New Everett schools admin building to open

EVERETT — School district employees are moving into the new $28.3 million administration building. Most offices are expected to be open for business Tuesday, and the school board is scheduled to hold its first meeting there on Nov. 26.

The ultimate cost to build the 66,365-square-foot Everett School District building at 3900 Broadway, near 41st Street SE, was $18.1 million — 6.89 percent higher than planned but not out of line with similar projects. Changes made during construction added $1.16 million.

“The good news is the project is coming in under budget, it’s paid for out of cash, and we’ve saved $12 million by not paying interest,” said Jeff Russell, school board president. There will be long-term savings through the building’s energy efficiency, replacing the two district buildings that have the highest energy costs, he said.

The project’s total cost, including equipment, taxes, design and construction, is now estimated at $28.3 million, said Mary Waggoner, Everett School District spokeswoman. Final numbers aren’t expected until the end of the year.

Lists of changes to the building have been made in seven batches since construction began in June 2012.

In February, such changes had added $535,392 to construction costs. Part of that was for digging out and taking away petroleum-contaminated soil discovered on the site when construction was underway.

The most recent total was $129,499. That includes items such as $27,473 in electrical revisions and $56,322 for security cameras.

Though the project’s costs have increased, they remain within the school district’s budget for the project, Waggoner said.

John Schaufelberger, dean of the University of Washington’s College of Built Environments, said it’s not uncommon to have a 10 percent contingency built into construction projects.

Schaufelberger said that the Everett district’s additional costs didn’t seem out of line. “Contaminated soil, cameras added and electrical added, those things happen. We design it and two years later we build it,” he said

Previously, administrative offices have been scattered around the school district, including the Longfellow building, a former elementary school built in 1911. It was converted to an office building in 1970. School Board meetings have been held at another set of district offices at 4730 Colby Ave. The last meeting there was on Nov. 12.

Some equipment and furniture from the district’s current offices are being moved to the new building, where 140 staffers will work.

The building will have seven rooms available for use by the community. The largest, the Port Gardner room, can seat up to 275.

The room where school board meetings will be held will have space to seat about 110 people.

Sharon Salyer: 425-339-3486; salyer@heraldnet.com.

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Local News

A firefighter stands in silence before a panel bearing the names of L. John Regelbrugge and Kris Regelbrugge during the ten-year remembrance of the Oso landslide on Friday, March 22, 2024, at the Oso Landslide Memorial in Oso, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
‘Flood of emotions’ as Oso Landslide Memorial opens on 10th anniversary

Friends, family and first responders held a moment of silence at 10:37 a.m. at the new 2-acre memorial off Highway 530.

Julie Petersen poses for a photo with images of her sister Christina Jefferds and Jefferds’ grand daughter Sanoah Violet Huestis next to a memorial for Sanoah at her home on March 20, 2024 in Arlington, Washington. Peterson wears her sister’s favorite color and one of her bangles. (Annie Barker / The Herald)
‘It just all came down’: An oral history of the Oso mudslide

Ten years later, The Daily Herald spoke with dozens of people — first responders, family, survivors — touched by the deadliest slide in U.S. history.

Victims of the Oso mudslide on March 22, 2014. (Courtesy photos)
Remembering the 43 lives lost in the Oso mudslide

The slide wiped out a neighborhood along Highway 530 in 2014. “Even though you feel like you’re alone in your grief, you’re really not.”

Director Lucia Schmit, right, and Deputy Director Dara Salmon inside the Snohomish County Department of Emergency Management on Friday, March 8, 2024, in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
How Oso slide changed local emergency response ‘on virtually every level’

“In a decade, we have just really, really advanced,” through hard-earned lessons applied to the pandemic, floods and opioids.

Ron and Gail Thompson at their home on Monday, March 4, 2024 in Oso, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
In shadow of scarred Oso hillside, mudslide’s wounds still feel fresh

Locals reflected on living with grief and finding meaning in the wake of a catastrophe “nothing like you can ever imagine” in 2014.

Rep. Suzan DelBene, left, introduces Xichitl Torres Small, center, Undersecretary for Rural Development with the U.S. Department of Agriculture during a talk at Thomas Family Farms on Monday, April 3, 2023, in Snohomish, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Under new federal program, Washingtonians can file taxes for free

At a press conference Wednesday, U.S. Rep. Suzan DelBene called the Direct File program safe, easy and secure.

Former Snohomish County sheriff’s deputy Jeremie Zeller appears in court for sentencing on multiple counts of misdemeanor theft Wednesday, March 27, 2024, at Snohomish County Superior Court in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Ex-sheriff’s deputy sentenced to 1 week of jail time for hardware theft

Jeremie Zeller, 47, stole merchandise from Home Depot in south Everett, where he worked overtime as a security guard.

Everett
11 months later, Lake Stevens man charged in fatal Casino Road shooting

Malik Fulson is accused of shooting Joseph Haderlie to death in the parking lot at the Crystal Springs Apartments last April.

T.J. Peters testifies during the murder trial of Alan Dean at the Snohomish County Courthouse on Tuesday, March 26, 2024 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Bothell cold case trial now in jury’s hands

In court this week, the ex-boyfriend of Melissa Lee denied any role in her death. The defendant, Alan Dean, didn’t testify.

A speed camera facing west along 220th Street Southwest on Tuesday, Nov. 21, 2023 in Edmonds, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
New Washington law will allow traffic cams on more city, county roads

The move, led by a Snohomish County Democrat, comes as roadway deaths in the state have hit historic highs.

Mrs. Hildenbrand runs through a spelling exercise with her first grade class on the classroom’s Boxlight interactive display board funded by a pervious tech levy on Tuesday, March 19, 2024 in Marysville, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Lakewood School District’s new levy pitch: This time, it won’t raise taxes

After two levies failed, the district went back to the drawing board, with one levy that would increase taxes and another that would not.

Alex Hanson looks over sections of the Herald and sets the ink on Wednesday, March 30, 2022 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Black Press, publisher of Everett’s Daily Herald, is sold

The new owners include two Canadian private investment firms and a media company based in the southern United States.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.