EVERETT – The state should build a University of Washington’s campus at the transit center in downtown Everett, a consultant recommended to lawmakers today.

NBBJ of Seattle concluded the Everett location is the best of four sites analyzed in detail in the report that will become the grist for community and subject of legislative hearings in 2008.

The state Legislature and Gov. Chris Gregoire will decide whether to endorse the recommendation or choose one of the other three finalist sites.

The report ranked the quartet of properties with a site in Marysville off Smokey Point Boulevard as the second best option, followed by the former Kimberly-Clark property next to the Snohomish River in Everett and in the Cavalero Hill area in Lake Stevens.

“Today’s announcement is good news for future UW students, families and employers in Everett and the Puget Sound region,” Everett Mayor Ray Stephanson said in a statement.

“We believe that as this preferred location is considered by the Legislature, that Everett will prove to be the most economical and comprehensive site for a university,” he said.

Marysville Mayor Dennis Kendall admitted he was a little disappointed in the report’s findings.

“My initial reaction is, ‘We’re still in the game,’” he said.

Kendall said he had been briefed on the report’s summary conclusions and is concerned the consultant may have overstated the level of improvements required to get the Marysville site ready for a college.

“We’ll fight to add to the information to make it more accurate,” he said. “We can sell ourselves on what we have to offer and hopefully the Legislature will see it our way.”