency goals, the City of Redmond took advantage of Energy Trust’s Market Solutions initiative, which offers expert guidance and flexible incentive packages for new construction and remodeling projects under 70,000 square feet. The city installed high-performance insulation, a variable refrigerant flow heating and cooling system, old-fashioned schoolhouse lights with LED lamps, programmable lighting controls and high-performance windows that fit into the original frames.

Energy Trust provided $39,000 in cash incentives toward the renovation, which is saving an estimated $15,700 in annual energy costs.

“Energy Trust’s help made a huge difference in this project penciling out and freed up general fund dollars we can use for services like public safety or road maintenance,” said Jason Neff, budget and financial planning director, City of Redmond.