Work Safe

Prime Electric’s success stems from a culture of collaboration, where our operations and in-house design teams unite to deliver efficient, customized solutions for even the most complex electrical and low-voltage projects. As the construction industry evolves, so does our range of services, continuously expanding to meet the growing demands of increasingly intricate projects. By leveraging our California and Washington electrical and low-voltage design teams, we seamlessly delivered the 222 5th project—another standout addition to Downtown Seattle. This collaboration allowed us to stay ahead of the curve, ensuring precision and innovation at every stage of the build.

Adjacent to the Space Needle and Chihuly Garden and Glass Museum, 222 5th is a 250,000 SF, Class-A research facility. The building features two levels of below-grade parking, 6,000 SF of ground-floor retail space, and nine floors of lab and office space designed to accommodate future life science tenants. PRIME’s scope of work included the design-build of electrical and low-voltage systems, OSP trenching and excavation for service providers and faults, fire alarm, CCTV, access control, parts and smarts, and a two-way intercom system.

Originally awarded the core and shell for an office tenant improvement at 222 5th, the project pivoted to a 60/40 split for lab space, requiring significant design modifications. The addition of lab spaces increased the building’s power requirements, but our engineering team was able to maintain the original project budget. One of our team’s key strengths is creativity, particularly in applying alternative calculation methods to optimize system efficiency and reduce overcapacity. While electrical systems are often designed with excess capacity, our engineers leveraged alternative calculations permitted by the National Electrical Code (NEC) for life sciences buildings, allowing us to maintain the same system size and cost without compromising the client’s vision.

The internal collaboration between our engineering and operations teams was integral to the success of this project, benefiting both our team and the customer. Effective communication allowed for information to be readily available, which streamlined processes, enabled confident decision-making, and helped us stay ahead of schedule. By managing all scopes of work under one umbrella, we gained efficiency and saved time.

Our success on the 222 5th project highlights the power of collaboration and adaptability in tackling complex challenges. By uniting our electrical and low voltage design teams, we were able to deliver a state-of-the-art facility that met both technical demands and client expectations. Despite numerous changes to the space, our combined engineering and construction expertise enabled us to adapt the design while maintaining the same level of service. The seamless collaboration between our teams ensured we stayed on track, both on budget and ahead of schedule.