Lynnwood permit office moves to new location

Published 10:44 pm Wednesday, September 30, 2009

LYNNWOOD — Thirty-two City Hall employees will relocate into leased offices a few blocks from the municipal campus late this month and the city’s permit center is moving with them.

The permit center provides planning and permitting services for homeowners, builders and developers.

Also relocating on Oct. 15 and 16 to the new building are the city’s community development, economic development and fire prevention offices.

Permit center operations will reopen in the new, 5,970-square-foot offices, at 4114 198th St. SW, Suite 7, at 1 p.m. Oct. 19 with the same telephone numbers and operating hours.

The new offices, located in a strip mall within the future City Center area, were originally planned as a new site for the city’s municipal courts.

That plan was shelved, however, after police officials and court administrators argued that the new offices were not large enough.

Moving employees is part of a plan to accommodate the impending 18-month, $25.5 million reconstruction of the 33-year-old Lynnwood Recreation Center.

Work on the recreation center begins on Dec. 23 and employees have to vacate the building before that.

Employees will move in phases, said Lynn Sordel, parks, recreation and cultural services director.

“It’s not going to be one massive move because we still are maintaining the operations for the recreation center until Dec. 19,” he said.

Some remodeling work will be done on the existing permit center site, also known as the north administration building, to add a smaller, temporary fitness room, Sordel said.

The city’s preschool program, now housed at the recreation center, also will move temporarily into the 44th Avenue W. site as other recreation programs will be held at the Lynnwood Senior Center, 5800 198th St. SW, while recreation construction is under way, Sordel said.

The move is expected to save the city about $200,000, compared to what a short-term lease would have cost, he said.

Oscar Halpert: 425-339-3429, ohalpert@heraldnet.com.