EVERETT — A potential deal for Everett to sell one of its public works buildings has stalled, apparently, despite rumors that a sale was imminent.
The city’s Public Works Service Center Annex, a Mission-style building at 2802 Pacific Ave., houses the city’s Utility Billing office and various other public works divisions. About 30 people work in the building, said Marla Carter, a spokeswoman for the department.
“There was an interested buyer,” Carter said. “My understanding is it’s on hold.”
The building, also known as the “Creamery” because it once housed a dairy operation, is not up to modern earthquake-resistance requirements, and otherwise has seen better days, she said.
“We are in the process of redesigning another building for ourselves. This building does not meet our needs,” Carter said.
Fears that the building would be sold and subsequently razed by a new owner prompted some in the community to protest to the city.
Gail Chism, a Lowell resident, told the City Council on Oct. 14 that there hadn’t been enough public input, and the sale should be stopped.
The 14,445-square-foot single-story building was built in 1934, and the Everett Public Library doesn’t have any historical records on it, and it isn’t otherwise notable, said David Dilgard, a historian with the library.
“We’ve got a plethora of Mission-style buildings throughout the community, some of which dates back to before the first World War,” Dilgard said.
“That’s not one of them,” he said.
The building has an assessed valuation of $1.3 million, according to the Snohomish County Assessor’s Office.
When the city moved into the building in 1991, it did a complete interior remodel, so there’s nothing left of the original interior, Carter said.
She added that she wasn’t sure what shape the building was in even then.
Any decision on a future sale of the building would have to come from the city’s real estate office, but at the moment there isn’t any forward movement on a deal, Carter said.
Chris Winters: 425-374-4165; cwinters@heraldnet.com. Twitter: @Chris_At_Herald.
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